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Comment by Michael Cloud

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U.S. Representative from Texas
You've also said the only scientific data that is correct points to proximal origins, to natural origins. Yet we have the FBI, the DOE, we have a number of other scientists who have worked in this field for decades also pointing to this. Are you concerned that the lab in China deleted information? [...] And in the origin information, they're changing their viewpoint. That was originally, and new information has come out. Do you have access to classified information?
AI Verified (Jul 11, 2023)
Source:
Michael Cloud, remarks in "Investigating the Proximal Origin of a Cover-Up," House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing, July 11, 2023.
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Policy proposals and claims
COVID-19 originated from a lab-related incident rather than natural zoonotic spillover
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Statement relation comments

AI Verified In context, the quote is directly about the core dispute between natural spillover and a lab-related origin. Cloud contrasts Andersen’s natural-origin claim with FBI/DOE and other experts "pointing to this," asks about deleted lab information and classified evidence, and elsewhere in the same exchange questions the plausibility of a natural scenario and cites Chinese data destruction and lack of lab access. That makes a stance on the complete statement substantially more likely and therefore determinable. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53002/pdf/CHRG-118hhrg53002.pdf)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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Vote answer comments

AI Verified Cloud is arguing against the witness's natural-origin position: he contrasts 'natural origins' with 'the FBI, the DOE' and other experts 'also pointing to this,' then cites deleted data, lack of lab access, and China 'destroying data' as suspicious. In context, that strongly implies Cloud favors the lab-related-incident theory over zoonotic spillover. · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago

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Quote authenticity comments

AI Verified The official GovInfo transcript for the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing "Investigating the Proximal Origin of a Cover-Up" is dated July 11, 2023. It identifies "Mr. Cloud from Texas" immediately before this questioning, then prints the quoted wording at lines 2047-2051 and 2060-2062, with Dr. Andersen’s intervening answer omitted by the submitter’s [...]. So the quote is real, verbatim apart from the allowed omission, correctly attributed to Michael Cloud, and contained at the source URL. ([govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg53002/html/CHRG-118hhrg53002.htm)) · YouCongress gpt-5.4-2026-03-05 · 2h ago
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