From that initial warning in November, the sources described repeated briefings through December for policymakers across the federal government as well as the National Security Council at the White House. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump denies that he saw reports from his top trade adviser in warning him of the threat in late January.
ABC News: Intelligence Report Warned Of Coronavirus Crisis As Early As November: Sources
As far back as late November, U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population, according to four sources briefed on the secret reporting. Concerns about what is now known to be the novel coronavirus pandemic were detailed in a November intelligence report by the military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), according to two officials familiar with the document’s contents. (Margolin and Meek, 4/8)
Politico: Trump Says He Didn’t Know Of, Still Hasn’t Seen Navarro Memos On Possible Pandemic
President Donald Trump on Monday denied that he’d ever seen a handful of memos, written and circulated through the White House by his top trade adviser beginning in January, that warned the coronavirus could cost the country trillions of dollars and imperil the lives of millions of Americans. At the White House during a coronavirus task force news briefing, the president said he’d learned of Peter Navarro’s memos, the contents of which were first disclosed on Monday night, only a few days ago, but he asserted that the documents lined up with his travel restrictions for foreigners coming from China. (Oprysko, 4/7)
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