FBI Probes COVID-19 Origin Cover-Up as New Strain NB.1.8.1 Emerges

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino dropped a bombshell on X, revealing the bureau is digging into a potential COVID-19 origin cover-up as a new strain, NB.1.8.1, pops up across U.S. states. While not confirming a formal investigation, Bongino’s post hints at serious scrutiny across multiple FBI field offices, with a promise that "the American people deserve answers." No specific targets were named, and the FBI’s keeping mum on details for now.

This comes as the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic keeps poking at whether early messaging downplayed the lab leak theory for political reasons. Back in 2023, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray leaned into the Wuhan lab incident theory with moderate confidence, a claim China’s government has repeatedly brushed off as baseless. Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, former White House health advisor, insists there was no cover-up, calling such accusations "entirely false."

The new variant hasn’t been flagged as a major concern by health officials, but its emergence is stirring the pot. Bongino, a former NYPD officer and Secret Service agent now serving under FBI Director Kash Patel, is using social media to keep the public in the loop, signaling a push for transparency on one of the pandemic’s biggest mysteries.