Assume that the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) conclusively determines that COVID-19 was a man-made virus designed to be highly contagious.  The IC further determines that the virus was genetically engineered at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and released "accidentally."  The IC advises the President and Congress that it believes with a "high degree of certainty" that the Chinese government knew as early as September 2019 that COVID-19 was lethal when researchers at WIV contracted the disease and died.  

If the IC finds that the Chinese government deliberately covered-up information about the origin of COVID-19 by not sharing health data, allowing infected Chinese citizens to travel abroad, and applying for a patent relating to a vaccine for COVID-19, could the U.S. file terrorism charges against the Chinese government and/or specific Chinese officials?  (Base your answer on whether you think COVID-19 is a traditional or new hazard and is a Category A, B or C agent)

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Whether the US can file terrorism charges against the Chinese government andor specific Chinese officials depends on whether the release of COVID19 ca... View the full answer