Transcript segment

Baric Transcribed Interview (Redacted), pp.78-79 · baric_ti:utt:00701

Date: 2026-04-10 09:00 (day precision)
Type: transcript segment · interview
recipient: Christina Salazar, Harry Kazenoff, David T. Lambeth III, William Henderson, Clark Ervin, Jake Greenberg
speaker: Ralph S. Baric
Topics: Natural origin / zoonotic spillover Furin cleavage site and molecular features

Yes. The main problem that the evolutionary biologists were running into was about that time they only had 8 to 15 full-length genomes of the virus DC.Scheduling@LexitasLegal.com sequenced, and they had no other sequences of related viruses. There was a rumor that a pangolin virus existed with 100 percent identity, or close to 100 percent identity to SARS-2. That turned out not to be true, as the pangolin, called the pangolin GD strain, which was about 90 percent identical, I believe, is the virus they were talking about. It has a receptor binding domain that is almost identical, nearly identical to SARS-2, but it does have a couple point mutations in it. And the reason that's important is that that meant that there were natural isolates in nature that had that sequence, which means it's not engineered.

Extracted statements

Rule-extracted, not adjudicated. The grade says what may be done with each one; read the document above before relying on any of them.

Statement	Grade	Attribution	Stance
There was a rumor that a pangolin virus existed with 100 percent identity, or close to 100 percent identity to SARS-2.	own voice, substantive	speaker_own	asserts
That turned out not to be true, as the pangolin, called the pangolin GD strain, which was about 90 percent identical, I believe, is the virus they were talking about.	own voice, substantive	speaker_own	asserts
It has a receptor binding domain that is almost identical, nearly identical to SARS-2, but it does have a couple point mutations in it.	own voice, substantive	speaker_own	asserts

Statement

Grade

Attribution

Stance

There was a rumor that a pangolin virus existed with 100 percent identity, or close to 100 percent identity to SARS-2.

own voice, substantive

speaker_own

asserts

That turned out not to be true, as the pangolin, called the pangolin GD strain, which was about 90 percent identical, I believe, is the virus they were talking about.

own voice, substantive

speaker_own

asserts

It has a receptor binding domain that is almost identical, nearly identical to SARS-2, but it does have a couple point mutations in it.

own voice, substantive

speaker_own

asserts

In context

A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.

2026-04-10 09:00 Harry Kazenoff open

On the 31st --
2026-04-10 09:00 Christina Salazar open

So yeah, I believe there was a call on the 31st, and that was Eddie Holmes, the Aussies reaching out with Kristian Andersen, to let Dr. Fauci know that he thought that, or they were concerned that it was engineered.
2026-04-10 09:00 Ralph S. Baric open

You know, being on that call, that was not a decision of that group that it was engineered.
2026-04-10 09:00 Christina Salazar open

Did they discuss it?
2026-04-10 09:00 Ralph S. Baric

Yes. The main problem that the evolutionary biologists were running into was about that time they only had 8 to 15 full-length genomes of the virus DC.Scheduling@LexitasLegal.com sequenced, and they had no other sequences of related viruses. There was a rumor that a pangolin virus existed with 100 percent identity, or close to 100 percent identity to SARS-2. That turned out not to be true, as the pangolin, called the pangolin GD strain, which was about 90 percent identical, I believe, is the virus they were talking about. It has a receptor binding domain that is almost identical, nearly identical to SARS-2, but it does have a couple point mutations in it. And the reason that's important is that that meant that there were natural isolates in nature that had that sequence, which means it's not engineered.
2026-04-10 09:00 Christina Salazar open

Okay.
2026-04-10 09:00 Ralph S. Baric open

It was later then found that the BANAL strains on the Cambodian-Thailand-Chinese border --
2026-04-10 09:00 Christina Salazar open

This is --
2026-04-10 09:00 Ralph S. Baric open

BANAL-52 and BANAL-1-something or another, also had receptor binding domains that were virtually identical to SARS-2. So there's two bad viruses and pangolin virus within the clade, within that branch of SARS-2 that had identical receptor binding domains, which means that it's not engineered.

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