Donald Trump speaks to Sky News’ Sharri Markson on Wuhan lab leak theory
In a ‘combative’ interview, Sharri Markson has sat down with the former US president for her upcoming Sky News documentary about the origins of Covid-19.
When Sharri Markson first began investigating the possibility that the coronavirus may have resulted from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, she was widely ridiculed by other Australian media outlets.
But her dogged pursuit of the story has paid off with a killer scoop, securing the first sit-down interview (for an Australian broadcast media outlet) with Donald Trump since he was elected president in 2016.
Markson’s interview with Trump will be the centrepiece of a one-hour documentary that will air on Sky News on September 20.
The documentary is based on Markson’s soon-to-be-released book, What Really Happened in Wuhan, and will also feature interviews with Chinese whistleblowers, scientists and high-ranking intelligence officials including John Ratcliffe, the US Director of National Intelligence from 2020 to 2021 who oversaw 17 intelligence agencies and spearheaded the investigation into the origins of Covid-19.
Markson, The Australian’s investigations writer, said her interview with Trump — conducted via videolink — was “combative” at times.
“I cross-examined him on his knowledge of when and how Covid-19 emerged, and the evidence that pointed to a Wuhan lab leak — and what convinced him of that to such an extent that he came out publicly and said it,” Markson said.
Markson’s book is likely to be uncomfortable reading for Mr Trump — it highlights how he badly underestimated the potency of the virus and praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for his “transparency” in the early stages of the pandemic.
Markson said she was still shocked by the criticism levelled at her by others in the Australian media over her reporting on the possibility of a lab leak.
“This is a story that everyone said was a conspiracy early last year — the ABC, the Guardian Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald — they all attacked my reporting,” she said.
“And I was just doing news reporting on the agencies and their investigations into the origins of the virus.
“It’s just extraordinary how the media and the tech giants and the scientific community shut down reporting on this, and ridiculed people who were promoting the idea that it might have come from a lab — and now the intelligence agencies in the US are saying that both of the main origin theories are equally plausible.”
Sky News Australia chief executive officer Paul Whittaker, said: “The interviews and revelations presented in What Really Happened in Wuhan are testament to Sharri’s tenacity as an investigative news-breaking journalist and her pursuit of the truth. The impact of Covid-19 on the lives and livelihoods of so many Australians and people worldwide will be felt for decades to come. We are committed to covering all angles of this evolving global public health and policy debate.”
What Really Happened in Wuhan, the documentary featuring Sharri Markson’s interview with Donald Trump, premieres on Sky News Australia on Monday September 20 at 8pm AEST
What Really Happened in Wuhan is published worldwide on September 29. It is available by pre-order from Booktopia
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