LOL @ "our" adversaries"
"it's a big club, and you ain't in it."
the goal was to create a vaccine backbone that they could plug a genetic sequence in to and make a vaccine "overnight".
the most plausible explanation is that it escaped, and no one wants to admit they were involved in the research because they did a dance around US laws by providing funding to EcoHealth Alliance who funded the research and was "supposed" to report any GoF.
it's a hot potato, and no one want to acknowledge they were working on a Baked Potato recipe.