David Morens, a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has been indicted on federal charges alleging he conspired to hide communications related to COVID-19 research during the pandemic.
Key Takeaways
A former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci has been indicted for allegedly hiding communications related to COVID-19 research during the pandemic.
- David Morens, a former NIAID official, faces charges of conspiracy and concealing federal records.
- Prosecutors allege he used personal email accounts to circumvent public records laws.
- The case involves a 2014 grant awarded by EcoHealth Alliance linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
- Morens is accused of authoring a medical journal submission to counter lab leak claims.
The Justice Department accuses Morens of using his personal email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws. The indictment, unsealed this week, alleges that Morens and two unnamed co-conspirators worked together to shield federal records from the public. According to prosecutors, they used Morens's Gmail account to exchange emails about COVID-19, a bat coronavirus grant awarded in 2014 by EcoHealth Alliance (a New York-based nonprofit group) that was terminated in April 2020 after the National Institutes of Health said it was reviewing allegations that the pandemic was the result of a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The indictment also alleges that Morens and his co-conspirators used this personal email account to share nonpublic information about COVID-19 and 'back-channel' information to an unidentified senior NIAID official, which appears to be Fauci.
Morens faces charges of conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting. If convicted, he could face decades in prison. The case is likely to intensify scrutiny over how federal health officials handled key questions during the pandemic.
According to Fox News, Morens allegedly bragged about hiding emails from Freedom of Information Act requests in an email, stating that he had learned 'how to make emails disappear' from a friend who heads the FOIA office. The indictment further alleges that Morens was offered gifts, including wine and meals at high-end restaurants, in exchange for his efforts to downplay the lab leak hypothesis.
Prosecutors allege that Morens authored a medical journal submission intended to counter claims that COVID-19 emerged from a lab. This action is said to have been aimed at benefiting EcoHealth Alliance and its president Peter Daszak. The charges stem from several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests received by the NIAID between April 2020 and December 2022.
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