For scientists who were close to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the start of the pandemic, especially Peter Daszak, head of the scandal-plagued EcoHealth Alliance; David M. MollensSenior Scientific Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
As for Daszak, his years of protest and denial of the lab leak were clearly in vain, considering he finally had all federal funding cut off.
The Department of Health and Social Care said in a letter on Tuesday that a British zoologist is personally responsible for the EHA’s gross flaws, failures in oversight and lack of transparency regarding dangerous coronavirus experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. .
Morens was an advisor to former NIAID Director Fauci. Defendant On Wednesday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic suggested it would undermine the operations of the U.S. government. Unlawful deletion of federal COVID-19 records. Using personal email to circumvent Freedom of Information laws. “Conduct unbecoming of a federal employee.” and “likely lied to Congress multiple times.”
Mr. Daszak appears in many of the emails that Mr. Morens may now regret.
The pair who helped Fauci downplay the possibility of a lab origin for COVID-19 may soon face consequences bigger than a strongly worded letter or funding cutoff. .
“Dr. Daszak’s impending decertification does not absolve him from accountability to the American people,” said Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the Coronavirus Subcommittee. Said “It appears that Dr. Daszak may have lied under oath about his relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology and his compliance with NIH grant procedures,” it said in a statement Wednesday.
With regard to Morens, the Subcommittee shown The institute said it now has “overwhelming evidence from Dr. Morens’ own emails that he engaged in significant misconduct and potentially misconduct while serving as a senior advisor to Dr. Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Defund those without accountability
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General slammed EHA. January 2023 report For failing to oversight and comply with federal requirements regarding the use of grant funding for coronavirus research in China.
On May 1, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic released its own report, recommending that EHA be permanently cut off from taxpayer funding and that Daszak be similarly cut off and subject to criminal investigation. did.
“Dr. Daszak and his organization conducted dangerous gain-of-function research at WIV, willfully violating the terms of a multi-million dollar National Institutes of Health grant and endangering the national security of the United States. This blatant contempt for the American people is reprehensible,” Wenstrup said. Said In a statement.
On May 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Stopping EHA It proposed a ban on participation in federal procurement and non-procurement programs “to protect the public interest.”
Suspension is a temporary measure, while debarment is a more definitive denial of a grant, can last for several years, and is primarily applied for serious violations. according to To nature.
inside A memo detailing the decisionHHS Suspension and Disbarment Officer Henrietta Brisbon reiterated the complaints raised in both the subcommittee report and the HHS OIG report, finding EHA irresponsible and unreliable.
This week, HHS went a step further, initiating formal decertification proceedings against Daszak.
H.H.S. Tuesday’s Letter The British zoologist said: “The EHA’s alleged conduct is attributable to you because, as chairman of the EHA and through your role as a representative of the EHA, you were responsible for all or part of the relevant period. “Because he participated in, and knew or had reason to know, inappropriate conduct.” [program director/principal investigator]For related grants, please see
In addition to condemning Daszak, the letter also prohibits him from doing business with the federal government or accepting subcontracts of more than $35,000 from government contractors, and could result in a work ban of more than three years. It showed that there is a sex.
Regarding Daszak’s fate, Wenstrup said, “The personal disbarment of EcoHealth Alliance Chairman Dr. Peter Daszak will ensure that he will never again receive a single American taxpayer dollar or have the opportunity to start a new discredited organization.”
“This action comes just two weeks after the Special Subcommittee released significant evidence demonstrating Dr. Daszak’s contempt for the American people, his blatant disregard for the risks associated with gain-of-function research, and his willful violations of the terms of his NIH grants,” Wenstrup added.
“EcoHealth and The current government-wide suspension and disbarment proposal for Mr. Daszak is against him for his futile and reckless search for viruses and animal experiments that could cause a pandemic and create biological weapons, especially for building a new bat virus laboratory in the United States. “This will ensure that taxpayers will no longer be forced to fund this horrific plan.”
Stepping out of the uncertainty
The Blaze News previously reported that Morens acknowledged in communications with Fauci aides that he used a personal email account and chose to delete communications there to avoid freedom of information requests.
“As you know, my NIH email is always subject to the Freedom of Information Act, so I always try to communicate through Gmail,” Morens said of identifying the origins of COVID-19, including Daszak. He is reported to have written letters to leading scientists involved in the project. Mr. Daszak’s subcontractor, Ben Hu, conducted deadly gain-of-function experiments on the coronavirus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and was reportedly one of the first to become infected with COVID-19. Also included are virologists Robert Garry, Christian Andersen, and Edward Holmes.
On Wednesday, the Coronavirus Subcommittee released a previously presented memo. Unpublished email correspondence Additionally, Morens helped Fauci avoid transparency in discussing the origins of COVID-19, by concealing “official records regarding the origins of COVID-19,” and This suggests that the government avoided “collusion at the highest level” to destroy it.
In an email to Daszak dated April 21, 2021, Morens wrote, “P.S. I [sic] I forgot to mention, I don’t have to worry about FOIA. You can send the data to Tony in his private Gmail or hand it over to him at work or at home. He’s too smart to let his coworkers send him anything that could get him in trouble.”
In a May 13, 2021 email with a copy from Daszak attached, Morens wrote, “I suggested to Arthur that he interview Tony directly and connected him to our ‘secret’ back channel. He emailed Tony a few hours ago.”
The subcommittee highlighted that Dr. Morens discussed other efforts to “pass behind the scenes internal NIH information to EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak” and Dr. Fauci’s intentions to protect Dr. Daszak. .
There also appears to be evidence that when Molens received a FOIA request, he received instructions from the NIH FOIA Office on “how to delete the email.”
In a Feb. 25, 2021 email, which was copied by Daszak, Morens said, “I learned the ropes last year from my old friend Marg Moore, who heads the FOIA office and hates FOIA.” wrote.
Like Fauci, Morens seemed to enjoy communicating. off the record Through his personal account.
“I forgot to clarify in yesterday’s email that both Gmail and phone are now secure. Tests can be FOIAed, so they are no more secure than incoming email,” Morens said. wrote in a letter dated November 19, 2021. . “So you and Peter and others should only be able to email me in Gmail, but since all government emails are potentially FOIA-able, other government employees should be able to copy them at the government address. Please note that this will not happen.
Morens’ support may come at a price. The subcommittee highlighted an exchange in which Mr. Morens appeared to seek “kickbacks” from Mr. Daszak for helping compile EHA’s grant compliance activities.
According to the subcommittee, Morens likely undermined NIH’s efforts to oversee EHA, provided Daszak with “inside information regarding NIH operations,” and lied to Congress when testifying before the subcommittee on Dec. 22, 2023 and Jan. 18, 2024.
New York Post shown When Morens, who is currently on administrative leave, appeared before the subcommittee on Wednesday to testify about the findings detailed in the memo, he faced lengthy bipartisan criticism.
“It’s not anti-science to hold you accountable for betraying the public’s trust and misusing public resources,” said Sen. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.).
“Dr. Morens, what bothers me most about your actions is that you are so willing to betray the decades of dedication, hard work and courtesy of the thousands of federal scientists and public health workers who have come before you, who have served alongside you, and who will continue to serve in the future,” Lewis added.
Goodman told Blaze News that Daszak, Fauci and Morens, who allegedly lied to Congress about what happened in Wuhan, “can and should be subject to fines and prison time for perjury, as Senator Rand Paul has called for in his referral to the Department of Justice.”
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