A former top adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci was indicted on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to conceal records regarding the origins of COVID-19.
Dr. David Morens, who is 78 years old, faces various charges in connection with this case, as reported by a news outlet.
The United States Department of Justice has issued an indictment against former officials of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for supposedly evading Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning COVID-19 research grants.
The indictment claims that Morens, along with two co-conspirators, conspired during the pandemic to mislead the United States and engage in a variety of offenses after the NIH canceled a grant to one of the co-conspirators. The grant was linked to research asserting that the novel coronavirus originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. NIAID had initially granted funds to a particular company, which was then awarded a secondary grant to the Institute.
After the grant was terminated, Morens and another co-conspirator offered to assist in reversing the funding decision and disputed the lab leak theory. Anticipating FOIA requests, they reportedly agreed to conceal their communications by using Morens’ personal Gmail account instead of official NIH emails.
In 2024, emails obtained via a congressional subpoena revealed that Morens had, at one point, commented on “how to delete an email,” according to a news source.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul (R-Ky.) indicated in September that there was email evidence suggesting Fauci might have deleted public records, contradicting his earlier statements.
“In a letter to Fauci that was reviewed by a news outlet, Paul disclosed that the committee is investigating the origins of the coronavirus,” the report noted. “He also mentioned that ‘the committee has acquired records’ showing that Fauci allegedly instructed NIH officials to destroy federal documents.”
Morens faces charges of “conspiracy against the United States, destruction, alteration, concealment, deletion, and mutilation of records, as well as aiding and abetting in a federal investigation,” according to a Justice Department announcement.
“These allegations reflect a serious breach of trust at a time when the American public needed transparency the most, during a global pandemic,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
He mentioned:
According to the indictment, Dr. Morens and his associates deliberately withheld information and falsified records to suppress alternative theories regarding COVID-19’s origins. Officials have a critical responsibility to present truthful, evidence-based information for public benefit, rather than serve personal or ideological agendas.
In a social media update about the indictment, Paul expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
“In 2024, I referred David Morens to the Department of Justice for criminal charges related to the unlawful concealment and intentional destruction of federal records,” he stated.
“I’m pleased that the Department of Justice is moving forward. The responsibility lies with them,” Paul concluded.
