Former Fauci Aide Guilty Plea in COVID Records Concealment

A former senior adviser to Anthony Fauci, long considered a top aide to the former NIAID director, has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to conceal government records related to COVID-19.

David Morens, a former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID), pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to conspiring with two stakeholders to avoid FOIA requests and conceal federal records, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Morens was widely regarded as a close aide to Fauci, the former director of NIAID.

Fauci Aide Guilty Plea Involves Private Gmail Account

According to federal prosecutors, Morens used a personal Gmail account during the COVID-19 pandemic to communicate about matters that should have been preserved in official government systems.

Those communications included discussions about efforts to restore National Institutes of Health funding for a bat coronavirus research grant that had been suspended.

They also included discussions about how to respond to claims that COVID-19 may have originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

Prosecutors said the use of private email was part of an effort to prevent those communications from being captured by federal recordkeeping systems and disclosed through FOIA requests.

Wine and Michelin-Starred Dining

The guilty plea also covered allegations involving Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance, identified as “Co-Conspirator 1” in charging documents.

Morens admitted to accepting wine from Daszak in connection with his official actions and to being offered a meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The case stems from a broader scheme to evade federal transparency and recordkeeping requirements involving communications about coronavirus research grants.

Morens could face up to five years in federal prison.

His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 12.