A longtime top adviser to former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci is now facing federal charges brought against him by the Department of Justice, with prosecutors accusing the leading official of using secret private email accounts during the pandemic in an attempt keep key discussions out of public view by keeping them away from the prying eyes of the Freedom of Information Act.
The official involved is 78-year-old David M. Morens. He spent years inside the NIAID, with his time as a top official largely spent working for Dr. Fauci. The DOJ is alleging, in a court case that got unsealed on Tuesday, April 28, that he tried to dodge federal transparency rules and regulations by using his private email account to keep his communications hidden from the public and its Freedom of Information Act requests.
According to the unsealed case, the DOJ suspects that Morens was using his private email accounts to secretly have and conceal discussions that were connected to the hugely controversial coronavirus research grant that involved the People’s Republic of China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Apparently, Morens then used those email accounts not just to secretly communicate and hide his communications, but to serve as a behind-the-scenes information conduit who, because of his secret email accounts, could keep such conversations about what was going on hidden from the public view.
That’s not all. The DOJ also alleges that Morens accepted what amounts to bribes from a collaborator in the scheme, with that individual plying him with everything from wine to expensive meals. He then repaid receiving those special perks, the DOJ contends, by contributing to a scientific paper that claimed the pandemic came not from a lab but from nature.
As a result of all that, Morens faces a slew of federal charges. Those include conspiracy, destruction, and concealment of federal records, as well as other, related offenses. If convicted on those counts, Morens could face decades behind bars.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman James Comer (R-KY) issued a statement through his office in which he commended the DOJ for how it is finally making big efforts to bring some accountability for wrongdoing of the sort that he helped uncover while on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
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In that statement on the matter, Comer said, “The House Oversight Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic uncovered evidence revealing Dr. Morens – a top advisor to Dr. Fauci – intentionally took action to conceal and falsify records about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Continuing, he praised the Trump Administration for how it is showing that no one is outside of the law or its reach, saying, “We caught Dr. Morens red-handed as he boasted in emails about how the ‘FOIA lady’ coached him on how to hide records and cover-up information. I applaud the Trump Justice Department for taking action to hold this public official accountable for hiding information from the American people. No one is above the law and under the Trump Administration, overdue accountability is finally here.”
Watch FBI Director Patel comment on holding Fauci accountable here: