Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 19
David Morens Pleads Guilty in COVID-19 Records Scheme, Facing Up to 5 Years
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 19

David Morens Pleads Guilty in COVID-19 Records Scheme, Facing Up to 5 Years

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 19

Summary

  • David Morens, a former Fauci adviser and senior NIAID official, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to evade FOIA requests tied to COVID-19 research grants; sentencing is set for Nov. 12.
  • Prosecutors said Morens and others shifted official discussions to his personal Gmail after NIH terminated a bat coronavirus grant amid allegations linked to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
  • House investigators had previously obtained emails in which Morens wrote that he knew how to make emails "disappeared," said he deleted earlier messages, and suggested sending material to Fauci privately.
  • Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said a separate joint probe by Louisiana, Florida and West Virginia could expose Fauci to perjury charges carrying up to 5 years in state prison.

Insights

Could a top health adviser's guilty plea for hiding emails trigger a massive wave of criminal probes into other federal research communications?
What crucial secrets about the origins of the pandemic might still be permanently lost in a top federal scientist's deleted personal emails?