A former senior advisor to NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, David Morens, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy to defraud the United States.
According to the plea, Morens, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator 2 and others worked during the COVID-19 pandemic to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and the Federal Records Act after NIH terminated a bat coronavirus research grant that included a subaward to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. They used Morens’s personal Gmail account instead of official systems to discuss restoring the grant, counter lab-leak claims, exchange non-public NIH information, and influence funding decisions.
He also admitted that he and Co-Conspirator 1 conspired over illegal gratuities. Co-Conspirator 1 sent him wine as a gift for his “behind-the-scenes shenanigans,” delivered to his Maryland home. After receiving the wine, Morens identified an official act he could perform to “deserve” the gift: writing a scientific commentary in a prominent medical journal that advocated a natural origin for COVID-19. Co-Conspirator 1 also suggested providing additional gifts of value, including meals at Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Morens worked under Dr. Anthony Fauci from 2006 to 2022. He faces up to five years in prison.
