Top Fauci Advisor Indicted in First Criminal Prosecution Against a Senior COVID Official, By Nicolas Hulscher
David Morens criminally charged with hiding emails, destroying records, and evading transparency laws to shape the COVID "natural origins" narrative
In a historic first, the Department of Justice has indicted David M. Morens, a former senior advisor to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), marking the first criminal charges against a top federal health official over misconduct during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morens, 78, faces the following charges:
Conspiracy against the United States
Destruction, alteration, and falsification of records in federal investigations
Concealment, removal, or mutilation of federal records
Aiding and abetting
If convicted, he faces:
Up to 5 years for conspiracy
Up to 20 years per count for destruction/alteration/falsification of records
Up to 3 years per count for concealment/removal/mutilation of records
According to the indictment, Morens and co-conspirators (including Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance) allegedly used Morens's personal Gmail account to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests after NIH terminated the controversial "Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence" grant — which funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The alleged scheme involved back-channelling non-public NIH information, coordinating to reinstate the grant, countering the lab-leak theory, and exchanging edits to letters for EcoHealth. In return, Morens allegedly received illegal gratuities, including wine delivered to his home for his "behind-the-scenes shenanigans," along with promises of Michelin-starred meals in Paris, New York, and Washington, D.C. He also reportedly authored a scientific commentary supporting the natural-origins narrative.
Morens served as a key advisor from 2006–2022, briefing Fauci, Congress, and the public on coronavirus policy.
We hope this is only the first of many to come.
