Former Fauci Adviser David Morens Indicted on Charges of Concealing Records

The U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment of David Morens, a 78-year-old former senior adviser to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on federal charges including conspiracy, destruction or falsification of records in federal investigations, and concealment of records.

According to the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Morens allegedly used personal email accounts from mid-2020 to mid-2023 to conduct official business and avoid Freedom of Information Act requests while employed at the National Institutes of Health.

Prosecutors stated that Morens faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the concealment charge, five years on the conspiracy charge, and 20 years on the falsification charge if convicted.

The charges detail communications involving Morens, an individual identified as the then-president of EcoHealth Alliance, Peter Daszak, and an unnamed third individual described as a physician and scientist who received federal research funding. The indictment alleges they discussed restoring grant funding for EcoHealth Alliance, which had supported research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

" The indictment does not name Anthony Fauci as a defendant, and Daszak has not been charged. EcoHealth Alliance's NIH grant was terminated in 2020 following concerns about its work in Wuhan, but no publicly released evidence from U.S. investigations has confirmed a lab origin for COVID-19.

In a statement, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron said, "Public servants have a duty to maintain records and to respond to lawful requests for information. " Fauci, in his own testimony, said he had no knowledge of Morens' use of personal email for official business and denied discussing government matters via private channels.

Scientific assessments cited in government reports include a 2023 Office of the Director of National Intelligence analysis, which concluded that available information was insufficient to determine whether COVID-19 originated from a natural spillover or a laboratory incident.

The U.S. intelligence community has agencies favoring natural origins, based on peer-reviewed studies, while others remain undecided. The Chinese government has not permitted independent access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for origins investigations, according to U.S. officials.

Sen. Rand Paul, in a statement to media outlets, said the indictment "raises serious questions about whether Dr. Fauci should be prosecuted for lying to Congress," referencing Fauci's 2021 testimony denying U.S. funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

NIH Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak stated in 2024 congressional testimony that NIH funded research at Wuhan that met certain definitions of gain-of-function, specifically bat coronavirus experiments that increased infectivity in humanized mice under an EcoHealth grant.