Ex-Fauci adviser pleads guilty to plotting to conceal COVID-19 research records during pandemic
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) - A former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr.
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) – A former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr.
Article outline
- What happened
- Official response
- The bottom line
Key points
- Morens is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
- Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so, defense attorney Tim Belevetz remarked in an official note after the plea hearing.
- Morens pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S.
- (AP) – A former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr.
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) – A former senior adviser to infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty Tuesday to plotting to conceal federal records related to research on the origins of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. David Morens is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12 by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland. Morens pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Administration, a felony punishable by a maximum prison sentence of five years.
"By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so, " defense attorney Tim Belevetz remarked in an official note after the plea hearing.
Morens is accused of using his private email account to intentionally circumvent public records laws while employed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Justice Department alleges that he concealed or destroyed records of discussions related to COVID-19 research grants, including an effort to revive a controversial coronavirus grant.
In short, ex-Fauci adviser pleads guilty to plotting to conceal COVID-19 research records during is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.
