Former Fauci adviser Dr. David Morens pleads guilty to concealing COVID-related records

Former Fauci adviser Dr. David Morens pleads guilty to concealing COVID-related records Dr.

Key points

• David Morens appears during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing on Capitol Hill on May 22, 2024 in Washington, DC.
• Jennifer Jones, who runs the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, would not comment specifically regarding either Morens' or Fauci's situations.
• Morens, who is 78 years old, could face five years in prison and a fine of up to $250, 000 when he is sentenced in November.
• Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
• Morens, who worked under Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was accused of concealing federal records related to coronavirus research.

Former Fauci adviser Dr. David Morens pleads guilty to concealing COVID-related records Dr. David Morens, a former aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci, has pleaded guilty to violating federal law by trying to conceal emails regarding the origins of the COVID-1 pandemic.

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Former Fauci adviser Dr. David Morens pleads guilty to concealing COVID-related records.

Dr. David Morens appears during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing on Capitol Hill on May 22, 2024 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption.

Dr. David Morens, a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Morens, who worked under Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was accused of concealing federal records related to coronavirus research. He was indicted in April for allegedly trying to hide email exchanges regarding that research by using his personal email instead of his administration email.

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"By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so, " his legal counsel, Tim Belevetz, informed NPR in an email Tuesday.

Morens has apologized in previous hearings for his handling of federal records.

Notably, the coronavirus research in question has come under fire by Sen. Rand Paul and other Republicans. This person have asserted without proof that the coronavirus that caused the pandemic came from a lab in China, and have accused Fauci and Morens of covering that up. Both scientists have denied this. Plenty of researchers agree that the weight of the available evidence suggests the virus emerged naturally.

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Fauci, who played a leading role in the United States' pandemic response, was not charged with anything in connection with Morens. But earlier this month, Paul's Senate committee voted to hold him in contempt of Congress for invoking the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and refusing to answer questions at a hearing. It will ultimately be up to the Justice Department to decide whether to pursue a criminal prosecution of Fauci.

Some experts have remarked these moves are part of broader undermining of science and scientists in the United States.

Jennifer Jones, who runs the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, would not comment specifically regarding either Morens' or Fauci's situations. But she notes the Trump administration has been attacking scientists in numerous ways. Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in Rand Paul Senate hearing.

"Criminal prosecution of scientists is a classic authoritarian tactic, " she informed NPR in an interview.

But Robert Fisher, a Boston attorney who is not involved in the Morens case, notes the government's charges against Morens appear solid.

"When you're a government official you swear an oath, you're working for a federal agency, you're just held to a higher standard, " Fisher remarked.

In short, former Fauci adviser Dr. David Morens pleads guilty to concealing COVID is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.