President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has secured another significant indictment.
According to a DOJ news release, 78-year-old David M. Morens, a former senior adviser to Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, faces charges of “conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.”
In short, Morens stands accused of dishonest and illegal activities designed to support a preferred narrative about COVID-19’s origins.
Early in the COVID pandemic, the dominant expert- and media-preferred theory held that the virus likely originated in nature then transferred to humans. Bats in a Chinese wet market seemed the most probable culprit.
Over time, however, questions aroseabout the possible role of coronavirus research in China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Tuesday’s indictment alleged that Morens and others conspired to suppress those questions about the Wuhan Institute and to conceal their own communications from public scrutiny by conducting them via Morens’ personal Gmail account, thereby circumventing the Freedom of Information Act.
“These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the news release. “As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19.”
“Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas,” Blanche added.
The indictment further alleged that Morens received “illegal gratuities” for his dishonest work.
In addition to Morens, the indictment described acts by individuals identified as “Co-Conspirator 1” and “Co-Conspirator 2.” Morens and Co-Conspirator 2 allegedly helped Co-Conspirator 1 restore a research grant pertaining to bat coronavirus — a grant that had been terminated following the emergence of questions about COVID-19’s possible origins in the Wuhan Institute.
Co-Conspirator 1 allegedly compensated Morens for his trouble. For instance, Co-Conspirator 1 sent Morens wine for his “behind-the-scenes shenanigans,” the news release states. Morens then wrote commentary in a prominent medical journal supporting the theory that COVID-19 originated naturally, not in a lab.
All of this Morens and the co-conspirators concealed by illegally communicating via Morens’s private Gmail account.
“Circumventing records protocols with the intention of avoiding transparency is something that will not be tolerated by this FBI,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the news release. “Not only did Morens allegedly engage in the illegal obfuscation of his communications, but he received kickbacks for doing so. If you have engaged in activity conspiring against the United States, we will not stop until you face justice.”
Special Agent in Charge Marcus L. Sykes, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, also highlighted the alleged lack of transparency that’s required by law.
“Public officials who disregard their legal obligations undermine the transparency that keeps our federal programs strong. The deliberate mishandling and concealment of records in a federal investigation is not just a breach of duty, it is a betrayal of public trust,” Sykes said in the news release. “HHS-OIG remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who seeks to evade the law is held fully accountable.”
It has been a busy seven days for the acting attorney general.
Last week, Blanche’s DOJ secured 11 indictments against the Southern Poverty Law Center. Those indictments alleged that SPLC paid members of hate groups in order to manufacture racism and then raise funds off of it.
The indictment did not name Fauci, the man widely recognized as the public face of the government’s COVID-19 response.
On Jan. 20, 2025, shortly before leaving office, President Joe Biden granted Fauci a preemptive pardon.
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