Dr. David Morens Pleads Guilty to Hiding COVID-19 Origin Documents Amid Fauci Controversy
-
Dr. David Morens, who spent years as chief of staff to Dr. Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty Tuesday to trying to hide critical documents about the origin of the coronavirus pandemic and his attempts to restore funding to a firm that was siphoning U.S. cash to a Chinese virus lab.
Compare 6 other versions
ABC NewsThe indictment follows a probe by House Republicans into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that scrutinized Morens’ email communications and accused him of intentionally concealing records. In congressional testimony, Morens denied attempting to evade federal transparency laws by using his personal email.
Associated PressThe indictment follows a probe by House Republicans into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic that scrutinized Morens’ email communications and accused him of intentionally concealing records. In congressional testimony, Morens denied attempting to evade federal transparency laws by using his personal email.
New York PostAs part of the plea deal, Morens, 78, admitted that between April 2020 and June 2023 he conspired with two unnamed co-conspirators and others to “defraud the United States by hampering, hindering, impeding, or obstructing, by craft, trickery, deceit or dishonest means, the lawful and legitimate functions” of public health agencies from complying with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Federal Records Act (FRA) – including by destroying and concealing records related to the termination and restoration of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for research on bat coronaviruses.
The HillFormer Fauci associate David Morens pleads guilty to conspiracy David Morens, former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and once an associate to Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in relation to efforts to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The Justice Department announced the guilty plea Tuesday. In April, the…
Washington ExaminerDr. David Morens, a longtime science adviser to the 43-year director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and to defraud the United States after being indicted in April. The maximum sentence is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
ReutersFormer Fauci adviser pleads guilty in US to conspiring to conceal COVID-19 records - Reuters Former Fauci adviser pleads guilty in US to conspiring to conceal COVID-19 records Reuters
-
“By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so," defense attorney Tim Belevetz said in a statement after the plea hearing.
Compare 2 other versions
Associated Press“By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so,” defense attorney Tim Belevetz said in a statement after the plea hearing.
New York Post“By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did, and he will continue to do so,” said his defense attorney Timothy Belevetz.
-
In July, Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional hearing on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, Fauci declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel after majority Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines to hold him in contempt of Congress. Fauci wasn't charged in the case against Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland.
Compare 4 other versions
Associated PressIn July, Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional hearing on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday, Fauci declined a request to appear voluntarily before a second Senate panel after majority Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee voted along partisan lines to hold him in contempt of Congress. Fauci wasn’t charged in the case against Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland.
New York PostMorens’ guilty plea comes less than two weeks after Fauci was held in contempt by the Senate Homeland Security Committee after he refused to answer questions about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Washington ExaminerRepublicans on the committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify despite receiving a pardon for the period in question from former President Joe Biden. Charges have been submitted to the Department of Justice.
Fox NewsUthmeier initially announced his office would launch an investigation into Fauci on July 29, shortly after Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to answer any questions about his role in the COVID-19 pandemic response 111 times while testifying before a Senate committee.
-
Former President Joe Biden, on his last day in office, doled out a sweeping federal pardon to Fauci which covered "ANY OFFENSES against the United States which he may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014" until the day it was issued.
Compare 2 other versions
Washington TimesDr. Fauci has received a full pardon from President Biden for any federal crimes he may have committed for activities during the pandemic.
New York PostFauci, who received a sweeping preemptive pardon from then-President Joe Biden for any potential crimes committed between January 2014 and January 2025, was referred to the Justice Department by the committee for potential prosecution.
4 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
-
01 New York Post Morens further admitted in his guilty plea that Daszak provided him with “illegal gratuities,” including two bottles of The Prisoner Red Napa Valley Wine — which retail for about $40.
-
02 Fox News A trio of Republican attorneys general — Florida's James Uthmeier, Louisiana's Liz Murrill and West Virginia's John McCuskey — opened a joint investigation into former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci in an effort to hold Fauci accountable at the state level despite his federal pardon.
-
03 Washington Examiner EcoHealth Alliance’s research into bat coronaviruses conducted at the Wuhan lab and funded by NIAID has been suspected as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by those who do not believe that the virus came from animal-to-human transmission.
-
04 Washington Times That company, EcoHealth Alliance, was paying for what U.S. investigators say was risky bat coronavirus research in Wuhan, using money from the National Institutes of Health’s infectious diseases division, where Dr. Fauci and Morens worked.
Fact Corroboration
Which sources independently confirm the same facts. Hover a claim to see its sources, or a source to see what it corroborates.
Coverage by Perspective
Source Similarity
Connections show how similarly each outlet covered this story. Thicker lines = more similar framing.
Sources (8)
- abc
- nypost
- ap
- foxnews
- thehill
- washexaminer
- washtimes
- reuters