Former Fauci Associate David Morens Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy

August 19th, 2026

Via: The Hill:

Dr. David Morens, former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and once an associate to Dr. Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in relation to efforts to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the guilty plea Tuesday.

In April, the DOJ brought charges against Morens, 78, alleging conspiracy against the U.S., and he was indicted.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic had uncovered evidence in 2024 that Morens had used his personal email, outside the scope of FOIA requests, to discuss National Institutes of Health grants with the infectious disease group EcoHealth Alliance.

In communications released by the House committee, Morens wrote to EcoHealth President Peter Daszak, “I can either send stuff to Tony on his private gmail, or hand it to him at work or at his house. He is too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.”

In a 2021 email, Morens wrote, “i learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear after i am foia’d but before the search starts, so i think we are all safe,” Morens wrote in a separate email. “Plus i deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail.”

He faces up to five years in prison for conspiracy.

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