(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department has secured an indictment against David Morens, a former senior aid to ex-COVID czar Anthony Fauci, for deliberately concealing records about coronavirus.
The indictment stems from the infamous $3.7 million grant that the National Institutes of Health gave to Peter Daszak and his firm, EcoHealth Alliance, for “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence.” That grant allegedly funded risky gain-of-function research that some think led to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early 2020, the Trump administration terminated the grant. But according to the indictment, Morens conspired with others to restore the termination of the bat coronavirus grant and counter the narrative that COVID-19 leaked from a lab. The grant was reinstated in April 2023, which was after Morens had left his role at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
As part of their conspiracy, Morens and the others unnamed used private email to avoid public disclosure obligations that come with government communications.
There is a "related case" listed on the docket. It's under seal so we don't know who it is, but it does look like there are others who either have been or are going to be charged here. https://t.co/hoKRQnL5Ys pic.twitter.com/MzyTHnRWzj
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) April 28, 2026
“Morens, Co-Conspirator 1, and Co-Conspirator 2 agreed in writing to intentionally hide from public view their communications by corresponding using Morens’s personal Gmail account, rather than his official NIH email account,” the DOJ said in a press release.
“The indictment alleges that the conspirators used Morens’s personal Gmail account to exchange non-public NIH information; correspond about their efforts to influence NIH to fund Company #1; exchange edits to drafts of letters addressed to NIH leadership for Company #1 and Co-Conspirator 1; and “back-channel” information to Senior NIAID Official 1.”
The indictment also alleges that Morens conspired with Co-conspirator 1 to pay illegal gratuities.
Morens’s arraignment is scheduled for May 8. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations, and a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of concealment, removal, or mutilation of records, according to the DOJ.
Morens’s court docket also lists a “related case”—suggesting that others may be charged in relation to his alleged conspiracy. The “related case” entry is sealed, so it’s unclear who the other defendant might be.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
