(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) America First Legal (AFL) issued a damning press release, demanding a federal probe into Dr. David Morens, a senior advisor to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).
AFL accuses Dr. Morens of illegally using a private email address to conduct official business related to NIAID, the agency that embattled Dr. Anthony Fauci led.
In a press release, AFL blasted Dr. Morens for allegedly circumventing transparency laws and evading public scrutiny.
The press release highlighted documents released by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which allegedly exposed Dr. Morens’ decision to use his personal email address for official communications.
In one email, he purportedly explained that he preferred Gmail because his NIH email was frequently subjected to FOIA requests. The AFL press release quoted Dr. Morens as saying, “tr[ies] to always communicate on Gmail because [his] NIH email is FOIA’d constantly.”
America First Legal Counsel, Jacob Meckler, expressed the gravity of the issue and the importance of government accountability. “Federal employees serve the public, and the FOIA was designed to ensure accountability to that same public,” Meckler stated.
He added, “Federal employees are not free to ‘opt out’ of the FOIA by destroying records and using personal email addresses. Doing so undermines the public’s faith in our institutions and makes a mockery of our system of self-government.”
In its press release, AFL announced that the group is taking action in response to Dr. Morens use of a private email.
The conservative group filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request directly with NIAID, seeking access to all documents Dr. Morens allegedly attempted to destroy or remove from federal custody.
AFL emphasized that storing records in private email accounts does not shield them from FOIA disclosure.
The press release quoted relevant federal court precedent, “An agency cannot shield its records from search or disclosure under the FOIA by the expedient of storing them in a private email account.”
