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Former Fauci adviser David Morens pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal COVID-19 origin records from FOIA requesters

David Morens, a former senior adviser in the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Office of the Director who worked under then-NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty on August 18, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, to a federal conspiracy charge for scheming to evade Freedom of Information Act and Federal Records Act requirements. Prosecutors said Morens and a co-conspirator used his personal Gmail account, rather than his official NIH email, to hide communications about COVID-19-origins research funding -- including efforts to restore a terminated NIH coronavirus grant tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology -- from public disclosure between roughly April 2020 and December 2022, and that Morens accepted wine and meals as an illegal gratuity for advocacy work favorable to that co-conspirator's interests.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Greenbelt, Maryland

Abuses documented

Actors

  • David Morens (Former NIH/NIAID Senior Adviser)

On August 18, 2026, David Morens -- a former senior adviser in the Office of the Director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) who worked closely with then-NIAID Director Anthony Fauci from 2006 to 2022 -- pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, sitting in Greenbelt, to one federal count of conspiracy to commit offenses against and defraud the United States. Prosecutors said Morens agreed in writing with co-conspirators to correspond through his personal Gmail account rather than his official NIH email specifically to keep records about COVID-19-origins research outside the reach of Freedom of Information Act requests and the Federal Records Act.

According to the Justice Department, the scheme began after NIH terminated a bat-coronavirus research grant held by a company and researcher with a subaward relationship to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Morens and his co-conspirators used the off-channel email to exchange non-public NIH information, coordinate efforts to influence funding decisions, and circulate draft correspondence aimed at countering the narrative that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory leak -- all while avoiding the creation of an official, disclosable government record. FOIA requesters seeking these communications between approximately April 2020 and December 2022 did not receive them.

Morens separately admitted to accepting an illegal gratuity -- two bottles of wine and restaurant meals from a co-conspirator in June 2020 -- after identifying an official act, authoring a scientific commentary advocating a natural COVID-19 origin, to justify accepting the gift. Morens's attorney, Tim Belevetz, said in a statement that "by pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did." Morens faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; sentencing is scheduled for November 12, 2026.

Why we recorded this

Federal transparency law requires officials to conduct public business through channels subject to disclosure, so citizens and Congress can review how agencies make decisions. Morens, a senior NIH scientist who advised the government's COVID-19 response, admitted routing records about coronavirus research funding through a personal email account specifically to keep them beyond the reach of Freedom of Information Act requests, and separately admitted accepting a personal gift tied to his advocacy work. This archive records a federal official's own admitted subversion of the recordkeeping and disclosure laws meant to keep government decision-making visible to the public.

Sources

  1. Former Senior NIAID Official Pleads Guilty to Charges Connected to Concealing Federal Records During COVID-19 Pandemic — U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland primary accessed August 19, 2026
  2. David Morens, former NIAID adviser, pleads guilty in COVID-19 records scheme — CBS News secondary accessed August 19, 2026
  3. Fauci adviser David Morens pleads guilty to avoiding records requests, conspiracy to defraud government — STAT News secondary accessed August 19, 2026

See also