David M. Morens is accused of trying to evade the Freedom of Information Act
Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A former health official is accused of using his private email to discuss Covid-19 research grants
- David Morens was indicted on charges that he tried to avoid Freedom of Information Act requests
- Morens is a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases senior advisor
A former federal health official is accused of attempting to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests related to Covid-19 research grants.
David M. Morens, 78, a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) senior advisor, was indicted by a federal grand jury, which charged him with concealing records, including emails, that were subject to FOIA requests, the Department of Justice said.
Prosecutors said Morens was involved in creating recommendations and solutions for issues that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) faced.
The indictment alleged that Morens and two other unnamed co-conspirators used private emails, rather than their public federal government email addresses, to discuss how to get canceled research grants into the origins of the pandemic reinstated.
“These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
The New York Times reported that Morens had come under scrutiny in 2024 when a House panel said that he had tried to avoid FOIA laws.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, to whom Morens was an advisor, told Congress that Morens' use of private emails were inappropriate, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the indictment, which was obtained by PEOPLE, prosecutors said Morens was part of multiple communications discussing FOIA requests between 2020 and 2022.
"[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," he allegedly wrote in one email.
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If convicted, Morens could face a multi-year prison sentence. He has not yet entered a plea.
Morens worked at the NIAID from 2006 to 2022.
The indictment comes just after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention controversially canceled the release of a report purporting to show that Covid-19 vaccines reduced the odds of hospitalization, per the Times.
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