AI Generated Image
Ex-Fauci adviser pleads guilty to plotting to conceal COVID research
apnews.com • • nation
Key Points:
- Dr. David Morens, a former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci, pleaded guilty to conspiring to conceal federal records related to COVID-19 origins research, facing up to five years in prison.
- Morens used a private email account to bypass public records laws while at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, allegedly hiding or destroying records about COVID-19 research grants.
- The charges stem from a House Republican investigation into the pandemic's origins, which scrutinized Morens’ emails and accused him of evading transparency laws; Morens had denied these allegations in congressional testimony.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci was not charged in this case, though he has faced congressional scrutiny, including invoking the Fifth Amendment and being held in contempt of Congress by a Senate panel.
- Morens is scheduled for sentencing on November 12 before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland.
