FBI Charges Former Advisor in COVID-19 Research Grant Conspiracy

David Morens, who previously worked as an advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci and served as a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), admitted guilt in court Tuesday. He confessed to scheming to avoid records requests related to COVID-19 research grants, as announced by FBI Director Kash Patel.

“After an FBI investigation with our DOJ partners, Dr. Fauci’s associate, David Morens, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a scheme to avoid FOIA requests and the Federal Records Act connected to COVID-19 research grants,” Patel shared via post on X.

The FBI discovered that Morens, along with two unnamed co-conspirators and others, worked together throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to deceive the United States. The schemes began after the National Institutes of Health cut off a grant to Co-Conspirator 1. Patel text further elucidated this details.

The grant in question, “Understanding the Risk of Bat coronavirus Emergence,” was halted due to allegations linking COVID-19 to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. Morens, alongside his co-conspirators, allegedly agreed to hide their communications using Morens’s personal Gmail account instead of the official NIH email.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) officially charged Morens in April for conspiracy, destruction and concealment of federal records. Reports indicate that Morens instructed colleagues to avoid using his official NIAID email, telling them to reach him via his personal email address instead.

In testimony to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Morens faced inquiries about why he deleted emails linked to virus research. Additionally, one email from Morens to EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak indicated that a Fauci aide had advised him on how to eliminate emails potentially subject to FOIA requests.

I learned from your FOIA lady here now how to make emails disappear when I am FOIA’ed but before the search starts, so I think we are all safe. Plus, I deleted most of these earlier emails after sending them to Gmail.

Figuratively speaking, Morens reassured Daszak in another email that there was no concern over FOIAs. He suggested sending materials to Fauci via private methods rather than official channels.

Daszak, who led EcoHealth, received federal grants to research coronaviruses in China but was eventually barred from acquiring federal grant funding in 2025 over undisclosed aspects of his study.

David Morens is slated for sentencing on November 12, potentially receiving up to five years of imprisonment.

His attorney, Timothy Belevetz, acknowledged Morens’s guilty plea, indicating that Morens accepts responsibility for his actions and intends to continue addressing the consequences.

Fox News Digital reached out to Morens’ attorney, the DOJ, and the NIAID for any additional comments.