Former Fauci adviser David Morens pleads guilty to conspiring to conceal records about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic

Dr. David Morens, who served as an adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to conceal federal records related to the origins of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Morens' guilty plea comes as Fauci faces increasing pressure from Republican lawmakers who accuse him of trying to cover up evidence that the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese laboratory.

Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in testimony to a House panel in 2024 that Morens' actions were "wrong and inappropriate" and said he was unaware of government scientists trying to withhold official emails.

Morens, who pleaded guilty in federal district court in Greenbelt, Maryland, admitted that he conspired with scientists outside the federal government to protect their federal funding for virus research as they faced charges of conducting dangerous experiments with collaborators in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak originated.

Morens' statement of facts shows he moved discussions of the experiments to a personal email account to prevent them from being publicly disclosed. He said he was trying to protect scientists from baseless accusations related to accusations of lab leaks. The statement was part of his plea agreement.

"By pleading guilty today, Dr. Morens has accepted responsibility for his actions and will continue to do so," Morens' attorney, Timothy Belevec, said in a statement. A federal judge has scheduled sentencing in November. Morens faces up to five years in prison.

In emails from 2020 and 2021 released by the House panel, Morens described plans to circumvent federal records laws, including learning how to "make emails disappear."

In those emails, Morens repeatedly consulted with then-EcoHealth Alliance president Peter Daszak. The research nonprofit lost funding from the National Institutes of Health for working with a Chinese virology lab — a lab whose research the Trump administration has suggested may have contributed to the pandemic.

In exchange for helping Daszak, Morens said he accepted illegal gifts, including two bottles of wine and the promise of dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Morens acknowledged working with Daszak and another scientist to prepare the information to be relayed to Fauci, who was named in the statement of facts as an unnamed official at the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The statement did not accuse Fauci of wrongdoing.

In congressional testimony in 2024, Fauci told lawmakers that he was unaware that government scientists who worked for him were conducting official business through personal email accounts or improperly assisting recipients of federal funds.