{"id":2646679,"date":"2026-08-18T20:31:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T00:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-fauci-aide-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-conspiracy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T00:32:27","slug":"former-fauci-aide-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-fauci-aide-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Fauci aide pleads guilty to COVID-19 conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-fauci-aide-pleads-guilty-to-covid-19-conspiracy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2646679&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Dr. Anthony Fauci\u2019s former senior adviser, Dr. David Morens,pleaded guilty to fraud charges for concealing COVID-19-related records from the public,perhaps related to the virus\u2019s origins. Morens, who had been investigated by Congress for using personal email to conduct official business and allegedly working to hide records about a $3.1 million grant involving research at the Wuhan Institute of virology, coordinated with EcoHealth Alliance founder Peter Daszak. The examination suggests Morens and others aimed to conceal evidence and counter narratives supporting a lab leak origin of COVID-19. Even though Fauci minimized his relationship with Morens in testimony, evidence shows they collaborated extensively and that Morens briefed Fauci before key meetings. Fauci, during his Senate testimony, invoked the Fifth Amendment over 100 times and was ultimately held in contempt after refusing to testify further, with charges referred to the Department of Justice.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/anthony-fauci\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1404\">Anthony Fauci<\/a>\u2019s former senior adviser pleaded guilty to fraud charges for concealing evidence from the public that may relate to the origins of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/covid-19\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11163\">COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, according to federal court documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. David Morens, a longtime science adviser to the 43-year director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/david-morens-niaid-pleads-guilty-covid-records\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/david-morens-niaid-pleads-guilty-covid-records\/\">pleaded guilty<\/a> to one count of conspiracy to commit offenses and to defraud the United States after being <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4545878\/fauci-former-senior-adviser-indicted-charge-concealing-covid-19-records\/\">indicted in April<\/a>. The maximum sentence is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4692082\/former-fauci-aide-pleads-guilty-covid-19-conspiracy\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Former Fauci aide pleads guilty to COVID-19 conspiracy<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4691590\/postpartum-depression-becomes-part-of-culture-wars-psychotic-break-matt-walsh\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Postpartum depression becomes part of culture wars<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4691306\/baby-texas-surrogacy-heart-surgery-ken-paxton\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Baby in Texas surrogacy battle receives heart surgery after Paxton intervention<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Morens, 78, first became the subject of congressional investigations in 2023 when the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2437841\/house-gop-subpoenas-nih-director-for-information-on-top-fauci-aide\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2437841\/house-gop-subpoenas-nih-director-for-information-on-top-fauci-aide\/\">House Oversight Committee\u2019s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic<\/a> discovered that he had used his personal Gmail account to conduct official business with the intent of avoiding Freedom of Information Act requests.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2021, Morens instructed colleagues to use his personal email address to circumvent FOIA and that he would \u201cdelete anything [he did not] want to see in the <em>New York Times<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The investigation into Morens revealed that he had a close personal friendship with<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/2985416\/peter-daszak-testifying-ecohealth-alliance-covid-origins-controversy\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/2985416\/peter-daszak-testifying-ecohealth-alliance-covid-origins-controversy\/\"> Dr. Peter Daszak<\/a>, head of the private firm EcoHealth Alliance, which received government funding for research conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">EcoHealth Alliance\u2019s research into bat coronaviruses conducted at the Wuhan lab and funded by NIAID has been suspected as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by those who do not believe that the virus came from animal-to-human transmission.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Morens and at least two other co-conspirators were charged on April 16 with concealing records regarding the $3.1 million grant \u201cUnderstanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence\u201d that included a $600,000 subaward to the Wuhan lab. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities allege that Morens and two co-conspirators worked together to reinstate the grant and counter the narrative that COVID-19 was the result of a lab leak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Daszak is not named in Morens\u2019s plea agreement, the document does reference \u201cCo-Conspirator 1\u201d as the author of an email <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2964227\/ecohealth-alliance-email-release-confirms-fauci-aide-used-private-account-discuss-covid\/\">previously reported by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em><\/a>  as having been authored by Daszak and sent to Morens in April 2020. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The email from Daszak to Morens and others involved in the alleged conspiracy confirms that EcoHealth Alliance personnel will \u201ccommunicate with [Morens] via gmail from now on,\u201d confirming that Morens requested to discuss COVID-19 only on nongovernment platforms. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plea agreement says that Morens and his co-conspirators thereafter \u201cplotted and repeatedly expressed their intention to conceal federal records to evade FOIA and provided information to Senior NIAID Official 1 that was favorable to Co-Conspirator 1 and Company #1.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The unnamed official is likely Fauci, then the face of the federal COVID-19 response. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fauci during his public testimony before the House Oversight Committee in 2024 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3026049\/fauci-distances-david-morens-covid-email-congress\/\">downplayed his relationship<\/a> with Morens, telling the committee \u201che should not have been doing that\u201d when asked about using personal emails for government business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the pair co-authored <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3029346\/fauci-wrote-50-papers-with-adviser-whose-influence-he-downplayed-in-testimony\/\">more than 50 scientific papers<\/a> together during Morens\u2019s time at the agency from 2006 to 2022, and Morens briefed Fauci before key White House Coronavirus Task Force meetings as his top scientific adviser.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4689602\/fauci-ignored-reports-of-covid-vaccine-side-effects-new-documents-show\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4689602\/fauci-ignored-reports-of-covid-vaccine-side-effects-new-documents-show\/\">FAUCI IGNORED REPORTS OF COVID-19 VACCINE SIDE EFFECTS, NEW DOCUMENTS SHOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fauci on July 29 invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4667643\/anthony-fauci-pleads-fifth-over-100-times-senate-testimony\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4667643\/anthony-fauci-pleads-fifth-over-100-times-senate-testimony\/\">more than 100 times<\/a> during a subpoenaed appearance before the Senate homeland security committee. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans on the committee<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4677252\/fauci-contempt-rand-paul-committee\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4677252\/fauci-contempt-rand-paul-committee\/\"> voted to hold Fauci in contempt<\/a> of Congress for refusing to testify despite receiving a pardon for the period in question from former President Joe Biden.\u00a0Charges have been submitted to the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fauci&#8217;s ex-adviser admits to hiding COVID origins evidence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2666,"featured_media":2646680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26210500664978.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3985,3774,4434,32285,4828],"class_list":["post-2646679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-conspiracy","tag-covid-19","tag-fauci","tag-legal-case","tag-pandemic"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26210500664978.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2666"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2646679"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2646686,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646679\/revisions\/2646686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2646680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2646679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2646679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2646679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}