(HorizonPost.com) – Republicans on the select committee investigating the coronavirus pandemic are considering whether to recommend criminal charges to the Justice Department against Dr. David Morens, the former senior aide for then-NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic interviewed Morens in January on allegations that the former Fauci aide deleted materials used a personal Gmail and account to avoid the Freedom of Information Act.
The subcommittee subpoenaed Morens earlier this month to testify publicly over the discrepancies between his transcribed interview and recently uncovered documents obtained by the subcommittee.
Morens, who began working with Dr. Fauci in 1998 and served as his senior advisor during the pandemic, testified in a public hearing before the subcommittee on Wednesday where Chairman Brad Wenstrup demanded to know if Dr. Fauci was aware of Morens’ actions.
A memo released by the subcommittee the same day outlined the allegations against Dr. Morens and accused him of engaging in “serious misconduct and illegal actions” during his time at NIAID.
The memo included previously unreleased emails obtained through the subcommittee’s subpoena that allegedly incriminate Morens in “unlawfully deleting federal COVID-19 records” and using his personal email to avoid FOIA. According to the memo, the emails suggest that Dr. Fauci had been aware of what Morens was doing and “may have even engaged in federal records violations himself.”
In an interview before Wednesday’s hearing, Chairman Wenstrup suggested that Morens at the least “misled Congress” in his January interview. He said the emails between Dr. Morens and EcoHealth Alliance head Peter Daszak show that Morens attempted to help Daszak get EcoHealth’s grant reinstated after the project was suspended by the Trump administration in 2020.
Wenstrup said the subcommittee had reviewed enough evidence to recommend that the Justice Department file criminal charges against Dr. Morens. However, he said more needed to be done to determine what charges would be appropriate.
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