Former NIAID senior adviser David Morens admitted conspiring with two others to conceal federal records concerning coronavirus research funding, with his plea agreement describing communications, favors and off-government email use that could bring additional scrutiny to others allegedly involved in the scheme.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal plea agreement involving longtime Dr. Anthony Fauci adviser David Morens is providing new details about an alleged conspiracy to keep communications concerning U.S.-funded coronavirus research outside the reach of federal public-records laws.
Morens, who spent 16 years as a senior adviser to Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pleaded guilty this week to participating in a conspiracy to conceal agency records from Freedom of Information Act requests.
His signed agreement describes two co-conspirators and lays out communications showing how the participants allegedly moved discussions away from government email accounts, sought to protect a coronavirus research grantee from scrutiny and used Morens’ position inside the National Institutes of Health to advance the organization’s interests.
A Just the News review of the court documents concluded that the factual stipulation could provide prosecutors with a potential framework for examining whether other people involved in the conduct face criminal exposure.
Although prosecutors did not identify the organization by name, the plea documents refer to “Company #1,” which the report identifies as EcoHealth Alliance, the former New York-based nonprofit led by British zoologist Peter Daszak.
EcoHealth served as an intermediary for NIH funding that supported coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, including research that became the subject of intense scrutiny over questions involving gain-of-function experiments and the origins of COVID-19.
The NIH canceled the bat coronavirus grant to EcoHealth in 2020, months after COVID-19 began spreading widely in the United States.
The termination came as the federal government reviewed allegations that the Wuhan laboratory could have been connected to a laboratory origin of the virus. President Donald Trump had publicly acknowledged his awareness of the grant in late April 2020.
At the same time, federal health officials were examining their agencies’ exposure to research conducted at the Wuhan laboratory. EcoHealth and Daszak faced particular scrutiny because the nonprofit had provided subawards to the Chinese facility.
Morens’ plea agreement describes what prosecutors say happened shortly after the grant was canceled.
“On or about April 25, 2020, after learning about the cancellation of the bat coronavirus grant from Co-Conspirator 1, MORENS forwarded his communications with Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2 from his NIH email account to his Gmail account,” according to the Stipulation of Facts attached to his plea agreement.
Morens then allegedly directed the others to continue communicating with him through his personal account.
“MORENS then emailed Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2, stating, ‘This is sent from my gmail account. Please send all replies here To gmail […] There are things I cant say except [Senior NIAID Official 1] is aware and I have learned that there are ongoing efforts within NIH to steer through this with minimal damage to you, [Co-Conspirator 1], and colleagues, and to nih and niaid,’” the document states.
According to prosecutors, those communications marked the beginning of an effort to keep federal records outside normal government channels.
After shifting the discussions away from Morens’ NIH account, prosecutors said Morens, the two named co-conspirators “and others plotted and repeatedly expressed their intention to conceal federal records to evade FOIA and provided information to Senior NAID Official 1 that was favorable to Co-Conspirator 1 and Company #1.”
The court filing does not publicly name Co-Conspirator 1. Just the News reported that details contained in the agreement point to Daszak.
That identification, if accurate, could subject Daszak’s actions to additional legal scrutiny, although the plea agreement itself does not establish that he has been charged with a crime.
The government also alleges that Co-Conspirator 1 provided Morens with items of value connected to official actions and what the participants themselves described as “behind the scenes shenanigans” benefiting EcoHealth and its leader.
Among the gifts described were two bottles of The Prisoner Red Napa Valley wine, sent after Morens drafted an article favorable to EcoHealth.
The accompanying message stated:
“This is the first of what I hope will be a continued series of expressions of gratitude for your advice, support, and behind- the-scenes shenanigans in my battle against your bosses boss, his boss, and the ultimate boss on the hill. It takes courage and commitment to do what you’ve done, given your job and the vindictive nature of the Administration. I am eternally grateful for that, and hope I will be able to return the favor one day. In the meantime…Cheers.”
Prosecutors also pointed to a scientific commentary authored by Morens that argued COVID-19 had emerged naturally rather than from a laboratory.
“The scientific commentary was to benefit Company #1 and Co-Conspirator 1 …” the plea agreement addendum states.
The allegations surrounding Morens’ use of private communications first became a major issue during a congressional investigation.
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic uncovered evidence in 2024 indicating that Morens had used his personal email account to communicate about NIH grants involving EcoHealth, putting those messages outside the normal government email system subject to FOIA searches.
Those disclosures intensified questions over whether federal officials deliberately used nongovernment accounts to avoid producing records requested by Congress, journalists or members of the public.
EcoHealth’s relationship with the federal government was subsequently curtailed.
The Department of Health and Human Services suspended federal funding for EcoHealth Alliance in May 2024 and recommended that the organization be prohibited from receiving future government funding.
HHS also proposed debarment for both EcoHealth and Daszak, citing repeated violations involving the terms of NIH grants.
A final decision came in January 2025, when federal officials barred EcoHealth Alliance and Daszak from receiving federal grants for five years.
The concerns about EcoHealth’s grant management dated back years.
In January 2022, the National Institutes of Health sent the nonprofit a letter finding it noncompliant with eight provisions of its written agreement with the federal government.
Among the deficiencies, EcoHealth’s subaward agreements lacked required provisions obligating recipients to comply with federal statutes as a condition of receiving funding.
The organization also failed to provide required “procedures for directing and monitoring the research effort,” according to the findings.
Morens’ guilty plea now moves the matter beyond congressional scrutiny and administrative funding disputes into a criminal proceeding in which a former senior federal health official has admitted participating in a conspiracy to conceal government records.
The factual stipulation is significant because it does not describe Morens acting alone. Instead, it alleges coordinated conduct involving at least two other people, private communications, efforts to benefit EcoHealth inside the federal government and items of value provided to Morens in connection with those activities.
Whether prosecutors ultimately bring charges against anyone else remains undetermined, but the agreement provides a detailed account of the conduct the government says constituted the conspiracy and identifies additional participants whose roles could receive further scrutiny.
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