Former NIAID adviser David Morens pleads guilty to concealing records and defrauding government
David Morens, a former top National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases official and longtime senior adviser to former NIAID leader Anthony Fauci, entered a guilty plea on Tuesday on charges of concealing records from Freedom of Information Act requests.
Prosecutors say Morens knowingly worked with at least one other individual to evade public disclosure requirements and to use his influence to advance the interests of a particular company.
He directed the co-conspirator to keep communications off government phones and email servers and expressed hopes of future financial support for that person.
The plea arrives amid heightened Republican scrutiny of the federal Covid-19 response and raises concerns about corporate influence within public health agencies.
This writeup was produced by pharmadog from original reporting by STAT.
Original headline: “Fauci adviser David Morens pleads guilty to avoiding records requests, conspiracy to defraud government”
read at STAT ↗
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