Here’s a story that should be getting more attention. The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, led by Chairman Brad Wenstrup, is investigating allegations of potential violations of federal record-keeping laws by Dr. David Morens, a senior scientific advisor at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Emails seem to indicate that Morens used his personal email address to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, deleted federal records, and made derogatory remarks about fellow scientists:
Emails acquired by the Select Subcommittee reveal concerning, potentially illegal actions taken by Dr. Morens to evade accountability to the American people — including the use of his personal email to avoid the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), deleting federal records, and disparaging fellow scientists in his official capacity. Further, in order to conceal his involvement, it appears that Dr. Anthony Fauci asked Dr. Morens to publicly suppress the lab leak theory because “Tony doesn’t want his fingerprints on origin stories.”
The Subcommittee has requested that Morens participate in a “transcribed interview.” In Wenstrup’s email, he pointed out that Morens wrote in an email that he “always [tries] to communicate over gmail” because his work email “is FOIA’d constantly.” Morens assured the other individual that if they send info to his other email, he would “delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times.”
The Subcommittee’s press release notes:
Dr. Morens’ troubling emails beg serious questions about his scientific objectivity as a NIAID official, his intentional suppression of differing opinions by encouraging wrongful litigation, and government bureaucrats’ influence over the public narrative of COVID-19 origins. As the Select Subcommittee continues to investigate the origination of COVID-19, fully examining this suspicious and potentially unlawful behavior is a critical step towards accountability and transparency for the American people. Public health officials are not above the law — especially in times of crisis.
As Wenstrup said in his request letter to Morens, this development raises “serious concerns” about Morens’ “objectivity while stationed in the Office of the Director of NIAID.” What exactly was Fauci’s underling trying to hide other than the lab leak theory?
The behavior exhibited by Dr. Morens and Dr. Fauci is highly problematic for several obvious reasons. Firstly, Fauci’s allegedly directing Morens to use personal email accounts to evade Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and delete federal records raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability. By deliberately circumventing FOIA and deleting records, they betrayed the public trust and hindered the ability of the American people to access information about critical matters such as the origins of COVID-19.
Additionally, the alleged suppression of the lab leak theory by Dr. Fauci and Dr. Morens is also troubling. The role of public health officials should be to pursue scientific inquiry and present evidence-based findings to the public. However, if they were actively involved in covering up certain theories or narratives for personal reasons or to protect their own reputations, their objectivity and integrity is clearly nonexistent.
In a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial that information is shared transparently and without bias, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the situation and informed decision-making. Instead, Fauci and his gang appear to have been more concerned about politics and looking good for the media than about anything else. But the worst part about this whole affair is the reality that, no matter what the House GOP finds, neither Fauci nor Morens will probably be held accountable.