Wenstrup Announces Subpoena for Top Fauci Advisor After Whistleblower Allegations are Confirmed
WASHINGTON — Today, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced a subpoena to compel Dr. David Morens — a top advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) — to hand-over documents from his personal email account related to COVID-19. Dr. Morens has also agreed to testify in front of the Select Subcommittee at a public hearing later this year.
Recent whistleblower allegations revealed new, additional evidence that Dr. Morens intentionally used his personal email to hide conversations about the origins of COVID-19 and subvert federal transparency laws. Last week, Dr. Morens’s self-proclaimed “best friend” — EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak — released four document tranches that confirmed the whistleblower’s allegations. Notably, Dr. Daszak is at the center of controversy related to his use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
In the emails released by EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Morens recklessly provided Dr. Daszak with access to non-public information and offered insight into internal conversations at NIAID. In one email, Dr. Morens appears to have disclosed Dr. Fauci’s efforts and provided Dr. Daszak with information about internal deliberations related to EcoHealth Alliance’s grant suspension. Dr. Morens wrote in an email to Dr. Daszak, “Tony is now fully aware I think and is I am told involved in some sort of damage control.” In another email, Dr. Daszak agrees to contact Dr. Morens via his personal Gmail account instead of his government email account to communicate about information related to COVID-19 and NIAID grants stating, “David – We’ll communicate with you via gmail from now on”and then concerningly adds “we have 15,000 samples in freezers in Wuhan.”
The Select Subcommittee is aware of additional correspondence related to COVID-19 in Dr. Morens’s personal email account that has not yet been released. Today’s subpoena compels the production of this correspondence.
“Dr. David Morens purposefully evaded FOIA laws to give his ‘best-friend’ EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak non-public, internal information that had the potential to undermine the operations of the United States government. This is not only highly concerning, but it is also likely illegal. Dr. Morens must be held accountable for any abuse of power and his blatant disregard for the law. The subpoena for Dr. Morens’s personal email communication will ensure that the truth about this federal records violation is brought to light. Unfortunately, this pattern of abusing federal power appears to stretch beyond Dr. Morens, Dr. Daszak, or NIH. This subpoena is an important effort to ensure that federal health officials never again feel empowered to duck accountability to the American people and willfully undermine our elected government,” said Chairman Wenstrup.
Read the Select Subcommittee’s cover letter here and subpoena here.
Background:
- In June 2023, the Select Subcommittee released a batch of emails in which Dr. Morens claims to hide COVID-19 information. Dr. Morens wrote, “I always try to communicate over gmail because my NIH email is FOIA’d constantly” and “I will delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times.”
- After receiving a letter from the Select Subcommittee detailing Dr. Morens’s potential federal records violation, the NIH removed Dr. Morens from his position and placed him on administrative leave.
- In October 2023, Chairman Wenstrup announced a subpoena for NIH records related to Dr. Morens’s potential federal records violation. NIH conducted an internal investigation into Dr. Morens’s suspicious actions but refused to share relevant findings with the American people or Congress.
- In November 2023, EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak appeared for a transcribed interview — during which he called Dr. Morens a “mentor.”
- In December 2023, Dr. Morens was scheduled to appear for a transcribed interview. The Department of Health and Human Services derailed the transcribed interview after they prohibited Dr. Morens from answering any questions about the origins of COVID-19.
- In January 2024, Dr. Morens appeared for a transcribed interview — after which Chairman Wenstrup vowed to receive access to Dr. Morens’s personal email account. Key takeaways from the transcribed interview can be found here.
- In April 2024, the Select Subcommittee revealed new information from a whistleblower that appeared to provide further evidence of Dr. Morens intentionally subverting federal transparency laws to shield discussions related to the origins of COVID-19.
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