WSJ Opinion: Evidence Revealed by COVID Select Subcommittee Shows Corruption at Highest-Levels of NIH

“What Was Anthony Fauci’s Top Aide Hiding?”

WASHINGTON – “Emails released last week by the U.S. House reveal how Anthony Fauci’s former top adviser worked to keep the public in the dark and thwart investigations into Covid’s origins,” Wall Street Journal Editorial Board member Allysia Finley writes. In a new op-ed, Finley lays out the damaging evidence uncovered during the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic’s investigation into the origins of COVID-19 that proves Dr. Fauci’s Senior Advisor, Dr. David Morens, unlawfully deleted federal COVID-19 records and backchanneled confidential information to his soon-to-be debarred “best-friend” EcoHealth Alliance, Inc. President Dr. Peter Daszak. Finley characterizes this misconduct by noting that “Dr. Morens led the Daszak protection program.”

At a hearing last week, the Select Subcommittee held Dr. Morens publicly accountable for undermining the operations of the U.S. government, likely lying to Congress on multiple occasions, deleting federal COVID-19 records, and using his personal email account to evade the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This Wall Street Journal op-ed expands on evidence revealed during the hearing and highlights Dr. Fauci’s involvement in these matters. Dr. Fauci will appear for a public hearing next week on Monday, June 3, 2024.

Read the full op-ed here.

Key excerpts:

“The Covid pandemic wasn’t government’s finest hour, not least because of a persistent lack of transparency. Emails released last week by the U.S. House reveal how Anthony Fauci’s former top adviser worked to keep the public in the dark and thwart investigations into Covid’s origins.

“The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has been investigating the National Institutes of Health’s funding of the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, some of which flowed to scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology doing risky experiments with coronaviruses. The committee earlier found that the NIH and EcoHealth failed to monitor properly the Wuhan experiments.

“Subpoenaed private emails from Dr. Fauci’s senior adviser, David Morens, now show how NIH officials and EcoHealth President Peter Daszak sought to conceal their lapses. After the Trump administration in April 2020 suspended funding for EcoHealth, Dr. Morens rallied to Mr. Daszak’s defense.

…

“Dr. Morens led the Daszak protection program. His subpoenaed emails show that he helped edit EcoHealth’s press releases and worked to get its funding restored. He also sought to thwart Freedom of Information Act requests by outside groups regarding the EcoHealth grant.

…

“Dr. Morens’s emails showcase how government officials circled the wagons to protect themselves. Dr. Morens, who is currently on administrative leave owing to the committee’s revelations of his potential federal records law violation, told lawmakers last week that his FOIA avoidance was “wrong” but denied knowledge that his emails constituted federal records under the law. Regardless, he was clearly trying to conceal the Daszak grant background.

…

“The House investigation is another illustration of why Americans have lost trust in public-health institutions. Members of Congress might consider cutting funding for the NIH as punishment for employees’ obfuscations.”

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