House Republicans intensified their scrutiny of the COVID-19 origins by issuing a subpoena to Dr. David Morens, a senior advisor to the former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. This action followed revelations that Morens used his personal email account for professional communications about the virus’s origins.
On Tuesday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic demanded that Morens hand over documents from his private Gmail account. This request came in response to newly released emails that supported whistleblower claims about Morens’ use of personal email to discuss sensitive matters concerning COVID-19.
Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R., Ohio) of the subcommittee made serious allegations against Morens. He accused him of deliberately circumventing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws to provide confidential, internal information to his close associate, Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance. According to Wenstrup, this action could have potentially jeopardized the operations of the U.S. government.
Despite these allegations, Morens has agreed to testify publicly later this year. He previously testified in a private session where he denied any allegations of deleting records related to COVID-19 that were subject to federal records laws. However, he has been under significant scrutiny for his past email communications which suggested he used his personal account to prevent his correspondence from becoming public through FOIA requests.
The whistleblower’s accusations led EcoHealth Alliance to publicly release emails confirming discussions between Morens and Daszak. These emails indicated that they used Morens’s personal email to discuss internal matters at the NIAID. The decision to use personal email was ostensibly made to discuss the suspension of a grant that was crucial for EcoHealth Alliance’s research on bat coronaviruses, a project that came under intense scrutiny early in the pandemic.
In one of the released emails, Daszak mentioned communicating through Morens’s personal Gmail account and referenced having “15,000 samples in freezers in Wuhan”—the province where COVID-19 was first identified. This disclosure is particularly sensitive, given the ongoing debates and investigations into the origins of the virus.
Moreover, the emails shed light on Daszak’s frustrations with former President Donald Trump, whom he accused of empowering “extremists” who targeted EcoHealth Alliance. Morens, in his communications, assured Daszak that they were engaging in damage control and indicated that Dr. Anthony Fauci was also involved in addressing the situation.
As this complex scenario unfolds, Daszak is also scheduled to testify publicly next month. He will likely face rigorous questioning regarding the use of taxpayer funds for the controversial bat-coronavirus research in Wuhan, further unraveling the intricate web of communications and decisions made at the onset of the global pandemic.
