Court documents unsealed in the U.S. allege that David Morens, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, conspired with British zoologist Dr. Peter Daszak to suppress the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak. Morens has pleaded guilty to charges related to evading public records laws and concealing government documents connected to research funding and the pandemic's outbreak.
According to the documents, Morens and others worked to counter the narrative that COVID-19 leaked from a laboratory. In exchange for Morens's assistance, Daszak, formerly the president of the U.S.-based EcoHealth Alliance, allegedly sent him gifts, including bottles of wine and dinners at Michelin-starred restaurants. Emails suggest these actions were in gratitude for Morens's efforts to protect Daszak's work and research funding.
In one June 2020 email, Morens wrote about countering what he called an "anti-science battle" and "getting you re-funded." He later published an article arguing the virus was natural and originated from animals, while also advocating for funding for research similar to Daszak's to prevent future pandemics.
Morens, 78, who advised Dr. Anthony Fauci during the U.S. pandemic response, faces up to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents. His plea deal also carries a potential $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in November.
Dr. Daszak, whose work involved animal experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, has not been charged. He has previously denied that COVID-19 leaked from a lab, and an EcoHealth spokesman stated that their experiments could not have started the pandemic.
Professor Richard Ebright of Rutgers University commented that Morens's guilty plea is a significant step toward holding accountable U.S. officials who funded research in Wuhan. Viscount Ridley, co-author of "Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19," claimed Daszak "did his utmost to kill any investigation into the possibility that a laboratory accident killed millions of people."
Emails released in 2024 by the U.S. House oversight committee suggested Daszak and Morens discussed concealing their communications. One email from Morens in June 2020 mentioned deleting evidence, stating, "We are all smart enough to know to never have smoking guns."
The conspirators allegedly concealed their communications to publish articles that did not directly name Daszak, aiming to create an appearance of scientific consensus. Dr. Fauci recently invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when questioned in a Senate hearing about his relationship with Morens.
COVID-19 was first detected near the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where research on bat coronaviruses and their potential to infect humans was being conducted. Dr. Daszak visited the Wuhan Institute in 2021 as part of a World Health Organization team investigating the pandemic's origins, though the team's subsequent report concluded a lab leak was unlikely.