Dr. Fauci aide under investigation by Republicans after bombshell admissions that a 'FOIA lady' helped him skirt federal transparency laws on COVID origins

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci's top aide admitted he skirted federal laws in order to cover up correspondence about COVID origins.

Now, House Republicans are ramping up their investigation about his 'intentional' efforts to avoid transparency about coronavirus origins discussions.

Dr. David Morens, a top advisor to Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, testified last week before Congress that used a personal email account to discuss work-related topics. 

According to his own correspondence, he did this in order to avoid federal transparency requirements under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Subpoenaed emails obtained by Republicans show that Morens said he 'learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear.'

And just how that 'foia lady' Margaret Moore at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) helped Morens is now the subject of a probe by House Republicans.  

Dr. David Morens apologized to lawmakers for intentionally deleting his emails about COVID-19 while serving as Dr. Anthony Fauci's top advisor and for making misogynistic comments about former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky during a May 22, 2024 congressional hearing 

The majority of emails were between Morens and defamed coronavirus researcher Dr. Peter Daszak, who he considered to be a 'best friend.' 

Morens has claimed he didn't know he was doing anything wrong and said he wasn't aware he was deleting federal records or that using his personal email to conduct business-related matters was improper. 

But Chairman Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, is now requesting briefings with the National Archives and NIH to discuss the extent of Morens' cover-up scheme.

'This evidence taken together suggests a conspiracy at the highest levels of NIH and NIAID to avoid public transparency regarding the COVID-19 pandemic,' Wenstrup wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to NIH Director Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli.

'If what appears in these documents is true, this is an apparent attack on public trust and must be met with swift enforcement and consequences for those involved.'

'We write to you to request a staff level briefing no later than June 4, 2024, regarding NIH's document retention, transparency, FOIA, and personal e-mail policies,' the letter stated. 

In a letter also sent Tuesday to Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan, Wenstrup similarly requested a briefing on the Archive's 'investigation into Morens's use of a personal e-mail to avoid transparency, including the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and potential wrongful disposition of official records.' 

Notably, the deadlines for the briefings comes one day after Fauci is slated to testify before the committee on June 3. 

In addition to requesting briefings from the National Archives and NIH, Wenstrup revealed that Fauci's former Chief of Staff, Greg Folkers, also used tactics to evade FOIA requests by intentionally misspelling words in his communications regarding COVID-19 and its origins. 

Wenstrup expressed concern over a conspiracy to cover up COVID-19's origins at the 'highest levels of NIH and NIAID'

Morens bragged to Daszak using his personal email account that he learned how to make emails disappear. He notably used his official NIH signature at the bottom

Morens suggested to Daszak he could send information to Fauci's personal email or deliver it personally to avoid transparency laws

Morens claimed he learned how to avoid FOIA scrutiny from Margaret Moore, who formerly worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at NIH 

Daszak received millions in U.S. federal funding to perform research at the WIV and Morens later said in emails Fauci and NIH colleagues would 'protect' him  

'This evasion tactic ensures that when the NIH searches its email server for key words that are responsive to a FOIA request, Mr. Folkers's emails that contain the misspelled key word are not identified or produced as a responsive document,' Wenstrup wrote in a press release Tuesday.

One of the suspect typos is regarding Daszak's non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, which was awarded $7.5 million in federal funding to conduct coronavirus and related research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where some believe the virus was manufactured and later escaped from. 

'In one email produced to the Select Subcommittee through a subpoena, Mr. Folkers appears to have purposefully misspelled 'EcoHealth' as 'Ec~Health,' the chairman wrote. 

'Although the NIH claims it conducted a thorough investigation into Dr. Morens, these evasive tactics — along with previously uncovered evidence that Dr. Morens began using a Proton Mail account after his Gmail was probed by the Select Subcommittee — raise serious concerns that the NIH’s investigation missed important information,' the statement continued.  

These latest developments come in the wake of Morens disastrous testimony before the COVID-19 committee on May 22. 

The former Fauci aide was forced to apologize repeatedly misogynistic comments made in subpoenaed emails and for the reason he was actually testifying to in the first place - deleting those emails to cover up a trail of communications between himself and Daszak.

EcoHealth's research is at the center of the committee's probe into the origins of the virus, as are key allies of Daszak, Morens and Fauci himself. 

Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance (left) pictured with Dr. Anthony Fauci (right)

Peter Daszak, right, Thea Fischer, left, and other members of the World Health Organization team investigating the origins of COVID-19 arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology

Astonishingly, Morens also admitted to helping Daszak apply for federal funding and even asked him for a 'kickback' after the coronavirus researcher received $7.5 million from the agency Morens oversees, according to emails revealed by the committee. 

'Do i get a kickback????? Too much fooking money! DO you deserve it all? Lets discuss,' Morens sent Daszak in an email.

'Of course there's a kick-back,' Daszak responded in an email revealed Wednesday. 

When pressed on the exchange by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., last week, Morens said he was just joking.  

'Um, that's typical black humor between people like Peter and me,' Morens responded.

Morens testified he had not received any compensation from EcoHealth or Daszak. 

Though several lawmakers on the committee appeared to not believe him.