House Republicans stepped up their scrutiny of the origins of COVID-19 by issuing a subpoena for Dr. David Morens, senior advisor to former director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. This action followed revelations that Morens used her personal email account for professional communications about the origins of the virus.
On Tuesday, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic demanded that Morens turn over documents from his private Gmail account. This request arose in response to recently released emails supporting whistleblower claims about Morens’ use of personal email to discuss sensitive matters related to COVID-19.
President Brad Wenstrup (R., Ohio) subcommittee made serious accusations against Morens. He accused him of deliberately circumventing 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 jeopardized US government operations.
Despite these accusations, Morens agreed to testify publicly later this year. She previously testified in a private session where denied any accusation to delete records related to COVID-19 that were subject to federal records laws. However, he has been under intense scrutiny for his past email communications that suggested he used his personal account to prevent his correspondence from becoming public through FOIA requests.
The whistleblower’s allegations led EcoHealth Alliance to release emails confirming conversations between Morens and Daszak. These emails indicated that I used Morens’ personal email. to discuss internal matters at NIAID. The decision to use personal email was apparently made to discuss suspending a grant that was crucial to EcoHealth Alliance’s research on bat coronaviruses, a project that came under intense scrutiny early in the pandemic.
In one of the published emails, Daszak mentioned communicating through Morens’ personal Gmail account and made reference to 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.
Additionally, 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 over his use of taxpayer funds for controversial bat coronavirus research in Wuhan, further unraveling the intricate web of communications and decisions made at the start of the global pandemic.
