Fauci's co-conspirator(s) indicted
It's not the crime, it's the cover-up
My latest interview via Weird Sauce
Morens indicted
Tony Fauci’s longtime senior scientific advisor and chief cover-up intermediary, David Morens, has been criminally charged by federal prosecutors in Maryland with five counts. The charges include altering and destroying records in a federal investigation and conspiracy against the United States.
Morens faces decades in prison if convicted. For those of us following this story, none of what’s in the indictment is surprising. What’s surprising is that it’s finally happening. Even Morens joked about this a few years ago. A new USRTK FOIA revealed that Morens asked Peter Daszak, “Please come visit me in prison.”
Gmail, fine wine, and dining by Peter Daszak
We already knew Morens was Fauci’s intermediary using Gmail.
The email above about Fauci’s Gmail was addressed to Daszak, who is listed as “co-conspirator #1” in the legal documents. The new tasty tidbit in the indictment alleges that Daszak supplied Morens with “illegal gratuities,” including two bottles of wine and a promise of a future meal at a “Michelin-starred” restaurant.
Burner phone suggestion
After the DARPA Defuse documents leaked in September 2021, things got more urgent. Fauci, through an intermediary named Gerald Keusch, who was listed as “co-conspirator #2,” effectively advised Morens to acquire a burner phone.
The raid
In one of Morens’ many infamous 2021 emails, Fauci claimed no one could “mess with us,” and Fauci had “macho comments about how there is always a guy with an AR-15 right outside his door.”
The Feds decided to return the favor and arrest the 78-year-old Morens in a SWAT raid.
He opened his front door to find a half-dozen federal agents carrying guns and wearing tactical gear, including bulletproof vests, according to two sources who spoke with him but asked not to be identified. Another team of officers stood in the distance and observed, as did neighbors.
The agents did not harm Morens, but took off his pants and shirt, handcuffed him, and drove him 65 kilometers to the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he was fingerprinted, photographed, and jailed. He was released on his own recognizance later in the day, but was asked to return to Greenbelt and surrender his passport, which he did.
The WSJ called out the scientific press reports:
The press is portraying the indictment of former NIH official David Morens as political retaliation. That’s hard to square with the facts in the indictment, which say he intentionally sought to obfuscate the NIH role in funding the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, which may have contributed to the virus leaking from a Chinese lab.
There are many connections between Morens and Fauci, who claims he barely knew Morens, which is “pretty bizarre.”
FOIA paper trail
Morens had emailed Daszak after the Intercept published Fauci’s two EcoHealth grants. Notice the “ASF—FOIA” subject line, and told him to “have a stiff drink before you read.”
These were the 2 grants that Daszak and Ralph Baric used to fund DARPA Defuse.
Fauci barely knew him?
At a 2024 congressional hearing, Fauci claimed not to know Morens well. This is hard to reconcile with the documentary record.
Fauci played dumb and claimed not to know Morens during a 2024 hearing. Daszak called it a “sad day” for Fauci to “deny his decades-long relationship” with Morens.
Fauci and Baric are also listed in the indictment
Fauci is listed as “Senior NIAID Official 1.”
It also mentions Baric as “North Carolina Scientist 1.”
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.603873/gov.uscourts.mdd.603873.1.0_1.pdf
Baric on leave?
The UNC researcher’s work on coronaviruses and his connection to the Wuhan lab are now receiving renewed attention after RealClearInvestigations learned that the federal government has quietly removed Baric from all his NIH grants. RCI has also learned that UNC placed Baric on leave. UNC has also refused to cooperate with NIH officials as they have attempted to gather more facts and emails about Baric’s coronavirus research, which evidence leads them to believe led to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lab leak journalist Paul D. Thacker goes on to reference the Sachs-Baric article, and sounds like he read our 40 questions for Baric. It’s a good, long piece.
Even Elon Musk was impressed:
But it’s unclear if Baric is on UNC leave or if his grants have been deleted:
UNC and Duke researchers told The N&O this week they have regained access to funding through previously terminated awards, allowing them to resume incurring science-related expenses.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article304369386.html
Thacker’s source for Baric’s suspension appears to be his buddy, Jeff Taubenberger, who replaced Fauci at NIAID. It sounds like the NIH is panicked about our Sachs-Baric article?
Taubenberger canceled Fauci’s $82M CREID grant, which included $7.5M to Baric and Daszak, partially funding their DEFUSE bid.
The Defender did get UNC to respond to the suspension allegations, citing only “personnel matters,” which sounds like a leave. But like Linfa Wang, these are professors for life, and Baric is still represented by UNC lawyers and the UNC communications department.
Update since a local newspaper got an out-of-office reply from Baric: Baric did not respond Thursday or Friday to a request for comment. The News & Observer received an automatic reply from his email that reads: “I am away from the office and will return May 4.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article315590798.html
Who is next to be indicted?
White Coat Waste Project wants Fauci’s replacement, Jeff Taubenberger:
https://amgreatness.com/2026/05/01/faucis-lab-leak-henchmen-are-finally-facing-accountability/
Rand Paul wants Fauci, who emailed his secretary, Greg Folkers, and told him to delete emails.
Brownstone Institute writes the next indictment should be Folkers:
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-next-indictment-should-be-against-greg-folkers/
To recap: the guy who used Gmail to evade FOIA, who was advised by Fauci to buy a burner phone and joked about going to prison. The two people named in the indictment, Fauci and Baric, are enjoying their retirements. The press is calling it political retaliation. And somewhere, Daszak still owes Morens a Michelin-starred dinner.