Former Fauci aide charged with concealing Covid records

Ex-Niaid employee David Morens accused of trying to shield correspondence related to outbreak of pandemic An ex-adviser to the former top public US health official Anthony Fauci has been indicted by Trump administration prosecutors on accusations that he illicitly concealed federal records during the Covid pandemic. The justice department on Tuesday announced charges against David Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland, amid a sharply divisive debate over the origins of the coronavirus, which has become particularly politicized during Donald Trump’s two presidencies. Competing theories – including a natural spillover versus a potential lab leak – have fueled partisan clashes, with splits along ideological lines. Morens served as a senior adviser in the office of the director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 2006 to 2022 (Niaid). Fauci had served as director of the Niaid from 1984 to 2022, spearheading the White House’s response to the pandemic during Donald Trump’s first presidency. In addition to their criticism of Fauci and other scientists for being dismissive of the lab leak theory, Trump and his Republican allies criticized Fauci for urging Americans