Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, co-authored as many as 50 scientific papers with his former senior scientific adviser, David Morens, who has been embroiled in a scandal over the use of his personal email address for government business to avoid oversight during the pandemic.
The collaboration of nearly 30 years illustrates the depth of the relationship between Fauci and Morens, despite Fauci’s efforts this week during congressional testimony to minimize their connection.
Republicans on the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic questioned Fauci regarding his relationship with Morens, whom the subcommittee has been investigating for more than a year for employing various techniques to avoid Freedom of Information Act requests, including deleting official records.
Fauci attempted to distance himself from Morens, telling the subcommittee that they “wrote scientific papers together” but that Morens was “not an adviser on policy.” Fauci did not disclose the number of scientific papers when questioned by members of Congress.
During the pandemic, Morens and Fauci co-authored 25 papers together about various aspects of the disease and pandemic policy, including a study comparing the COVID-19 pandemic and the 1918 influenza pandemic.
One paper, written in August 2020, cited findings from Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, who used NIAID funds to conduct controversial bat coronavirus research in Wuhan, China. Other papers also cited Daszak’s research.
Both Morens and Daszak have been questioned by the select subcommittee for their close collaboration on reinstating the controversial grant after it was terminated by former President Donald Trump’s administration for possible connections to the outbreak of the virus.
On Monday, Fauci testified that Morens should not have used his position to help Daszak get the grant reinstated, calling Morens’ conduct “a terrible thing.”
“It was wrong, and it was inappropriate,” Fauci testified.
Select Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) told the Washington Examiner in an interview after the hearing that he believed Fauci was understating the relationship between him and his former colleague.
“It’s really hard to not say there’ll be pretty open communication at that point, especially if it’s a senior scientific adviser,” said Wenstrup, referencing the over 25 years of collaboration between Fauci and Morens.
Although Fauci was unequivocal in his condemnation of Morens’ actions, the former agency director said that Morens had little to do with NIAID leadership and did not attend morning leadership meetings or weekly team meetings. Fauci also said Morens worked in a different office building.
Morens has been an employee in the leadership of NIAID since 1998 but has been on administrative leave since September 2023, nine months after Fauci retired from public service.
Wenstrup told the Washington Examiner that Fauci should have taken more responsibility for Morens’ conduct.
“You have his senior adviser who is admittedly avoiding FOIA. [Fauci is] in charge. Where does his responsibility start, for virtually anything?” said Wenstrup. “Once the cameras stopped, apparently he wasn’t responsible for anything.”
Fauci also testified Monday that he “never conducted official business using [his] personal email,” but he may have used it to collaborate with Morens on their shared academic papers.
The former director told Republican counsel during the hearing that the scientific papers authored with Morens often were not government business and, as such, communication about the projects should be done via non-NIAID email addresses.
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Last week, Republicans on the subcommittee requested that Fauci provide his private email communications regarding COVID-19 as well as his cellphone records from the pandemic for review. Fauci’s legal counsel, David Schertler, did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the status of complying with the subcommittee’s request.
Tim Belevetz, attorney for Morens, confirmed for the Washington Examiner that Morens did not advise Fauci on policy matters, but declined request for comment regarding the exact nature of their relationship.