A Republican-led Congressional committee has accused a top advisor to Anthony Fauci, Dr. David Morens, of using his personal email to hide evidence related to the origins of COVID-19. The allegations claim that Morens used his personal Gmail account to communicate with Dr. Peter Daszak of EcoHealth Alliance, a research group accused of having a role in the creation of COVID-19.
Critics argue that using a personal email account allowed Morens to avoid having his emails obtained by official records requests. The federal government has denied claims that EcoHealth had a role in COVID's origin. EcoHealth is a U.S. nonprofit research company that received taxpayer-funded grants for coronavirus research involving bats in China.
There is controversy surrounding whether EcoHealth's research made coronaviruses more dangerous to humans. Lawmakers are now requesting documents and communications related to correspondence with Morens, Daszak, and others involved in COVID-19 origins.
EcoHealth has released a statement denying the allegations and stating that their communications were focused on reinstating a terminated grant for scientific research. U.S. Senator Rand Paul has also been vocal on this issue, claiming that multiple government agencies were aware of federally funded research on coronaviruses in China to make them more dangerous.
