By
Steven Nelson
Published April 28, 2026, 6:41 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The indictment of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s former adviser David Morens Tuesday revived calls for the Justice Department to prosecute Fauci himself for allegedly lying to Congress about funding risky research in China before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just two weeks remain before the five-year legal deadline on May 11 to indict Fauci for denying under oath that he funded “gain of function” experiments that modified bat coronaviruses in the same city where the pandemic started.
Morens, 78, was charged with one count of conspiracy, two counts of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations and two counts of concealment, removal, or mutilation of records relating to the origins of COVID-19. He faces up to 51 years in prison.
Dr. Anthony Fauci allegedly lied to Congress in 2021 about funding gain of function research.Getty Images
Critics say Fauci, 85, bears the most responsibility and that he should be hauled into court.
Trump told The Post in a phone interview on March 31 that he intended to “look into” Fauci’s status and Republicans say they believe acting attorney general Todd Blanche, who is seeking the role permanently, might be willing to test Trump’s assertion that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive autopen pardons, including for Fauci, are invalid.
“99% of this country has no idea who Morens is,” said Oversight Project President Mike Howell.
“It’s Fauci that they will blame for one of the worst government catastrophes in history in America. And so the test is Fauci. The Morens indictment is great, and we applaud it. But there are a lot of people out there that want to see Fauci held to account for the damage he wrought.”
Howell, whose group sent the Justice Department a draft indictment for Morens last year, believes the adviser’s actions were closely linked to his boss.
“[Fauci] lied about one of the most damaging events in American history routinely and was behind a massive coverup of the key factors,” Howell said.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), to whom Fauci allegedly lied, told The Post that “we’ve been looking through a lot of information on this for the last year or so. The Trump administration has been much more forthcoming than the Biden administration ever was.”
Critics say Fauci, 85, bears the most responsibility and that he should be hauled into court.
Trump told The Post in a phone interview on March 31 that he intended to “look into” Fauci’s status and Republicans say they believe acting attorney general Todd Blanche, who is seeking the role permanently, might be willing to test Trump’s assertion that former President Joe Biden’s preemptive autopen pardons, including for Fauci, are invalid.
“99% of this country has no idea who Morens is,” said Oversight Project President Mike Howell.
“It’s Fauci that they will blame for one of the worst government catastrophes in history in America. And so the test is Fauci. The Morens indictment is great, and we applaud it. But there are a lot of people out there that want to see Fauci held to account for the damage he wrought.”
Howell, whose group sent the Justice Department a draft indictment for Morens last year, believes the adviser’s actions were closely linked to his boss.
“[Fauci] lied about one of the most damaging events in American history routinely and was behind a massive coverup of the key factors,” Howell said.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), to whom Fauci allegedly lied, told The Post that “we’ve been looking through a lot of information on this for the last year or so. The Trump administration has been much more forthcoming than the Biden administration ever was.”













