David Morens, a longtime aide to former National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, recently tried to argue that he had a good reason to hide official emails to circumvent possible investigations. His goal, Morens said, was to curtail threats and slow the spread of misinformation.

Regardless of his motives, however, Morens’ efforts were illegal; he got caught; and on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade federal public record laws, conceding in court that he sent politically provocative emails to a personal account in the hope they wouldn’t be released. Politico reported:

Morens, 78, had boasted in a 2021 email released by the House panel that he knew how to “make emails disappear after I am FOIA’d” to avert disclosure under the federal open records law.

He entered the guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, according to court records. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis set sentencing for Nov. 12. Morens faces a maximum of five years in prison on the felony conspiracy charge and a fine of up to $250,000.

Given that the defendant is a 78-year-old first-time offender who’s already acknowledged wrongdoing, there’s no reason to assume the judge will throw the book at him, though time will tell.

But while we wait for sentencing, another question hangs overhead: Why was this case brought?

As Politico’s report added, “Criminal prosecutions stemming from efforts to evade Freedom of Information Act requests are exceedingly rare.”

And yet, in this instance, Donald Trump’s Justice Department launched a felony criminal prosecution anyway. The Washington Post reported, “The Justice Department announced its case against Morens earlier this year amid escalating pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies, who continue to accuse Fauci and his top aides of misleading the public on the origins of the virus and its severity.”

We might never know for sure, but would Morens have been indicted in the first place if he hadn’t been a close associate of Fauci’s, who was not a party to this case but whom Republicans continue to hate with irrational fury?

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