(Daily Caller) Dr. David Morens, right-hand man for former Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci, said he never considered the possibility COVID-19 came from a lab.
Morens testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Thursday and admitted he never looked into the scientific evidence suggesting COVID-19 could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, COVID Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup said in a press release.
Among the key takeaways from Morens’ interview was his admission that “he has not explored any of the scientific evidence behind a potential lab leak or an engineered virus,” Wenstrup’s release says.
Despite that, Morens stood by his belief that COVID-19 originated from an animal and was transmitted to human beings and said he was a close friend of EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak.
EcoHealth Alliance sent taxpayer-funded grants to the Wuhan Institute in Virologyto research bat coronaviruses and previously downplayed the potential risks of such research.
The COVID-19 pandemic originated in Wuhan, China and assessments from the FBI and Department of Energy concluded the virus most likely came from a lab.
Fauci knew gain-of-function research was happening at the Wuhan lab prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and appeared to orchestrate a campaign to discredit the lab leak theory early in the pandemic.
Fauci testified before the select subcommittee and conceded the lab leak theory is not a conspiracy theory, Wenstrup said in a statement.