Former National Institutes of Health (NIH) employee Margaret Moore, who has been accused by Republicans of assisting in the concealment of emails from public view, has invoked her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination during a deposition before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. This deposition took place on Friday, where Moore, a former FOIA public liaison for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), declined to answer questions posed by Fox News in the hallway before the committee meeting.
The committee had issued a subpoena for Moore’s appearance on Monday. Rep. Brad Wenstrup from Ohio, the subcommittee chairman, stated, “Instead of using NIH’s FOIA office to provide the transparency and accountability that the American people deserve, it appears that ‘FOIA Lady’ Margaret Moore assisted efforts to evade federal recordkeeping laws.” He further added, “Her alleged scheme to help NIH officials delete COVID-19 records and use their personal emails to avoid FOIA is appalling and deserves a thorough investigation.”
Moore’s legal team has defended her right to abstain from testifying, arguing that she has been willing to cooperate with the investigation through alternative means. “Ms. Moore has cooperated with the Select Subcommittee through counsel to find an alternative to her sitting for an interview, including expediting her own FOIA request for her own documents, which she provided to the Select Subcommittee voluntarily,” stated her legal team.
Moore worked for NIAID for over three decades and at one point served as a special assistant to Dr. Anthony Fauci. She is accused of teaching “tricks” to other NIAID members to hide records and evade FOIA requests. In a February 2021 email sent from his personal Gmail account, Fauci senior advisor Dr. David Morens wrote, “I learned from our foia lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia’d but before the search starts.” He further added, “Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail.”
The materials sought by the COVID subcommittee would provide crucial insights into the NIH’s relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology, widely believed to be the origin of the coronavirus in 2019. Other emails obtained from May 2021 reveal the NIH general counsel warning the FOIA office “not release anything having to do with EcoHealth Alliance/WIV,” with “WIV” referring to the Wuhan Institute.
This investigation into Margaret Moore’s actions and the alleged concealment of emails raises significant concerns about the transparency and accountability of the NIH in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly regarding its relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. As the investigation progresses, it will be crucial to uncover the truth behind these allegations and ensure proper oversight of government institutions during times of crisis.
