The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that Dr. Richard Morens, once a top aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci, was indicted for his role in hiding data on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Morens, according to a press release from the DOJ, was “charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.” Morens served as a top adviser in the NIAID’s (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Office of the Director for 16 years, from 2006-2022 — where Fauci served as the director from 1984-2022. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement on the indictment, saying, “These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic. As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19. Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas.” “Circumventing records protocols with the intention of avoiding transparency is something that will not be tolerated by this FBI,” FBI Director Kash Patel added in a separate statement. “Not only did Morens allegedly engage in the illegal obfuscation of his communications, but he received kickbacks for doing so. If you have engaged in activity conspiring against the United States, we will not stop until you face justice.” At NIAID, much of the information the so-called “experts” had was funneled through channels that Morens either had access to or influence over, and the indictment alleges that he used that position to manipulate the data that eventually became public knowledge with regard to COVID-19 and its origins. Morens allegedly accomplished this in part by steering grant funding away from research that might support theories that strayed from the accepted narrative. He and others involved also allegedly conspired in writing to hide their efforts to manipulate public data lest someone use the Freedom Of Information Act to obtain access to it in the future. “[I] learned from our foia [sic] lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia’d [sic] but before the search starts,” Morens explained in a Feb. 24, 2021, email. “Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail [sic].” “[T]here is no worry about FOIAs. I can either send stuff to Tony on his private gmail [sic], or hand it to him at work or at his house,” Morens wrote in an April of 2021. “He is too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.” In another email sent the same year, he advised the addressees to only send such communications directly to his gmail account to avoid the extra hassle of forwarding and deleting them from his official accounts. Even in June of 2020, Morens was eyeing the possibility that certain communications could potentially raise red flags. “We are all smart enough to know to never have smoking guns, and if we did we wouldn’t put them in emails and if we found them we’d delete them,” he wrote at the time. According to the DOJ press release, Morens could face up to five years in prison for the charge of conspiracy against the United States — as well as up to 20 years on each count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations. He could also face up to three years for each count of concealment, removal, or mutilation of records. His sentence, should he be convicted, would be determined by a federal judge following consultation of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, and will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Bijon A. Mostoufi for the District of Maryland.

The only thing thicker than Hakeem Jeffries’ hypocrisy is the smog of self-delusion that follows him into every room, choking the life out of the very truths he claims to uphold. Last week, Jeffries, the House minority leader, was practically doing a victory lap in the end zone after Virginia Democrats pulled off the ultimate “Democracy™” maneuver: convincing 51.5% of voters to scrap an independent commission so the General Assembly could gerrymander a 10-1 split. To Jeffries, this wasn’t a power grab; it was a “big victory for America” and a “march toward a more perfect union.” Apparently, a “more perfect union” looks exactly like a map where half the voters get 90% of the representation. Jeffries and the “Dollar-Store Obama” brigade framed this as a noble “firewall” against the orange man in the White House. Even Barack Obama emerged from his latest Netflix production to explain that gerrymandering is actually fine, as long as Democrats do it to “level the playing field.” It’s a bold strategy: saving democracy by destroying it first. But fast forward to Monday, April 27, and Jeffries has suddenly rediscovered the sanctity of “Fair Districts.” The moment Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suggested that the Sunshine State—which has seen a decade of growth in just three years—might need its own mid-decade tune-up, Jeffries’s halo reappeared. Jeffries took to X to huff and puff about “blatant partisan gerrymandering” and “nakedly targeting communities of color.” He actually wrote, “See you in Court,” without a hint of a blush, despite the fact that a Virginia judge just tossed his own party’s referendum into the trash for being unconstitutional. The DeSantis Dummymander blatantly violates Florida’s Fair Districts Amendment banning partisan gerrymandering. It also violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by nakedly targeting communities of color. See you in Court. pic.twitter.com/DeDqW84s7M — Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeemjeffries) April 27, 2026 The hypocrisy is so thick you could carve it. When Virginia Democrats attempt a 10-1 sweep, it’s a “march toward justice.” When DeSantis looks at a map, it’s a “Dummymander” and a violation of the 14th Amendment. Jeffries has told Florida Republicans to “F around and find out,” which sounds a lot like a threat from a guy whose own “victory” is currently stuck in judicial purgatory. DeSantis, ever the happy warrior, has responded by offering to pay for Jeffries’ plane ticket to Florida. He even offered to take him fishing. It’s a generous offer: Jeffries could use the time on the water to practice his latest trick—complaining about the “rigged system” in Florida while the ink is still wet on his own attempt to rig Virginia. If Jeffries wants a war, he’s found a battlefield, but he might want to check his own backyard before he starts crying about the neighbors’ fences.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) suggested that the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner may have been “fake” because she couldn’t believe there would be so many assassination attempts targeting one president. “Back to the shooting… has there ever been a president have this many close ‘attempts’ on their life? Maybe it’s lax gun laws, maybe it’s lack of mental health funding, or maybe it’s fake… who knows,” Crockett wrote on her Jasmine For US Threads page just hours after the attack. Crockett made the post shortly after law enforcement detained a man who rushed into the Washington Hilton with a pump action shotgun. The man, who was tackled by Secret Service agents, has been identified as Cole Thomas Allen of California. Crockett, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the Texas Senate Democratic nomination earlier this year, took a less conspiratorial approach on her official accounts. In a post on her official X account, Crockett condemned political violence. “The political violence is unacceptable and must stop,” she wrote. “I am grateful that everyone attending tonight’s WHCD is safe.” Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts and was shot in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. A few months later, a man armed with a rifle attempted to take Trump out while he was golfing in Florida, but was chased away by the Secret Service. Evidence from the Justice Department appears to show that Allen was targeting Trump and other top administration officials. An FBI affidavit unsealed on Monday afternoon showed an email Allen is said to have sent to his family saying that he was no longer willing to allow “a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” The message also identified potential targets. “Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” the email stated. The affidavit further indicates that the attack appeared to have been planned for weeks. Allen booked a room at the Washington Hilton on April 6, then traveled by train from the Los Angeles area to Chicago on April 21, arriving April 23 before continuing on to Washington, D.C. Prior to the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Allen reportedly shared posts comparing Trump to Hitler and posts that suggested the attack on Trump in Butler that left one of the president’s supporters dead was a hoax.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) says he will be returning to work “very soon” amid an undisclosed “personal medical issue” after being absent from the chamber since early March. Kean’s public statement comes as his colleagues said they had not heard from him; then, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the Washington Examiner last week that he was finally able to communicate with the Republican congressman over the phone. “My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” Kean stated on Monday, adding that he expects “to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.” The New Jersey Republican is notably running for re-election in one of the most competitive swing districts in the country, which is ranked a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report—and only 16 other races currently meet that designation. “I take my responsibilities seriously and have a strong record of showing up and delivering, which makes this absence all the more difficult,” he added. “I am especially proud of my Congressional team, who have kept constituent services and legislative work moving forward without interruption, and my political team for ensuring the campaign continues to run strong.” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) told New Jersey Spotlight News in an April 22 report that it was “complete radio silence” from the lawmaker. “Nobody’s covering up. We just haven’t heard a word,” Van Drew added. Johnson told the Examiner that he and Kean were able to talk on Friday afternoon. “He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon,” the speaker stated. There are multiple Democrats hoping to take on Kean in the midterms, including Dr. Tina Shah and Rebecca Bennett, according to the New Jersey Globe. The seat is critical to determining who will control the House of Representatives in the second half of President Donald Trump’s term, as Republicans hold a narrow 218-212 majority, with five seats being vacant after recent resignations and the death of Rep. David Scott (D-GA) last Wednesday. This week, the House is in the thick of multiple critical debates ranging from FISA to finding a solution to end the Department of Homeland Security shutdown.

UnitedHealth Group has terminated an employee who lamented President Donald Trump surviving the latest attempt on his life, and suggested that the latest attempted assassination was staged. The Daily Wire can confirm that Alison King, a social media manager at the health insurance giant, was fired shortly after the company became aware of a social media video in which she mocks Saturday night’s attack on the president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. “You know we’re cooked as a country when my first reaction to hearing the news … was ‘it was probably fake,'” King says in the video. “And the second was: ‘aww … they missed? So happy they missed.” Social media manager for @UHC is sad that the shooter missed Any comment @UHC? pic.twitter.com/qGG4iOoD72 — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 28, 2026 Utah Senator Mike Lee took to X to slam King’s statement late Monday evening, calling on UnitedHealth to respond. The company did in a Tuesday morning statement. “Violence is never acceptable and any comments that suggest otherwise are in no way consistent with our mission and values,” UnitedHealth Group said in a statement on X. “The person who made comments online about Saturday night’s incident at a Washington event where President Trump and many other political leaders were gathered is no longer employed by the company.” Violence is never acceptable and any comments that suggest otherwise are in no way consistent with our mission and values. The person who made comments online about Saturday night’s incident at a Washington event where President Trump and many other political leaders were… — UnitedHealth Group (@UnitedHealthGrp) April 28, 2026 A senior UnitedHealth employee told The Daily Wire that company leadership was appalled at the statement, given the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. That employee also noted that the company initiated the termination process immediately upon seeing King’s tweet. Thompson was gunned down outside a Manhattan hotel in December 2024. The suspected gunman, Luigi Mangione, has become a hero among leftists who believe he was justified in murdering the head of what they view is an exploitative company. The veneration of Mangione is just one of several indicators that violence has become increasingly acceptable on the Left, something Republicans pointed out after Saturday’s shooting. “They’ve incited violence, in my view,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said of Democratic lawmakers. “It’s time to turn down the rhetoric. We’ve been seeing this over and over. I hope that this will be a sobering reminder for everybody about that very important cause.” The would-be Correspondents’ Dinner assassin, Cole Tomas Allen, wrote in a manifesto he sent to family and friends before charging the Washington Hilton that he was willing to kill everyone in the room if it meant getting at Trump. Allen said he was attempting to kill the president because he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.” Some Trump critics have responded to Saturday’s shooting with disappointment. A Florida Democrat organization posted “that sucks” along with a “disappointed” face on social media after the shooting. A Democrat brewery owner who has promised to serve free beer whenever Trump dies also lamented the fact that the president survived the attack.