July 5, 2023

Laurence Brewer
Chief Records Officer
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20408

Dear Mr. Brewer,

I write today to request additional information relating to recently released e-mail

communications that reveal Dr. David Morens, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) employee,
used a personal e-mail account for official communications in an effort to conceal information
regarding COVID-19 origins, and may have inappropriately destroyed federal records.1

Federal agencies are required to manage all records including e-mail messages. Agency
employees are directed not to use personal e-mail account to conduct official agency business
with few exceptions. If agency employees use a personal account to conduct official business,
they are required to maintain the communications and abide by federal recordkeeping practices,
including the transfer of the permanent e-mail records to the U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA).

According to recently released emails, Dr. Morens stated, “[a]s you know, I try to always
communicate on gmail because my NIH email is FOIA’d constantly”. Dr. Morens went on to say
his personal account had been compromised by a security breach and he would be forced to
temporarily communicate from a NIH email account, stating “[d]on’t worry, just send to any of
my addresses, and I will delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times”.

As you know, NARA previously investigated allegations of improper destruction of records

related to the origins of COVID-19 in February 2022. I am concerned that the recently released
emails suggest an overt disregard for transparency and accountability within the NIH.

For this reason, please provide my office with the following information and supporting
documentation no later than July 19, 2023:

1. Has NARA opened an investigation into David Morens use of a personal email address to
conduct official agency business in light of the recently released emails? If so, please

1 Jimmy Tobias, Top NIH Official Advised COVID Scientists That He Uses Personal Email To Evade FOIA, The

Intercept (Jun. 29, 2023), https://theintercept.com/2023/06/29/covid-nih-personal-email-foia/.

 provide the date the investigation was opened and the current status. If not, please explain
why not.
2. Has NARA opened an investigation into potential unathorized disposition of federal
records by David Morens in light of the recently released emails? If so, please provide the
date the investigation was opened and the current status. If not, please explain why not.
3. Has NARA requested documentation from the NIH related to these e-mails including, but
not limited to, records associated with David Morens’ personal email address?
4. Has NARA requested that NIH preserve records associated with David Morens including,
but not limited to, emails sent and recienved from David Morens’ personal email
address?
5. Was David Morens involved in NARA’s February 2022 inquiry related to the
unauthorized disposition of records related to the origins of COVID-19?
6. Since 2019, how many allegations has NARA received regarding NIH employees using
personal email addresses to conduct official businesss? For each allegation, please
provide the date NARA received the allegation, a description of the allegation, and any
follow-up action taken by NARA.
7. Since 2019, how many allegations has NARA received regarding the unauthorized
disposition of records by a NIH employee? For each allegation, please provide the date
NARA received the allegation, a description of the allegation, and any follow-up action
taken by NARA.
8. Has NIH submitted the new permanent records schedule to NARA for consideration as
indicated in correspondence related to NARA’s February 2022 investigation into
unathorized disposition of NIH records?
9. What actions has NARA taken to ensure NIH compliance with federal records rentention
policies and the Freedom of Information Act?

Sincerely,

Rand Paul, M.D.

United States Senator

cc: Dr. Colleen Shogan

Archivist