Former NIH official accused of making emails 'disappear' pleads Fifth to COVID subcommittee

Former National Institutes of Health employee Margaret Moore, accused by Republicans of helping others shield emails from the public, invoked her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination at a deposition before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Friday.

Moore, a former FOIA public liaison for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), also declined to answer questions from Fox News in the hallway before the committee meeting.

The committee on Monday issued a subpoena for Moore to appear.

"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," said Rep. Brad Wenstrup from Ohio, chairman of the subcommittee.

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He 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, claiming that the former NIH employee has been willing to aid the investigation via 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," her legal team wrote.

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READ THE LETTER SUBMITTED BY MOORE'S LAWYERS TO THE COVID SUBCOMMITTEE — APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Moore worked for NIAID for