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As elected attorneys general, we are the top law enforcement officers in each of our states. We take extremely seriously our duty of parens patriae – to protect, defend, and vindicate the legal rights of all of the citizens we represent. This duty rings true in times of crisis and uncertainty, especially during the unprecedented pandemic we face today.
The coronavirus crisis has touched all of us. We have lost friends to COVID-19 and thousands of our constituents have been stricken with the illness. Countless businesses in our states have been shuttered and jobs there lost. Our brave doctors and nurses working front line shifts, treating their patients, have been put at great risk.
And, increasingly now, we hear about culpability. We are learning more about who is responsible for this modern-day plague. All roads lead to a cover-up orchestrated by communist China.
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Recently, we sent a letter to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle. The letter has a very simple request that even in these hyper-partisan times we are hopeful that politicians of all stripes will get behind and support.
An investigation would establish an official public record that would cut through the foreign propaganda and media spin.
We asked Congress to investigate the Chinese government’s role in the coronavirus crisis and assess its culpability for this terrible pandemic.
Press reports reveal that the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party actively sought to suppress vital information about the coronavirus and its characteristics – particularly its ability to spread from human-to-human contact – for weeks or even months.
They allegedly silenced whistleblowers and detained doctors who dared to speak out about what they were seeing in their hospitals and labs. They expelled western media who might have been able to see through their propaganda.
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Other reports have even indicated that China compromised the World Health Organization, directing its response to this crisis by feeding it bad information and excluding contrary voices like those of its rival the Taiwanese government. In effect, they turned the world’s most important collaborative public health establishment into a megaphone for their own propagandistic proclamations.
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Furthermore, while all of this was going on, China appears to have taken steps to corner the world market in personal protective equipment (PPE) and life-saving medical supplies, ensuring shortages and dependence when the world was finally able to see through their lies and obfuscation. There have even been accusations that Chinese entities purposely shipped defective PPE and other equipment to foreign countries.
These acts, if proven, are not only wrong, they are evil. And these allegations, if true, are not merely worrying, they are actionable.
Some of us are considering legal action to hold China accountable for the profound damage done to our states and our citizens. The state of Missouri has already sued China, the Chinese Communist Party, and other related defendants in federal court. However, an all hands-on deck approach is needed when confronting an issue of this magnitude.
Congressional hearings would help clarify truth from rumor, reality from hype, and fact from fiction. With their broad investigative powers, congressional committees could subpoena necessary witnesses, assemble relevant documents, and create a complete factual picture of how exactly the world was brought to its knees by this pandemic.
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An investigation would establish an official public record that would cut through the foreign propaganda and media spin.
When, inevitably, the parties responsible for this crisis attempt to shift the blame, a free and open record — in addition to our legal actions— will help shine a light on the truth and facts. A century ago, Louis D. Brandeis wrote that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” These words still ring true today.
Eric Schmitt is Missouri Attorney General.
Alan Wilson is South Carolina Attorney General.