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Thursday, March 28, 2024

AG's pandemic suit vs. Chinese Communist Party is 'demagogic' due to sovereign immunity, law professor argues

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In pursuing his lawsuit against the Chinese Communist Party, Attorney General Eric Schmitt is engaging in demagogic behavior, according to a St. Louis University professor.

“The worst thing about a demagogue is that they know better, but they play on the ignorance of the public,” said Kenneth Warren, professor of political science at St. Louis University. “It’s absurd because the lawsuit can go nowhere for dozens of reasons and Eric Schmitt knows that.”

Schmitt announced last week that the Chinese Communist Party had been served the lawsuit, which he filed more than a year ago in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, the lawsuit blames China for permitting the spread of COVID-19 to the United States and other countries and alleges the public was deceived and uninformed.

“You can't prove it because even China might not really know,” Warren told St. Louis Record. “It's alleged that China covered it up. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't.”

 According to the Kansas City Star, Schmitt was given permission from the court to serve defendants via email but Warren said the order is just a matter of procedure.

“He has tried to sue the Communist party, which is really an extension of the Chinese government so he wouldn't be able to do that unless Congress passes a law amending the Foreign Sovereignties Immunities Act,” Warren said. “It really can’t go very far because the case should be dismissed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.” 

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 limits whether a country abroad can be sued in U.S. federal or state courts.

“Beating up on China is popular among a certain group of Americans and even Biden was doing it to some extent so it might play well among Missouri voters,” Warren added. “Maybe not most of them but certainly it will help to rev up his Republican base, and help him get through the primary probably.”

Schmitt is also asking the State Department to waive consular fees in the process of serving the People’s Republic of China and its subdivisions.

“Today, after working tirelessly to navigate the complexities of international law, the Attorney General’s Office effectuated service of process against the Chinese Communist Party, the Wuhan Institute for Virology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences," the statement said

"I filed this suit to hold the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese authorities accountable for their role in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken lives, ruined businesses, destroyed economies, and more. Serving these entities is an important step in that process. Despite China’s stonewalling, my Office remains determined to hold the Chinese authorities accountable for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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