China’s refusal to defend itself in a lawsuit over the spread of COVID-19 as well as the country’s alleged sabotage of the medical response to the pandemic is “an admission of guilt” – and of how little regard Chinese rulers have for the United States.

That’s the considered opinion of Missouri officials seeking $25 billion in reparations from China – for damages to Missouri alone – after a one-hour bench trial Jan. 28 in federal court. A judge will rule soon, but has already signaled that damages are likely.

“I think they have very little regard for our legal system,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey tells The Heartlander in an exclusive interview, when asked why China declined to appear in the case.

“They have very little regard for freedom. And certainly, despite the fact that they are antithetical to due process of law, they were provided due process of law and refused to participate.  

“So, I think that’s how little they think of these United States of America. Certainly, I think that’s how much they disregard the harm they’ve inflicted upon Missourians and all Americans by unleashing the COVID pandemic on the world.

“And I think it speaks, again, to a level of culpability. If they had evidence to put on to disprove any of the points we’ve made, they certainly forfeited the opportunity to do so. 

“Their silence and refusal to participate is a tacit admission of guilt.”

Inside the COVID-19 lawsuit

The lawsuit, originally filed in April 2020 by Bailey’s predecessor and current U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, was initially thrown out by U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh in July 2022 for lack of jurisdiction.

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed the court had no jurisdiction over Missouri’s claim China created and leaked the virus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. But the appeals court reinstated the state’s claim that China hoarded and obstructed Missourians’ access to personal protective equipment (PPE).

In pressing that hoarding claim at last month’s trial to the judge, Missouri asserted that COVID did, in fact, originate at the Wuhan lab – a claim coincidentally bolstered by a Trump administration release of a CIA assessment to that effect.

Bailey’s Solicitor General Josh Divine, who tried the case, tells The Heartlander:

“We’re asserting that China essentially created COVID, unleashed COVID and then aggravated or made COVID worse by lying to the world about what was going on and hoarding PPE during that time. 

“Essentially, China decided that they were going to lie to the world so that they could have additional months to hoard PPE. That meant that everybody else was behind the ball. It meant that when we needed to buy stuff from China, China could jack up the prices before selling it to us. 

“So, we presented evidence to the court that this did, in fact, arise from a lab leak in China. The court said we had an abundance of uncontroverted evidence on that issue and many other issues. …

“China lied to the world about COVID. China lied to the world about the fact that COVID could be transmitted human to human. And the reason they did that is so they could hoard all of this PPE – N95 masks that doctors were using, gowns that doctors were using. And that meant that once the rest of the world figured out that COVID was transmissible human to human, we had massive shortages of PPE at that time. 

“And that meant that the virus was transmitting faster than it otherwise would have transmitted. It also meant that when the state of Missouri was buying masks for hospitals for doctors to use, the state of Missouri was paying inflated prices to do so.”

The $25 billion figure wasn’t simply pulled out of thin air, Divine explains.

“We had an economics expert come in with a report showing that the total harm in Missouri that we can recover is in the woods of about $25 billion. And that’s what we asked for from the court.”

A coming political earthquake?

The Heartlander asked Divine facetiously if this was the fastest $25 billion trial he’s ever been a part of. “It’s the only $25 billion trial I’ve been a part of,” he laughed. “But you know, I think this would actually be the largest judgment in Missouri history by a wide margin. So, I’m not sure anybody else has a comparative experience.”

If Missouri could’ve actually pressed its claim that China leaked the virus from the lab, Bailey says the trial could’ve taken a month rather than an hour.

“But at the end of the day, we’re pleased with the outcome and the fact that this case was allowed to go forward to trial. … I feel confident that we will get a large portion of, or the entire amount of, $25 billion in judgment.”

If that happens, won’t it be a political and judicial earthquake – with an epicenter in Jefferson City, Missouri? Yes, says Bailey – who adds he’s not aware of any precedent for a country to be held legally liable for an epidemic or pandemic.

“I am not aware of any litigation against a foreign entity due to a contagious disease, but I would also point out that what happened when China inflicted the rest of the world with COVID-19 was, itself, unprecedented. And I think that point is even more emphasized by the recently declassified CIA document pointing to the lab leak and underlining China’s culpability in the COVID pandemic.

“I think it certainly is [an earthquake]. It’s precedential to the extent that no other claims like this have ever been raised or litigated in federal courts until now. 

“So, this sets a marker down, and says that Missourians demand justice for the COVID-19 pandemic and the harms that were inflicted upon them by the Chinese communist government – and that other countries will be held accountable.”

Judge Limbaugh requested additional briefing from Bailey’s office after the trial, “But he said, apart from that issue, he expects that he would be inclined to rule in our favor,” Divine says.

What if China doesn’t pay up?

What’s the real likelihood Missouri will see any money in the case?

“I think very likely,” Divine says. “It looks like we’re going to get a favorable judgment from this court. And then once that happens, we’re able to attach assets.  

“China has a lot of property in Missouri and the rest of the states, and we’re going to be able to go and take that property from China, sell it, put the proceeds back in the pockets of the people of Missouri.  

“I think the chances of actually collecting on this are very high.”

For his part, Bailey posted recently on X, “If they don’t pay up, we’ll start seizing Chinese assets – like farmland – instead.”

The disposition of any money or assets Missouri acquires in the lawsuit is something the state legislature and governor would presumably decide, Divine says.

So, why aren’t other states or the federal government doing what Missouri is?

“I think when this lawsuit was first filed in 2020,” Divine says, “a number of other people thought this is a pipe dream – there’s no chance that this is going to succeed. It’s really hard to sue a foreign country. 

“But we had done the homework, and we had looked into this deeply and done substantial research to ensure that, in fact, we could bring a lawsuit against China. So, I think other people just hadn’t looked into the issue as much as the attorney general of Missouri had.”

Judgment to rock the world?

Any financial judgment against China, much less a multibillion-dollar one, will get the world’s attention, Bailey says.

“It certainly should,” he says. “I mean, that’s a sizable number. But again, we think it’s an accurate number that clearly demonstrates the restitution owed to the people of the state of Missouri.”

The case already has the attention of the Trump administration, says Divine.

“We’re going to be in discussion with the Trump administration on this case if we get a favorable judgment. The statute essentially says that we can work hand-in-hand with the federal government to recover assets from China if we’re able to obtain a favorable judgment. So, we will have those conversations with the administration at the appropriate time.

“We are aware that the incoming DOJ officials are tracking this case.”