State Attorneys General Demand Congress Hearings on China’s ‘Willful’ Coverup of Coronavirus Severity

May 12, 2020 (EIRNS)—Eighteen Republican state attorneys general have written a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) demanding a formal hearing into allegations that China “willfully and knowingly concealed information about the severity of the virus while simultaneously stockpiling personal protective equipment,” Kansas KSHB news program reported.

The group was apparently encouraged by lawsuits filed against the Chinese government last month by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt. The letter states that “many of us are considering similar legal actions,” because COVID-19 has “wreaked havoc on our states and the Nation. We must all hold China accountable for the devastation and destruction caused by COVID-19. Tens of thousands have died from the virus and millions have lost their jobs.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman has enthusiastically endorsed the letter by the attorneys general, telling Fox News that what China really hates is “transparency.” Retailing all the gibberish about how China failed to inform the world about the coronavirus, and sent Chinese citizens to travel abroad to infect others, Huntsman warns that the relationships that the Chinese government has fostered with individual U.S. states are particularly dangerous because they can be used against the federal government. The federal government, Congress, state governments and business leaders must all speak with one voice, Huntsman proclaimed. That’s the only way to get China’s attention.