Sen. Eric Schmitt says he isn’t backing away from the fight. And he certainly isn’t apologizing.
According to Fox News, while speaking on “The Ingraham Angle,” the Missouri Republican pushed back hard Tuesday after learning a group of Chinese entities is seeking $50 billion in damages against him.
The case, filed years after he sued China as Missouri’s attorney general, accuses him of spreading falsehoods about the origins of COVID-19.
Schmitt dismissed the action without hesitation.
“It’s totally ridiculous. They’re just mad that we exposed their lies and their deceit,” he said, adding, “Missouri got a $24 billion judgment against them, and they don’t like that. They unleashed COVID on the world. We sued them, and we won.”
The lawsuit was filed by the People’s Government of Wuhan Municipality, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
It targets Schmitt directly, along with FBI co-deputy director Andrew Bailey and the state of Missouri.
Their complaint charges that Schmitt’s earlier case caused reputational harm to China, Wuhan, and the research facilities involved in the pandemic controversy.
According to the filing, Schmitt and his co-defendants carried out “malicious vexatious litigation, fabricating enormous disinformation, and spreading stigmatizing and discriminating slanders.”
Schmitt brushed off the language and said the lawsuit changes nothing about his view of China’s conduct.
He also described the entire ordeal as predictable. “Sour grapes,” he said, while noting his legal team is still sorting through translated copies of documents delivered to him.
“I won’t be apologizing any time soon, as you’d imagine,” Schmitt added.
His original 2020 lawsuit named the People’s Republic of China, several Chinese government ministries, the Communist Party of China, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
At the time, Schmitt accused Chinese officials of withholding information about COVID-19, failing to contain the outbreak, and enabling global spread.
Now, years later, he finds himself back in the legal spotlight — this time on the receiving end. But Schmitt said he’s standing firm, convinced China’s case is driven by anger, not evidence.
And if Beijing expects contrition, Schmitt made clear on Tuesday, they won’t be getting it.
