Emerging Story: GOP Senators Pressing The DOJ To Take Legal Action Against Chinese Communist Party For Their Role In COVID-19 Pandemic

Credit: AP News

Senator Rick Scott (R, FL) and a group of five other GOP senators are asking the Department of Justice to pursue legal action after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

They are asking for the DOJ to pursue the suit for the CCP’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic after federal authorities lent credibility to the Wuhan lab leak theory. 

The group of senators sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday asking what legal action the DOJ plans to take against the CCP after the U.S. Department of Energy, with “low confidence” said that the virus that causes COVID-19 likely leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

“More than 1.1 million Americans have died due to COVID-19 in the past three years, and untold millions more have suffered, and continue to suffer, physical and economic harms related to the pandemic,” the letter states.

“We write to ask what legal action you have pursued or plan to pursue as U.S. Attorney General against the Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for that lab leak and/or its cover up to vindicate the interests of the millions of Americans who have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?”

The Energy Department’s assessment was reportedly noted in a classified 2021 document that was updated by Avril Haines’ office, the Director of National Intelligence.

The lab leak theory, which is the theory that COVID-19 came from an accidental lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, was dismissed as a conspiracy theory by Democrats, major news outlets, and social media companies.

However, as the years have gone by, the evidence has become overwhelming to prove that it isn’t just a conspiracy theory. 

Fox News shared:

Following the Energy Department’s assessment, lawmakers in both parties have pushed for further investigation into the origins of COVID-19. The House and Senate unanimously passed legislation introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would instruct the Biden administration to declassify intelligence related to any potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origins of the pandemic. 

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing on the virus’ origins on March 8. Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield testified that he believes Chinese scientists at the Wuhan lab engaged in gain-of-function research — a branch of scientific experimentation where pathogens are enhanced to be more pathogenic or deadly to develop preventative treatments or vaccines — and that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely a product of that research that somehow escaped. 

The group in their letter told Garland to hold the Chinese government accountable for its role in the pandemic. They invited the DOJ to identify any “legal impediment” that exists to them doing so.

“We wholeheartedly welcome the opportunity to draft appropriate legislation to remove those barriers to pursuing justice for the millions of Americans harmed by the misconduct of the Chinese Communist Party,” the senators wrote. 

The letter was co-signed by Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Flor.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.).