The Chinese lab allegedly responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has filed a $50 billion lawsuit against Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., accusing him of ruining its reputation.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, the People's Government of Wuhan Municipality, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have launched a legal broadside in China's courts, demanding roughly $50 billion from Schmitt and other defendants tied to Missouri's earlier U.S. case against China, The Washington Times reported.
Schmitt, who first sued China as Missouri attorney general in 2020, revealed the retaliatory lawsuit this week and framed it as an attempt to intimidate and silence him.
In one post on X, Schmitt said he was "targeted and sued by Communist China in a $50 Billion lawfare campaign," calling it "baseless" retaliation for what he described as a $24 billion judgment Missouri won against China over alleged personal protective equipment hoarding during the early days of the pandemic.
"This is their way of distracting from what the world already knows," Schmitt wrote, arguing that Beijing "created and covered up COVID."
He added, "China lied, people died," and said he would wear the lawsuit "as a badge of honor."
In another X post, Schmitt called the case "classic China," saying the lawsuit is about "harassing me for exposing the truth."
"I won't be bullied and I won't be intimidated," he added, pledging to keep pressing China over the pandemic.
According to the Times, the Chinese plaintiffs claim Schmitt "belittled" Wuhan scientists and damaged their "brand value and academic reputation," making international cooperation harder.
The suit seeks not only massive damages, but also a court order forcing public apologies, including through major U.S. platforms and outlets such as The New York Times, CNN, YouTube, and Chinese state media.
The legal strike follows Missouri's aggressive effort to enforce the U.S. judgment.
After Missouri asked federal officials for help collecting on the judgment, Chinese entities escalated with a tit-for-tat lawsuit in Wuhan, demanding even more money and asserting state sovereignty.
Missouri officials have described the Chinese case as a stalling tactic designed to avoid paying.
The broader political backdrop is familiar to Americans who watched the world shut down in 2020: competing theories on COVID-19's origins, frustration over China's lack of transparency, and renewed debate over accountability for the catastrophe.
U.S. agencies have split over whether the virus emerged naturally or from a lab-related incident, but lawmakers from both parties have increasingly criticized Beijing for stonewalling inquiries and refusing to provide full access to underlying records.
For conservatives, the Wuhan lawsuit reads less like a legitimate legal claim than a propaganda maneuver — a classic authoritarian tactic of suing critics, demanding humiliating apologies, and trying to be recast as the victim.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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