China doubles down on coronavirus propaganda efforts
Reaction from key Republican lawmakers Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., joined "Hannity" Monday night to discuss their bill that would allow Americans to sue China's government for damages related to the coronavirus pandemic.
"When we dropped this bill last Friday, that was the same day the Chinese government said, 'Oh, we underestimated by about 50 percent the number of deaths,'" Crenshaw told host Sean Hannity. "They didn'y underestimate, they knew. This is China. They keep track of every single person in Wuhan. Of course they knew.
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"So now that we know how they have wronged us," Crenshaw added. "Americans are going to do what Americans do when we feel an injustice has levelled against us. We're going to find somebody to sue."
"Five million people left Wuhan [before authorities closed it off]," Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, added for emphasis. "They allowed this virus to spread. They knew it would spread, they spread false talking points like 'it won't spread from human to human contact'. They didn't let scientists in to investigate."
Cotton, one of the first lawmakers to cast suspicions on a virology lab in the city of Wuhan that U.S. officials are increasingly confident was the source of the pandemic, told Hannity that there are a variety of ways to hold China financially accountable for the damage wrought by the pandemic.
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"China has to pay for all of this," Cotton said. "One way to pay is the lawsuit -- or the law that Dan and I would have introduced -- would be for the American courts to hear cases against China's leaders. Another one to be considered [is] all that debt that China currently holds, given the fact that we're going to have to deficit finance so much of the money we're spending to help float our businesses and help our distressed families.
"We can also consider things like sanctions against Chinese officials."
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