Judge Napolitano: We relinquished civil liberties to politicians who bullied us
Judge Andrew Napolitano discusses the use of surveillance technology like drones to fight coronavirus and if this creates a police state
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Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano joined the "Fox News Rundown" podcast Thursday to offer a legal perspective on coronavirus after Missouri became the first state to file a lawsuit against China in an attempt to hold Beijing accountable for the severity of the pandemic.
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"At the present time, they don't have a case because of the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act [of 1976], which basically says American courts do not have jurisdiction over the behavior of foreign governments and that, of course, would bar nearly any lawsuit against the government of China," Napolitano explained.
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"Now, there are some efforts in both houses of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, to amend this law so as to permit these lawsuits," he added. "So it's hard to say how the Chinese would react to that."
The Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) restricts Americans' ability to sue foreign governments except in certain circumstances. Missouri officials say that by suing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) -- which largely controls the Chinese government -- in addition to the government itself, they will be able to bring their claim without running into a FSIA roadblock. Additionally, state officials claim their suit falls within some of the FSIA exceptions, including one concerning commercial activity.
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However, even if the lawsuit does go forward, Napolitano explained that the collection of evidence related to the origins of the virus and China's mishandling of related data would be difficult to obtain in an American courtroom.
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"How would an American federal judge possibly determine what caused the virus and caused it to spread?" he asked. "The judge can't go by media reports because that's all hearsay. The judge would actually have to have firsthand evidence in a courtroom, which at this point is nearly impossible to provide."
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
Last week, U.S. officials told Fox News a full-scale investigation has been launched into whether the virus, which has brought the global economy to its knees, escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China. The investigation will likely be a long one, and the findings will be presented to the Trump administration upon completion. At that point, White House policymakers and President Trump plan to use the findings to determine how to hold the country accountable for the pandemic.
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The FOX NEWS RUNDOWN is a news-based daily morning podcast delivering a deep dive into the major and controversial stories of the day.
Fox News' Tyler Olsen contributed to this report.
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