Allowing citizens to sue China for damages caused by the novel coronavirus would backfire and open up the United States to the same level of scrutiny from other countries around the world, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday.
Feinstein, whose remarks came during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, said, "We launch a series of unknown events that could be very, very dangerous. I think this is a huge mistake."
"Where I live… we hold China as a potential trading partner," she said earlier. "As a country that has pulled tens of millions of people out of poverty in a short period of time. And as a country growing into a respectable nation among other nations. And I deeply believe that. I've been to China a number of times. I've studied the issues."
Feinstein claimed other countries, including China, may decide to use the new legal precedent against the U.S., setting off a chain reaction, resulting in global chaos.
Her comments come three months after Missouri's Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, provided a statement to Fox News about a lawsuit he filed against China on behalf of the state, saying that the impact of COVID-19 has led to thousands of Missourians being infected, killed and economically devastated.
"In Missouri, the impact of the virus is very real – thousands have been infected and many have died, families have been separated from dying loved ones, small businesses are shuttering their doors, and those living paycheck to paycheck are struggling to put food on their table," he wrote.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/feinstein-letting-americans-sue-china-over-coronavirus-response-would-be-huge-mistake