A federal lawsuit filed by Missouri four years ago accusing China of hoarding facemasks and other protective equipment is now going to trial.
Filed by former Attorney General, and now Senator, Eric Schmitt, it accuses the government of China of a “sinister campaign of malfeasance and deception” as it hoarded PPE and lied about the Covid virus.
It was dismissed by the judge in 2022 but part of the suit was reinstated by the court of appeals last year. In its most recent filing, current Attorney General Andrew Bailey said China’s action cost the state almost $500 billion in lost economic activity and up to $15 billion in lost tax revenue. Bailey has pursued the lawsuit despite repeatedly saying masks didn’t work to combat Covid.
China has not mounted a defense.
