While the country continues to struggle with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, there continue to be questions raised about China and its role in the spread of the virus.
Some have speculated China did not do enough to limit the damage of COVID-19, and that inaction was due to a desire to preserve its domestic political circumstances.
Late Monday, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for a “Pearl Harbor-like” investigation from Congress into China to determine an answer to those questions.
“The Chinese communist government has been lying to its own people and to the world,” Sessions said in a statement. “The Chinese response to the Wuhan Virus was not mere inaction or incompetence, but a malicious and intentional effort to cover-up the outbreak and prevent the world from taking it seriously until it was too late to stop the spread. Worse yet, the Chinese communist government continues to lie about the virus today. They must be held accountable, and we must get to the bottom of exactly what they knew, when they knew it, and the actions they took that plunged the world into this pandemic.”
“Today, I am renewing my call for the creation of a Select Committee of Congress to investigate the origins and cover-up of the Wuhan Virus,” he added. “We have used similar committees in the past at pivotal moments in our nation’s history, including after the attack on Pearl Harbor, after the Watergate scandal, after the Iran-Contra Affair, and others. The seriousness of this preventable global pandemic calls for an equally serious response.”
Sessions said more would be required beyond the investigation, calling the inquiry itself the “beginning” of an effort to hold China accountable.
“But a serious investigation is not the end: It is the beginning,” he said. “Once we discover the truth and forever set the record straight about China’s actions, we will then be able to take stern action to hold the Chinese government accountable.”
Among the items Sessions argues are worthy of being subject to the investigation are China’s punitive actions against whistleblowers seeking to warn the world about COVID-19, efforts to mislead the World Health Organization and other global bodies about the threat of the virus, attempts to blame other nations for its origins and if there was any credence to claims the damage could have been mitigated had China acted responsibly.
Sessions also criticized congressional Democrats for their reluctance to speak out about China’s role and but focusing on President Donald Trump to score political points.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently created her own committee in the House of Representatives to micromanage President Trump’s response to the Wuhan Virus and harass the administration,” Sessions said. “She and the other China apologists are focusing on the wrong thing. With some exceptions, Republicans in Congress have enabled her by keeping silent about China. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats alike to get off their duff and stop allowing China to twist the narrative and avoid accountability.”
Sessions faces former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville in a July 14 runoff election to determine who will face incumbent U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) in November’s general election.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.
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