THREAD on Missouri v. China:

@Eric_Schmitt’s lawsuit against China presents them with a stark choice.

(1) Show up to federal court in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and try to convince Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. to dismiss based on sovereign immunity; or

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(2) Don’t show up, default, and then face literally decades of enforcement actions as Missouri chases and attaches Chinese assets all over the country. And probably lose access to American financial institutions forever.

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Either way, this is a well-designed lawsuit, and I’d much rather be Missouri’s lawyers than China’s lawyers.

My guess: China shows up to defend itself, wins a partial dismissal, but some of the claims against some of the defendants survive.

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And that’s all @Eric_Schmitt needs. Anything less than a total victory is an epochal loss for China.

Based on this complaint, I don’t see China getting the entire suit against all the many named defendants tossed during the preliminary stages of this litigation.

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Schmitt’s Missouri AG’s Office isn’t well-known in beltway circles (yet), but it should be.

In Solicitor John Sauer (former Scalia clerk), Missouri has one of the best strategic appellate lawyers in government service in the country (federal or state). Period.

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Assistant AG Justin Smith, who according to the docket was the one to file the complaint, is a former colleague of mine, and one of the most creative, disciplined, and talented lawyers I have ever worked with.

I could go on, but from top to bottom, that office is stacked.

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This case is going to move very slowly. Cases against foreign governments tend to.

But those legal “experts” blandly dismissing it out of hand don’t know what they’re talking about.

My money is on Missouri.

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