On Tuesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said he believes that World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and others were paid by the Chinese government and called for W.H.O. members to be open to lawsuits in the United States.

Cotton responded to the World Health Organization’s statement that the coronavirus originated in animals and wasn’t manipulated in a lab by stating, “The most plausible explanation is that, through incompetent, slipshod safety practices, one of those viruses escaped from the lab and began to infect people in Wuhan. So the W.H.O. is answering a question that is not being asked, which tells you they’re trying to spin and cover up for China once again. The W.H.O. is a corrupt, rotten organization.”

Host Hugh Hewitt asked Cotton if he thinks “Tedros and others have received direct financial payments from the PRC and the CCP?”

Cotton responded, “I do, Hugh. Going back to Dr. Tedros’ time in Ethiopia, where China had one of its first Belt and Road initiatives, corruption, payoffs, bribes, and kickbacks follow fast on the heels of the Belt and Road initiative. And China aggressively campaigned in 2017 for Dr. Tedros to become the head of the W.H.O. You have to ask yourself, why would they do that? And looking at the W.H.O.’s performance, especially over the last three months, related to this pandemic, you have to ask yourself, why have they covered up and defended China at every single turn?”

He added that members of the W.H.O. should be open to lawsuits in the U.S., “And if they’re not, then we’ll look at legislation that would address that.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett