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My Point of View by Robert Hoffman

A shared Aug. 16 letter from James Comer:

The Committee on Oversight and Accountability (Committee) is conducting a government-wide investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP or the Party) political warfare operations against America and the response from federal agencies. Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced her vice presidential running mate, Timothy Walz, the current governor of Minnesota. As part of the committee’s government-wide investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI or the Bureau) briefed the Committee on April 22, 2024, and July 17, 2024. FBI briefers told the Committee that the Bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) investigates exactly the kind of activity that has since come to light about Governor Walz. As such, the Committee seeks information about the Chinese entities and officials Governor Walz has engaged and partnered with, as well as any warnings or advice the FBI may have given to Governor Walz about U.S. political figures being targeted by or recruited for CCP influence operations.

It has come to the Committee’s attention that Governor Walz has longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible to the Party’s strategy of elite capture, which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans. Reporting about Governor Walz’s extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office raises questions about possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor and should he be elected, as vice president.

Recent reporting reveals that Governor Walz has concerning ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 1993, according to the Star-Herald, as a teacher, Mr. Walz organized a trip to the PRC for Alliance High School students, where costs were paid by the Chinese government. In 1994, Mr. Walz set up a private company named “Educational Travel Adventures Inc.,” which coordinated annual student trips to the PRC until 2003 and was led by Mr. Walz himself. The corporation was reportedly dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007. Since his first trip to China, Governor Walz has visited the PRC an estimated “30 times.” In its investigation, the Committee has highlighted the importance of U.S. officials being cognizant of CCP political and psychological warfare efforts that seek to threaten national security.

While serving in Congress, Mr. Walz also served as a fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University, a Chinese institution that characterizes itself as having a “long held devotion to and love for the motherland.” At the time he disclosed serving as a Macau fellow, Mr. Walz also had significant credit card debt. In 2019, Governor Walz, headlined the 27th National Convention for the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association in the state of Minnesota. Governor Walz spoke alongside the President of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), which, a year later, the Department of State exposed as “a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,” including efforts “to directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda.”

Governor Walz has admitted that he does not “fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship.” Despite bipartisan efforts to identify and defeat CCP unrestricted warfare against America, Governor Walz continues problematic engagement with concerning entities and individuals. In March 2024, he met with Consul General Zhao Jian to discuss “China-U.S. relations and sub-national cooperation.” Despite his knowledge and condemnation of communist China’s human rights violations, Governor Walz has said he “applaud[s] the accomplishments of the Chinese people and recognize[s] that some in the Chinese Government advocate for greater rule of law.”

To assist the Committee’s investigation into CCP infiltration and influence operations and the response from federal agencies, please provide the following documents and information no later than Aug. 30, 2024: All documents and communications in the FBI’s possession, including that of the Foreign Influence Task Force’s, regarding any Chinese entity or individual with whom Mr. Walz may have engaged or partnered. Such entities and individuals include, but are not limited to, the following gathered from recent reporting and related entities: Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Chinese Students and Scholars Associations. Confucius Institutes. Consul General Zhao Jian. Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States. Macau Polytechnic University. Ministry of Public Security. Ministry of State Security. National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification. PRC consulates in the United States. The united front, including the United Front Work Department. U.S. China People’s Friendship Association and United States China Heartland Association. All documents and communications between the FBI and Governor Walz or the Office of the Governor of Minnesota pertaining to warnings or guidance about subnational government officials engaging with the PRC, CCP and the CCP’s proxies.

Sincerely, James Comer Chairman Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

Freeborn County GOP Chairman Robert Hoffman shared this letter written by Congressman James Comer on Aug. 16, 2024.