DHS employee warned colleagues that Walz’s nomination ‘feeds into’ China’s efforts to influence DC

FIRST ON FOX : An official throughout the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instructed colleagues that Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice to identify Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her working mate “feeds into” actions the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had been conducting “with him and local government,” warning that Beijing may “target” him to exert influence on U.S. coverage. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., launched an investigation in August into Walz’s alleged “longstanding” ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Last month, Comer subpoenaed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for information relating to these alleged connections after a whistleblower notified the committee of the existence of a non-classified Microsoft Teams group chat amongst DHS staff, in addition to extra intelligence reviews that allegedly contained data concerning Walz’s alleged connections to the CCP. 

COMER SUBPOENAS DHS FOR RECORDS RELATING TO WALZ’S ALLEGED TIES TO CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks throughout a marketing campaign rally at Burns Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

On Tuesday, Comer penned a letter to Mayorkas, making public the actual fact that DHS has been “unresponsive to the subpoena.” 

Now, Comer has unilaterally launched a portion of DHS inside communications it acquired from the whistleblower. 

“Walt’s [sic] got the Vp,” reads the message, with the id of the sender redacted. “You all have no idea how this feeds into what prc has been doing here with him and local gov.” 

The official added, “It’s seriously a line of the intel. Target someone who is perceived they can get to DC.” 

“The Committee is releasing the above message as an example of communications within DHS’s possession in which DHS officials express concern about the CCP targeting politicians and their influence operations at the state and local levels — and specifically, concerns about the CCP’s influence operations as they related to Governor Walz,” Comer wrote in a letter to Mayorkas Tuesday. 

Comer defined that the message was despatched utilizing a Microsoft Teams group chat amongst DHS staff, entitled “NST NFT Bi-Weekly Sync,” the identical chat recognized in Comer’s subpoena. 

Meanwhile, Comer stated that a whistleblower offered additional data to the committee that signifies officers from DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis and Homeland Security Investigations have been concerned within the company’s investigative and/or intelligence work linked with the CCP, the state of Minnesota and Walz. 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks throughout a listening to in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg through Getty Images)

“The Committee’s concerns surrounding CCP elite capture operations seeking to influence public officials like Governor Walz have intensified given recent reports about Governor Walz’s extensive travel history, unusual interactions in the People’s Republic of China, and recent inability to answer basic questions about his involvement in China,” Comer wrote. 

Comer can also be subpoenaing all intelligence data reviews and regional intelligence notes from November 2023 to current associated to Walz. 

Last month, Comer revealed that Walz had “engaged and partnered with” Chinese entities, making him “susceptible” to the CCP’s technique of “elite capture,” which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and tutorial circles to “influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.” 

HOUSE OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATING WALZ OVER ‘LONGSTANDING CONNECTIONS’ TO CHINA

Comer has pointed to reviews that Walz, whereas working as a instructor within the Nineties, organized a visit to China for Alliance High School college students. The prices had been reportedly “paid by the Chinese government.” 

Comer is investigating Walz’s 1994-created personal firm named “Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,” which coordinated annual pupil journeys to China till 2003 and was led by Walz. 

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz shakes palms with comic George Lopez prior to Walz talking throughout a marketing campaign occasion at Trevor Browne High School on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The firm reportedly “dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007.” 

Comer stated Walz has traveled to China an estimated “30 times.” 

Comer additionally pointed to Walz’s time in Congress, when he served as a fellow on the Macau Polytechnic University — a Chinese establishment that characterizes itself as having a “long-held devotion to and love for the motherland.” 

In 2019, Walz headlined the twenty seventh National Convention for the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association in Minnesota. Walz additionally spoke alongside the president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. A 12 months later, the State Department uncovered that group as “a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,” together with efforts to “directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda,” the House Oversight Committee revealed. 

WALZ APPOINTEE WITH APPARENT CCP TIES COULD EXPOSE POTENTIAL VEEP’S NATIONAL SECURITY WEAKNESS, LAWMAKER SAYS

Additionally, in March of this 12 months, Walz had a gathering with Consul General Zhao Jian to focus on “China-U.S. relations and subnational cooperation.” 

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a marketing campaign cease on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

As for the subpoena, Comer stated that DHS has been “unresponsive” and isn’t working in “good faith.” 

Comer stated the DHS “did not produce responsive documents.” 

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Last week, Comer stated he spoke with DHS’ senior advisor for legislative affairs throughout an Oct. 21 telephone name, however stated that official “offered no substantive information, nor any assurance that substantive information would be forthcoming.” 

“DHS has been wholly unresponsive, and the Committee is considering all available options,” Comer wrote. “The documents covered by the Committee’s subpoena will inform the Committee’s understanding of CCP political warfare against the United States and how effectively federal agencies are countering the communist regime’s infiltration operations.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz marketing campaign and DHS for remark.