A family with ties to suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang has reportedly given $4.4 million in donations to prominent California Democrats, including Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris. Fang has ties to California politician Eric Swalwell, who admitted to the FBI that he had a "physical relationship" with Fang.

Fang also has ties to the Yin family, who made a fortune running McDonald's franchises in California, including Chei Chen Yin (known as "C.C."), who knew Fang through an organization he founded.

The revelations raise more questions about national security and foreign influence over American elections.

Here's more:

Interactions between wealthy business leaders with direct ties to China have come under heavier scrutiny in recent years, as a series of scandals have erupted over alleged Chinese influence agents gaining access to elected officials from small town mayors to members of Congress and the governor of New York. Those relationships have often been facilitated with political donations.

Jacqueline Deal, a board member of State Armor, a company that helps lawmakers detect foreign influence operations, told CBS News that the Chinese government has a "broad-reaching, coordinated strategy for dominance that relies on shaping U.S. policy so that over time we get weaker and [China] gets stronger."

She said she suspects political donations are being used to help "disincentivize these leaders from noticing Chinese Communist Party political interference." There is no evidence the Yins have been co-opted in this way.

C.C. Yin told CBS News: "I love America, and I strongly condemn any effort by any foreign government to interfere in American politics or undermine our democracy." Henry Yin did not respond to requests for comment.

C.C. Yin set up the Asian Pacific American Public Affairs (APAPA), a group that promotes minorities in public office.

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C.C. Yin also has a brother, Henry, who runs a China-U.S. consultancy. They've given $445,000 to Gavin Newsom's campaigns. They've also given hundreds of thousands more to Kamala Harris and others.

APAPA says Fang had no formal role with the group, but C.C. Yin was identified in the FBI's files on Fang, and that Eric Swalwell told the FBI that C.C. Yin referred him to Fang when Swalwell reached out to APAPA for support.

There were also meetings between Henry Yin and United Front, a Chinese government-influenced arm.

Henry Yin also accompanied Gavin Newsom on his 2023 trip to China, working as an "advisor." 

C.C. Yin helped arrange that trip. Henry Yin has also advised Ro Khanna.

This news comes as ActBlue, the Democrat fundraising platform, faces scrutiny over its handling of potentially foreign donations. 

According to Boswell, Henry Yin told Chinese media his goal was trade and cooperation, and C.C. Yin condemned foreign influence attempts. There's no evidence the Yins knew of Fang's alleged spying or that they've been compromised by the Chinese government. That being said, it sure raises more questions than it answers.