Almost a month ago exactly, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) sent a subpoena to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to find out more information about Gov. Tim Walz's (D-MN) ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The subpoena came on September 30, just before Walz participated in the vice presidential debate against his Republican counterpart, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). On Tuesday morning, Comer sent a follow up to the secretary, as, in a not quite shocking move, DHS has not been so compliant.
Because "DHS has been unresponsive to the subpoena" and "[b]ecause of DHS’s lack of compliance with the Committee’s legal subpoena and unwillingness to cooperate in good faith," Comer wrote, his Committee is releasing "a small portion" of DHS' internal communication with a whistleblower.
On August 6, when Vice President Kamala Harris selected Walz as her running mate, "DHS officials with subject matter expertise" were discussing how the CCP was targeting Walz. Ever since Walz joined the ticket, there has been plenty of scrutiny surrounding the governor, including and especially when it comes to his connections with the CCP.
"Walt's [sic] got the Vp. You all have no idea how this feeds into what prc has been doing here with him and local gov. It's seriously a line of the intel. Target someone who is perceived they can get to DC[,]" the communication read, which was included in the Tuesday letter to Mayorkas. Any identifying features were redacted.
🚨 WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURES ABOUT WALZ’S CCP TIES 🚨
— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) October 29, 2024
Because of DHS’s lack of compliance with our legal subpoena and unwillingness to cooperate in good faith, @RepJamesComer is releasing a small portion of the Department’s internal communications received from a whistleblower… pic.twitter.com/Gu3AQ4qP3R
As Comer's letter went to further explain about such a message:
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 relate to Governor Walz. This particular message was communicated in a Microsoft Teams group chat amongst DHS employees entitled “NST NFT Bi-Weekly Sync,” the same chat identified in the Committee’s subpoena. A whistleblower has provided further information to the Committee that indicates officials from DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have been involved in the Department’s investigative and/or intelligence work connected with the CCP, the state of Minnesota, and Governor Walz.
Comer's letter goes on to mention those concerns with Walz to do with his connections to the CCP, which also involve the pathological liar he has been shown to be. During that vice presidential debate, Walz was confronted by co-moderator Norah O'Donnell for lying about the timeline of when he was in Hong Kong, where he claimed he was for the Tiananmen Square Massacre. He gave a particularly painful answer in response, and it came off as one of the worst and most memorable moments of the debate.
"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, referencing his letter from August 16 to FBI Director Christopher Wray and an article from The Atlantic about that particularly memorable debate moment.
Did DHS respond? Sort of. The subpoena had a due date of October 7, just over three weeks ago now. DHS provided an unsatisfactory response and attempts at further communication were quite difficult. As Comer's letter described it [Emphasis original]:
On October 7, 2024, the due date of the subpoena, DHS provided a wholly unresponsive letter stating the Department “remains committed to engaging with the Committee in good faith.” Notably, DHS did not produce responsive documents before the subpoena’s due date and subsequently neglected to produce a single responsive document.
After receiving DHS’s unresponsive letter, the Committee sought an update from DHS about its response to the subpoena and production of the requested documents and communications. It took two weeks for DHS to agree to schedule a phone call with the Committee. On October 21, 2024, DHS’s Senior Advisor of the Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs spoke with the Committee but offered no substantive information, nor any assurance that substantive information would be forthcoming. During the October 21 phone call, DHS was unwilling to articulate an accommodation request, to provide any information about DHS’s response to the subpoena, to state whether its office had obtained the requested documents, or to assert whether or not DHS intends to provide the Committee with any information at all. DHS’s response was anything but “good faith.” DHS has been wholly unresponsive, and the Committee is considering all available options.
It's worth highlighting that Comer is clear that "DHS has been wholly unresponsive," and thus "the Committee is considering all available options." His letter also points out how this isn't exactly a good look for DHS. "Federal agencies must be vigilant in identifying, countering, and deterring CCP elite capture. It appears to the Committee that DHS officials are specifically concerned about Governor Walz’s involvement with the PRC, but that DHS leadership is covering up such concerns by refusing to produce related documents and communications," his letter offers.
Comer's letter also reminded that the Committee's September 30 subpoena "was tailored to only require the following specific information from DHS, including its Office of Intelligence and Analysis[,]" noting before that that "DHS’s unwillingness to cooperate with a Congressional subpoena seeking information on this subject of importance to the American people raises more questions."
When it comes to the Committee's demands, Comer notes that 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. The Committee expects DHS to promptly respond with a substantive production of documents."
The Committee is also looking to have "a transcribed interview" with Jacob Marx, Senior Advisor of the Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs and Committee staff, requesting that staff be contacted by November 4. That is the day before the election.
Although not mentioned in Comer's letter, Walz's connections to the CCP have been in the news this week as well for brand new reasons. The governor reportedly "had secret fling with daughter of top Chinese Communist official during teaching stint in China," according to the Daily Mail.
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