Home Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday for info regarding Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice chairman, and a obscure alleged connection to the Chinese language Communist Social gathering (CCP).
Comer mentioned in a letter accompanying the subpoena — issued on the day earlier than the vice presidential debate between Walz and Republican Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) — that his committee acquired whistleblower disclosures about “critical concern amongst Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) personnel concerning a longstanding connection between” Walz and China.
Particularly, Comer pointed to a nonclassified chat that DHS workers used on Microsoft Groups titled “NST NFT Bi-Weekly Sync” that he mentioned comprises related info, along with additional categorised and unclassified paperwork within the management of DHS. The acronym stands for “Nation State Menace — Nationwide Practical Crew,” in accordance with the committee.
Comer didn’t go into element about what sort of considerations had been raised about Walz’s alleged connection to China however mentioned the data got here by a whistleblower.
Walz, a former educator, spent a yr instructing in China in 1989, and later led area journeys to the nation — visiting China dozens of occasions. That journey has been under scrutiny from House Republicans since he ascended to the presidential ticket over the summer season.
The subpoena gave a deadline of Oct. 7 to supply the communication within the Microsoft Groups group chat regarding Walz from July 1, 2024, to current, in addition to any intelligence info experiences or regional intelligence notes since Nov. 2023 to current regarding Walz, his workers, or his gubernatorial workplace.
It’s uncommon for committees to concern a requirement for paperwork with out first sending a letter requesting the data to be offered voluntarily.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the rating member on the committee, dismissed Comer’s subpoena as political.
“What are you aware, it’s the eve of the vice-presidential debate, and Chairman Comer has apparently been assigned one other flotsam and jetsam errand from the GOP’s political smear barrel,” Raskin mentioned in a press release. “The tarnished hero of the Biden impeachment investigation has simply thrown out considered one of his basic boomerang ‘bombshell’ accusations, revealing to the world that workers on the Division of Homeland Safety had been really chatting about Governor Tim Walz over Microsoft Groups message! This comically trivial last-ditch try to smear Governor Walz is yet one more embarrassing and strained try to curry favor with Donald Trump’s collapsing marketing campaign.”
The subpoena is simply the most recent motion from Comer and Home Republicans taking higher goal at Walz and Vice President Harris within the wake of President Biden dropping out of the presidential race and Harris turning into the celebration’s nominee.
The Home Training Committee subpoenaed Walz himself earlier this month in relation to a Minnesota nonprofit that had been charged for fraudulently utilizing federal COVID-19 funds.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) beforehand wrote to Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin questioning whether Walz complied with overseas journey reporting necessities for his safety clearance as he traveled to China whereas serving within the Nationwide Guard.
And Comer previously sought information from the FBI about whether or not it has ever supplied any defensive briefings to Walz, a follow by which the company informs politicians and different figures whether or not they could be a goal of Chinese language intelligence or affect efforts. Comer additionally requested the FBI to show over info on greater than a dozen Chinese language entities, together with some it’s unclear Walz had any contact with.
Comer’s Monday letter, although, aimed to sign that the transfer to subpoena DHS had motivations apart from politics.
“The Committee’s investigation of the CCP — begun lengthy earlier than Governor Walz was elevated to be the vice-presidential candidate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — seeks to grasp the extent of the CCP’s infiltration and affect marketing campaign and to establish legislative reforms to fight CCP political warfare concentrating on distinguished People for elite seize,” Comer mentioned within the letter to Mayorkas.
“Particularly, if a state governor and main political celebration’s nominee for Vice President of the USA has been a witting or unwitting participant within the CCP’s efforts to weaken our nation, this is able to strongly recommend that there are alarming weaknesses within the federal authorities’s effort to defend the USA from the CCP’s political warfare that should be urgently addressed,” Comer added.
The Harris-Walz marketing campaign didn’t instantly present touch upon the subpoena. DHS declined to remark.
Rebecca Beitsch contributed.
Up to date at 6:03 p.m.
