House GOP investigators on Tuesday said the Department of Homeland Security is not cooperating with its probe into whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is being targeted by an influence campaign from communist China.
As a result, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer released internal communications from a whistleblower in which DHS officials discuss Beijing’s possible attempts to leverage Mr. Walz’s position as a vice presidential candidate, given his history of trips to China decades ago.
“The committee’s concerns surrounding [Chinese Community Party] 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,” Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mr. Walz taught in China in 1989 and led field trips there later in his teaching career, sparking scrutiny from House Republicans after his selection as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Also this week, a Chinese woman told media outlets that she had a romantic relationship with Mr. Walz in the late 1980s when he taught in China.
Mr. Comer’s disclosures on Tuesday focus on a Microsoft Teams discussion among DHS officials after Ms. Harris selected Mr. Walz in midsummer.
“Walt’s [sic] got the vp. You all have no idea how this feeds into what the 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 message says.
Mr. Comer said there are likely more examples in DHS’s possession.
“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,” Mr. Comer said.
The letter is a follow-up to a subpoena Mr. Comer sent to DHS in September.
House Democrats ridiculed the request as a Hail Mary attempt to dig up dirt on Mr. Walz before the vice presidential debate on Oct. 1.
“The tarnished hero of the Biden impeachment investigation has just thrown out one of his classic boomerang ‘bombshell’ accusations, revealing to the world that employees at the Department of Homeland Security were actually chatting about Governor Tim Walz over Microsoft Teams message!” Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat, said at the time. “This comically trivial last-ditch attempt to smear Governor Walz is one more embarrassing and strained attempt to curry favor with Donald Trump’s collapsing campaign.”
In his new letter, Mr. Comer demanded all communications from Microsoft Teams chats related to Mr. Walz since July 1, and all intelligence notes and reports related to the governor since November 2023.
“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,” Mr. Comer wrote.
The chairman said the inquiry is necessary to understand how federal agencies are countering influence operations by Beijing.
“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,” Mr. Comer wrote.
Mr. Walz has defended his trips to China as educational attempts to share cultural experiences and understand an important country.
“I learned a lot about China,” he said at the vice presidential debate against Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio. “I hear the critiques of this. I would make the case that Donald Trump should have come on one of those trips with us. I guarantee you he wouldn’t be praising [Chinese President] Xi Jinping about COVID. And I guarantee you he wouldn’t start a trade war that he ends up losing. So this is about trying to understand the world.”
The Washington Times reached out to DHS for comment on the Comer letter.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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