Chinese Influence in US Elections

The Washington Post reported the Chinese government tried to influence the presidential election last November.

The story said the Justice Department had,

quote, uncovered evidence that representatives of China sought to direct contributions

from foreign sources to the Democratic National Committee before the 1996 presidential campaign.

Then, on February 28, the Washington Post reported

the FBI was investigating possible Chinese involvement in congressional elections.

And last Sunday, the Post reported the FBI had warned

six members of Congress they had been targeted by China to receive illegal campaign contributions.

One of the members, Senator Dianne Feinstein of California,

described the briefing she received from the FBI.

The substance of it was that there were some credible sources that...

...the Chinese government, that they said they thought the Chinese government

might... be putting money into campaigns in the U.S.,

that the Ministry of State Security of China, their intelligence agency,

was aware of and supported that initiative,

and they also told me that there would be an attempt

on the part of the Chinese to encourage many more members

to come to China under the auspices of the Chinese government or their intermediaries

so that they could talk to them about U.S.-China policy from their perspective.

Now, once that warning was received, did any of it happen,

as far as you know, in terms of you specifically?

Well, let me say this.

First of all, it was not my first briefing

by the FBI about possible Chinese involvement in U.S. elections.

At the end of 1991, beginning of 1992,

I was briefed by the FBI that there was the same thing, an attempt on the part of the Chinese

to influence U.S. elections through intermediaries.

In public hearing with the Attorney General Barr at the time,

I said that I had information from inside the Justice Department to that effect.

He said, well, get your information together.

I don't know anything about it.

I said, no, I don't have the information,

your agency,

your department has the information.

This issue goes back at least six years,

and I don't think a member of Congress would know if

an overture was made, an intermediary had made a contribution whose source was the Chinese government.