Washington Two U.S. officials who were familiar with the classified briefings told NBC News that the FBI has warned a few U.S. lawmakers that the Chinese Communist Party is trying to fabricate stories to paint them negatively due to their support for Taiwan and hawkish views of Beijing.
Due to the sensitive nature of the briefings, the U.S. officials asked not to be named. They claimed that one of the false narratives being spread by the CCP and referenced in FBI briefers is that these senators are supporting Taiwan because they accepted bribes from Taiwan.
One of the two U.S. officials told NBC News that the CCP is attempting to discredit congressional support for Taiwan’s democracy by portraying it as corrupt and not in the best interests of the American people. It won’t function.
The briefings took place in the fall, according to the authorities.
According to a third source, a House politician with expertise in national security issues, they were aware of the purported CCP scheme but were not given a personal briefing.
The FBI remained silent. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, responded to a detailed list of questions for this story with a statement: “The report is entirely fabricated, and the Chinese government has never had any plan to smear these lawmakers. The question of whether they have taken bribes from Taiwan is unrelated to China and should be looked into by the appropriate US authorities.
According to U.S. authorities, the confidential talks were referred to as defensive briefings, which means that the FBI wanted to provide the targeted individuals with important information in order to prevent the attacks, even if the suspected CCP plot had not yet been executed.
When the FBI discovers that top officials are the target of foreign intelligence operations, the bureau frequently gives them defensive briefings.
The future of Taiwan, a self-governing democracy and a vital U.S. ally in Asia that China claims as its territory, has been a major source of tension between Beijing and Washington in recent years.
The president of Taiwan gave then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the highest civilian accolade, during an unexpected visit in 2022. Pelosi was a vocal opponent of China’s human rights abuses. She was the highest-ranking U.S. official to set foot in Taiwan since former Speaker Newt Gingrich did it in 1997, and the move infuriated officials in Beijing, which launched military exercises around Taiwan including live-fire drills.
Similar visits to Taipei have been conducted by other politicians. To celebrate Lai Ching-te, the pro-independence candidate who had won the presidency only weeks earlier, bipartisan members of the special House committee looking into the CCP traveled to Taiwan in February. And this past May, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, led a bipartisan group of six lawmakers on anofficial congressional visit to Taiwanto meet with Lai.
When asked if they had gotten a classified briefing on the subject, a number of members of the House Intelligence Committee and the select House committee on the CCP chose not to comment. Lawmakers are not allowed to discuss any such confidential briefings in public.
Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the chairman of the select House committee on the CCP, had no comment about any specific plot by the CCP, but said it was no secret Beijing has been targeting U.S. officials and other Americans.
The CCP will try to discredit our way of life, our freedoms and will use every means necessary, Moolenaar told NBC News. So you know, whether it s hacking high-level officials communications, we can expect all these things.
According to U.S. intelligence officials and researchers, China has been using more sophisticated and aggressive strategies since the 2022 midterm elections to try to deepen political rifts in American society and discredit congressional candidates Beijing considers to be antagonistic to the regime’s interests, particularly regarding Taiwan’s status.
In the 2024 presidential contest, China did not appear to favor either candidate but insteadfocused on specific downballot raceswith covert disinformation campaigns, using artificial intelligence tools and fake accounts mimicking Americans. The candidates targeted included McCaul; Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala.; and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., according toan analysis from Microsoft. A Chinese Embassy spokesperson said at the time that the claims were “full of malicious speculations” and that China had “no intention” to and would “not interfere in the U.S. election.”
U.S. intelligence officials and analysts say China s efforts to stoke polarization and undercut Americans confidence in the democratic process are part of a long-term effort that includes global information operations designed to tarnish America s image abroad.
China s disinformation efforts have coincided with what U.S. officials say is aconcerted effortto steal intellectual property and U.S. military secrets through espionage and cyber hacks.
Earlier this month, the White House said that a Chinese hacking campaign targeting the U.S. and other countries wasmore sweeping and serious than previously known. The CCP had spied on the texts and calls of U.S. citizens by hacking at least eight American telecommunications companies, according to a White House official.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington responded to that allegation in a statement this month: China firmly opposes the US s smear attacks against China without any factual basis.
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