Comer: FBI's Silence Regarding Governor Walz's Relationship with CCP-Affiliated Entities and Officials is Inexcusable - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

Demands additional information following the FBI’s failure to cooperate with the committee’s investigation

WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today is renewing his request to FBI Director Christopher Wray for all information, documents, and communications in the FBI’s possession related to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) connected entities and officials Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has engaged and partnered with. To date, the FBI has failed to provide the Oversight Committee with information regarding Governor Walz’s documented relations with CCP-affiliated entities and officials, as well as any warnings or information the FBI has potentially provided to Governor Walz or his office.

“On August 16, 2024, the Committee requested information about the CCP-affiliated entities and officials with which Mr. Timothy Walz has engaged, as well as any warnings or information the Federal Bureau of Investigation has provided to Mr. Walz or his office about CCP influence operations. The deadline to produce such documents and information has passed, and the Bureau has failed to provide any response to the Committee. The FBI’s silence regarding Mr. Walz’s documented relations with CCP affiliates is inexcusable. The Committee must understand the full extent of Mr. Walz’s ties to the CCP. In 1993, Mr. Walz organized a trip to the PRC for his Alliance High School students; the costs for the trip were paid in part by the Chinese government. In 2007, Mr. Walz served not only as a member of Congress but also as a fellow at Macau Polytechnic University. According to the university’s website, Macau Polytechnic University exists ‘in alignment with China’s Belt and Road Initiative,’ a political warfare program developed by President Xi Jinping to exert China’s influence worldwide,” wrote Chairman James Comer.

Governor Walz has visited China, by his memory, roughly 30 times. During the 118th Congress, the Committee has investigated federal agencies’ responses to CCP influence and infiltration tactics, including the FBI’s own strategy. In July 2024, the FBI briefed the Oversight Committee on CCP influence operations. In part based on that briefing, Governor Walz’s history with CCP-affiliates bears characteristics of CCP influence operations.

“As recently as this year, Mr. Walz met with CCP Consul General Zhao Jian to discuss ‘China-U.S. relations and sub-national cooperation.’ Recent reports indicate Mr. Walz, while in Congress, ‘helped secure over $2 million’ and ‘pushed for a $5 million federal earmark’ for the Hormel Institute, which is a ‘Minnesota-based medical research center with a history of working with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.’ The Hormel Institute has also worked with the Beijing Genomics Institute, ‘a group labeled by the Pentagon as a Chinese military company.’ The FBI appears to deem these concerning facts unpersuasive to require its cooperation with a congressional investigation. The FBI told the Committee that the Bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force investigates this kind of CCP activity. The Committee is concerned that Mr. Walz’s involvement with Chinese entities and officials may have allowed the CCP to influence his decision-making as a congressman and governor and potentially would allow the CCP to influence the White House should Mr. Walz be elected vice president. Therefore, the Committee reiterates its request for documents from its August 16, 2024, letter… Additionally, the Committee requests all documents and information in the FBI’s possession regarding the Beijing Genomics Institute, the Hormel Institute and Dr. Zigang Dong,” concluded Chairman James Comer.

Read the letter to FBI Director Wray here.