Who Asked Bar At The Congressional Hearings About Registering As A Foreign Agent

Breitbart News senior contributor and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President Peter Schweizer's latest investigative exposé,Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, reveals how 23 quondam U.S. senators and congressman have lobbied for Chinese military or intelligence-linked companies subsequently leaving office.

Many lawmakers greenbacks in after leaving part by becoming lobbyists for corporations and other special interests. But one would promise that they would not go advocates for America's primary economical and political adversary — communist People's republic of china — past lobbying for outcomes that run counter to the United states of america' long-term interests.

Nevertheless, Schweizer's volume reveals that many former congressional leaders, committee chairman, and rank-and-file members are lobbying for Chinese intelligence and armed forces-linked companies.

The following 23 former members of Congress — the bulk of whom are Republicans — have lobbied for Chinese military or intelligence-linked companies.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) on September 24, 2015. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Boehner's advocacy for China began right every bit he became Speaker of the House and Republicans gained a historic majority.

In 2011, Congress was in the midst of passing a currency manipulation bill, the Currency Exchange Oversight Reform Act, to hold China accountable for keeping its currency artificially depression, thus making it easier to boost its exports.

China subsequently hired Squire Patton Boggs (SPB), one of D.C.'s most influential law firms, for $35,000 per month to cake the nib.

SPB registered as a foreign agent of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Washington, DC, after decades of close ties to the Chinese government.

The Chinese currency manipulation nib sailed through the Senate with a 63-35 vote, featuring strong bipartisan support.

Still, Boehner would not allow the nib to come to the House floor for a vote even though half of the Business firm Republican Conference and an "overwhelming" number of Democrats supported the nib.

"It'due south a pretty dangerous thing to be moving legislation through the U.Southward. Congress forcing someone to bargain with the value of a currency," Boehner said.

He even argued that the bill would lead to a trade war.

Schweizer said information technology "should be no surprise" that when Boehner retired from public office in 2015, he joined SPB as a "strategic adviser" to American and foreign clients.

SPB advised and helped Beijing navigate "issues that volition threaten their interests," according to Schweizer. This includes guidances on the defense force appropriations procedure, the 2020 full general elections, and American policy on Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, human rights, immigration, trade, and sanctions legislation.

Boehner'due south house has as well advised for Chinese government-linked corporations such as ChemChina, Communist china Railway Stock Corporation, Huawei, and Wanhua Chemic Group.

Chinese state-owned media often quotes SPB attorneys, who are often disquisitional of trade and technology restrictions on Chinese firms working in the United States.

SPB also has strong ties to the highest echelons of the Chinese government; Nick Chan, a senior partner for SPB in China, is also a member of the ruling National People's Congress (NPC).

"The NPC is the highest organ of state ability in People'southward Republic of China," SPB explained recently.

Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Doc)

From right to left: Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Doctor). (United States Congress)

Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-AR), a former member of the Senate Military Committee, lobbies for Alibaba, the Chinese technology giant. Alibaba paid his business firm, Greenberg Traurig, $200,000 in 2020. Greenberg Traurig also hired former Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and Albert Wynn (D-MD).

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)

Firm Foreign Diplomacy Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) at a hearing on Capitol Hill on September 26, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Tencent is another massive Chinese technology company and the creator of WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app with over one.2 billion active monthly users.

The Chinese tech firm likewise develops technologies with military applications and is closely "fused" with Cathay's Ministry of Public Security and the People'due south Liberation Army.

Tencent hired former Firm Strange Affairs Committee Chairman Royce to lobby the federal government. Tencent paid his firm $330,000 in 2020.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)

From left to right: Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Sen. John Breaux (D-LA), Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). (United States Congress, Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

ByteDance operates Tik Tok, the social media miracle that was has been widely criticized for its privacy, censorship practices, every bit well as its close ties to the Chinese government.

Schweizer has noted that onetime employees have complained that its content moderation practices are strongly "influenced by Beijing."

ByteDance hired former Sens. Lott and Breaux.

Lott served equally a erstwhile Senate majority leader and minority leader.

Breaux once remarked that his vote in the Senate was not for sale, just it is "bachelor for rent."

ByteDance also hired Denham and Gordon, whose house received $160,000 from the visitor in 2020.

Sen. Norman Coleman (R-MN), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Rep. Jon Christensen (R-NE), and Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL)

Clockwise from acme left: Sen. Norman Coleman (R-MN), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Rep. Jon Christensen (R-NE), and Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-FL). (United states Congress)

These lawmakers antechamber for ZTE Corporation, a armed forces-linked Chinese telecommunication firm. Coleman'south business firm alone received $2.94 million in 2019 for representing the company.

Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE)

From left to right: Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA), Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), and Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE). (United States Congress)

Huawei, some other Chinese telecom firm with ties to the Chinese military, hired former Rep. Don Bonker (D-WA) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL).

Stearns and Bonker, despite being on the opposite sides of the political spectrum, both piece of work at the lobbying firm APCO Worldwide. They too piece of work together on a contract lobbying for the People's Liberation Army-affiliated company COSCO.

Former Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) also signed up for Huawei in 2021.

The FCC has declared Huawei and ZTE telecom hardware a "national security" threat.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA)

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) speaking at an event in Atlanta, GA, on Jan 27, 2014. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Kingston served in the House from 1993 to 2015 and even served every bit the vice chairman of the House Republican Briefing from 2002 to 2006. In Congress, he served as a leading fellow member of the Firm Appropriations Committee, chairman of the Agronomics, Labor/Health and Man Services/Education, and Legislative Branch subcommittees. The Georgia Republican besides was a long-time member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Despite his accolades equally a "guardian of small business," Kingston has lobbied for ChemChina, the Chinese state-owned chemical company.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. Toby Moffett (D-CT), and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)

From left to right: Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Rep. Toby Moffett (D-CT), and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). (United States Congress)

Vitter and Moffett received $70,000 per month from Hikvision, a Chinese surveillance company largely endemic past a government-controlled conglomerate known every bit the China Electronics Group. The Chinese government uses Hikvision's surveillance cameras to monitor Uyghurs in the Chinese Communist Party's prison camps.

Vitter voted against the Currency Exchange Oversight Reform Act.

Boucher'southward firm received $i.75 million in 2019 for lobbying on behalf of Hikvision.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

Ranking member of the Senate Strange Relations Committee Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) at a hearing on Capitol Loma on May 26, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Boxer, who represented California as a Democrat from 1993 to 2017 and was a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, later signed on to advise Hikvision and registered every bit a foreign agent with the Section of Justice.

She claimed that she merely wanted to help create American jobs by providing communication to the Chinese surveillance company.

"When I am asked to provide strategic advice to help a company operate in a more responsible and humane way consequent with U.South. law in spirit and letter, it is an opportunity to brand things better while helping protect and create American jobs," she said in relation to her lobbying for Hikvision.

Boxer subsequently stopped lobbying for the company later facing public outcry.

Perhaps ironically, Boxer voted in favor of the 2011 Currency Commutation Oversight Reform Human action that Boehner blocked.

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on May 17, 2013. (AP Photograph/Charles Dharapak)

Boustany, who served 12 years in Congress and was a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, became the co-chair of the U.S.-China working group, a bipartisan caucus for members of Congress interested in problems related to Communist china.

When leaving function in 2016, Boustany tried to become a trade representative for the Donald Trump administration. When he failed to become that job, he joined Capitol Counsel, a Washington, DC, lobbying house.

Capitol Counsel registered with the Department of Justice as a foreign amanuensis to represent the Prc-United States Commutation Foundation (CUSEF). As function of this contract with CUSEF, Capitol Counsel provided "political intelligence gathering" and "substantive advice on Mainland china-related legislation," including arranging meetings on Capitol Hill.

Boustany at the same time became a spokesman for an organization called Tariffs Injure the Heartland, which argued that the Trump administration's proposed tariffs against China'south abusive merchandise practices would actually hurt working-class Americans.

Capitol Counsel was also hired to lobby for an entity called the U.Due south.-China Transpacific Foundation (UCTPF). Every bit Schweizer notes, the UCTPF, according to its filings with the Justice Department, is funded by the Chinese government. The system's ostensible purpose is to sponsor trips for politicians and their staff to visit mainland Prc.

Sen. William Cohen (R-ME)

Secretary of Defense William Cohen speaks at a briefing at the Pentagon on June 3, 1999. (WILLIAM PHILPOTT/AFP via Getty Images)

After Cohen served in the Senate, he became the secretary of Defense during the Nib Clinton administration.

He established the Cohen Grouping in 2001 after leaving the Department of Defence (DOD). The Cohen Group has touted its deep ties to the Chinese regime, including Cohen's first visit to Prc as a congressman in 1978 when he met Chinese Communist Leader Deng Xiaoping.

"[Cohen] has been a constant presence in the U.S.-Red china relationship, including commercial development and security cooperation," according to the Cohen Grouping's website.

The Cohen Group also extends its consulting for Chinese state-owned enterprises, which Schweizer says are "frequently used equally tools of the Chinese state."

The former Defence force secretary also served as the vice chairman of the U.S. People's republic of china-Business Council, a lobbying group for American companies to exercise business organisation in China.

When the federal authorities deemed Huawei a security threat considering of its close ties to the Chinese intelligence apparatus, the visitor hired the Cohen Group to negotiate with the U.S. director of national intelligence to notice a way to sell its hardware in the United States.

Conclusion

InCarmine-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win, Schweizer calls for a ban on lobbying on behalf of Chinese war machine and intelligence-linked companies.

He writes that although "not all lobbying is bad," that right does not extend to lobbying linked to the Chinese war machine-intelligence appliance.

"Besides many sometime politicians are making bundles of coin representing these interests in the corridors of Washington ability," Schweizer charged.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

Who Asked Bar At The Congressional Hearings About Registering As A Foreign Agent,

Source: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/01/31/red-handed-23-former-u-s-senators-and-congressmen-who-lobby-for-chinese-military-or-chinese-intelligence-linked-companies/

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