House Oversight investigating Walz over 'longstanding connections' to China

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EXCLUSIVE: The House Oversight Committee is investigating Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and his alleged "longstanding connections" to China and CCP-linked entities, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., penned to FBI Director Christopher Wray, notifying the bureau of the committee’s investigation into Walz. 

"The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting a government-wide investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s political warfare operations against America and the response from federal agencies," he wrote. "Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced her vice presidential running mate, Timothy Walz, the current governor of Minnesota." 

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Comer said that the committee had been briefed by the FBI on April 22 and July 17 — both briefings occurred before Walz was named Harris’ running mate. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is accompanied by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

However, Comer said that FBI briefers told the committee that the bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force "investigates exactly the kind of activity that has since come to light about Governor Walz." 

Comer is now seeking information about the Chinese entities and officials Walz has "engaged and partnered with," as well as any "warnings or advice the FBI may have given to Governor Walz about U.S. political figures being targeted by or recruited for CCP influence operations." 

Comer said Walz has "longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible" to the CCP’s strategy of "elite capture," which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to "influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans." 

Comer pointed to reports of Walz’s "extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office," saying it raises questions about "possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor — and, should he be elected, as vice president." 

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Recent reporting reveals that Governor Walz has concerning ties to the People’s Republic of China," Comer wrote.

Comer pointed to reports that suggest that while Walz was a teacher in the early 1990s, he organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students, where the costs were reportedly "paid by the Chinese government."  

"In 1994, Mr. Walz set up a private company named ‘Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,’ which coordinated annual student trips to the PRC until 2003, and was led by Mr. Walz himself," Comer wrote, adding that the corporation was "reportedly dissolved four days after he took congressional office in 2007." 

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Comer also said Walz has traveled to China an estimated "30 times." 

"In its investigation, the Committee has highlighted the importance of U.S. officials being cognizant of CCP political and psychological warfare efforts that seek to threaten national security," Comer wrote. 

Comer then pointed to Walz’s time in Congress, noting he served as a fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University — a Chinese institution that characterizes itself as having a "long-held devotion to and love for the motherland." 

Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on Aug. 6, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"At the time he disclosed serving as a Macau fellow, Mr. Walz also had significant credit card debt," Comer wrote, noting that in 2019, Walz headlined the 27th National Convention for the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association in Minnesota.

"Governor Walz spoke alongside the president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which, a year later, the Department of State exposed as ‘a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,’ including efforts to ‘directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote the PRC’s global agenda,’" Comer wrote. 

Comer said Walz himself has "admitted that he does not ‘fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship.’" 

"Despite bipartisan efforts to identify and defeat CCP unrestricted warfare against America, Governor Walz continues problematic engagement with concerning entities and individuals," Comer wrote. 

Comer also pointed to a March 2024 meeting Walz had with Consul General Zhao Jian to discuss "China-U.S. relations and sub-national cooperation."

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"Despite his knowledge and condemnation of communist China’s human rights violations, Governor Walz has said he ‘applaud[s] the accomplishments of the Chinese people and recognize[s] that some in the Chinese Government advocate for greater rule of law,’" Comer wrote. 

Gov. Tim Walz, vice presidential nominee, delivers remarks at the AFSCME's 46th International Convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 13, 2024. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Comer is now requesting that the FBI assist in the committee’s investigation by providing documents and information related to any Chinese entity or individual with whom Walz may have engaged or partnered. 

Comer is also asking for any records between the FBI and Walz, or his gubernatorial office pertaining to warnings or guidance about subnational government officials engaging with the PRC, CCP and the CCP’s proxies. 

Comer, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said "the CCP has sought to destroy the United States through coordinated influence and infiltration campaigns that target every aspect of American life, including our own elected officials." 

"Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China," Comer said. "Mr. Walz has visited China dozens of times, served as a fellow at a Chinese institution that maintains a devotion to the CCP, and spoke alongside the President of a Chinese organization the State Department exposed as a CCP effort to influence and co-opt local leaders." 

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Comer added, "FBI briefers recently informed the Committee that the Bureau’s Foreign Influence Task Force investigates CCP activity that is similar to China’s engagement with Governor Walz." 

"The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walz’s relationship with China goes," Comer told Fox News Digital. 

The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.