Exclusive: The House Oversight Committee is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, and his alleged “longstanding ties” to China and Chinese Communist Party-linked entities, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital obtained an exclusive copy of a letter written by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) to FBI Director Christopher Wray informing the FBI of the committee’s investigation into Walz.
“The Oversight and Accountability Committee is conducting a government-wide investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s political warfare activities against the United States and federal agencies’ responses,” he wrote. “Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced that she will nominate current Minnesota Governor Timothy Waltz as her running mate.”
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Comer said the committee received reports from the FBI on April 22 and July 17, both before Walz was named Harris’ running mate.
Vice President Kamala Harris attends a rally in Glendale, Arizona, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, with vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
But Comer said an FBI briefing officer told the committee that the agency’s Foreign Influence Task Force was “investigating the exact same type of activity that has since come to light regarding Governor Walz.”
Comer is now seeking information about Chinese entities and officials with whom Governor Walz “has engaged or collaborated,” as well as “any warnings or advice the FBI may have given Governor Walz about American politicians being targeted or recruited in Chinese Communist Party influence operations.”
Comer said Waltz has longstanding ties to organizations and officials with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, making him susceptible to the party’s “elite capture” strategy, which aims to co-opt elite political, cultural and academic figures “to influence the United States to the benefit of the Communist regime and to the detriment of the American people.”
Comer pointed to reports that Walz had “extensive interactions with Chinese Communist Party officials and entities while in public office,” raising questions about “potential Chinese Communist Party influence in his decision-making as governor and, if 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 reports have revealed that Governor Walz has concerning ties to the People’s Republic of China,” Comer wrote.
Comer pointed to reports that while Waltz was a teacher in the early 1990s, he organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students that was “paid for by the Chinese government.”
“In 1994, Waltz founded a private company called Educational Travel Adventures, which organized annual student trips to China and was personally run by Waltz until 2003,” Comer wrote, adding that the company “reportedly dissolved four days after Waltz was sworn in as a congressman in 2007.”
Mugshot of Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz after his 1995 DUI arrest in Nebraska
Comer also said Walz has visited China “an estimated 30 times.”
“In its investigation, the Committee emphasized the importance for U.S. authorities to be aware of the Chinese Communist Party’s political and psychological warfare efforts to undermine national security,” Comer wrote.
Comer then touched on Walz’s time in Congress, noting that he served as a research fellow at the Macau Polytechnic University, a Chinese university that touts its “longstanding dedication and love for its country.”
Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks alongside Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign rally at Temple University’s Liacoras Center on August 6, 2024 in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnick/Getty Images)
“At the time he disclosed his service as a Macau Fellow, Waltz also had significant credit card debt,” Comer wrote, noting that in 2019 Waltz delivered a keynote speech at the 27th National Conference of the U.S.-China People’s Friendship Association in Minnesota.
“Governor Walz spoke alongside the chairman of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, which a year later the State Department exposed as a ‘Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting local governments,’ including efforts to ‘directly and malignly influence state and local leaders to advance China’s global agenda,'” Comer wrote.
Comer said Waltz himself “recognizes that we don’t necessarily need to be adversarial with China.”
“Despite bipartisan efforts to identify and defeat the Chinese Communist Party’s no-holds-barred war against America, Governor Walz continues his problematic engagements with questionable groups and individuals,” Comer wrote.
Comer also noted that Waltz met with Consul General Zhao Jian in March 2024 to discuss “U.S.-China relations and regional cooperation.”
Walz said the plan to rein in Social Security and raise the retirement age in 2010 was “very similar” to his own approach.
“Despite recognizing and condemning human rights abuses by Communist China, Governor Walz:[s] Recognizing the achievements of the Chinese people,[s] “Some in the Chinese government are advocating a stronger rule of law,” Comer wrote.
Vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will speak at AFSCME’s 46th International Convention in Los Angeles on August 13, 2024. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Comer is now asking the FBI to assist the committee’s investigation by providing documents and information about Chinese entities and individuals with whom Waltz may have been involved or affiliated.
Comer also is seeking records between the FBI and Walz or his governor’s office regarding warnings or guidance about local government officials’ ties to the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Communist Party or Chinese Communist Party proxies.
“The Chinese Communist Party seeks to destroy the United States through systematic influence and infiltration operations that target all aspects of American life, including our elected officials,” Comer said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Waltz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, has longstanding and close ties to China,” Comer said. “Waltz has visited China dozens of times, served as a fellow at Chinese institutions loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and spoke alongside representatives of Chinese organizations that the State Department has exposed as Chinese Communist Party efforts to influence and co-opt local leaders.”
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Comer added, “FBI briefing officers recently advised the committee that the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force is investigating Chinese Communist Party activity similar to Governor Walz’s ties to China.”
“The American people should fully understand just how deep Governor Walz’s ties are with China,” Comer told Fox News Digital.
The Harris-Waltz campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
