Tag Archive for: Kathy Hochul

China Hawks Slam Biden-Harris Admin For Ignoring Growing Evidence Beijing Is Running Spy Ops Out Of Diplomatic Posts

The Biden State Department has seemingly ignored mounting evidence of China running influence and intel operations from its diplomatic posts. And national security experts and China hardliners say Americans shouldn’t expect the administration to take action anytime soon.

Linda Sun, a former high-level official under Gov. Kathy Hochul, was arrested on Sep. 3 on allegations of acting on behalf of China’s government at the direction of the New York Chinese consulate, adding to a growing list of allegations of Chinese influence activities. The State Department has several tools to deter Beijing and Chinese consulates from such activities but has not taken any visible measures to do so, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“There is a range of things the State Department could be doing… The least they could do is to reiterate the warnings of the previous [Trump administration], and where they see need of it, improve upon the warnings of the previous administration,” Steve Yates, a senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and former national security official, told the DCNF. “That hasn’t happened, and I don’t expect it to happen now.”

Yates pointed to an example where the Trump administration shut down a Chinese consulate in Texas in 2020 over concerns that it was a hub for espionage and influence activities. The Biden administration has not closed any of the four remaining Chinese consulates located across the U.S.

Sun was accused of using to position to alter public statements to read as favorable to Beijing, block Taiwanese officials from meeting with New York officials and help smuggle foreign nationals into the U.S. using falsified immigration documents — all in exchange for bribes and gifts from the Chinese consulate, which coordinated with her and provided her guidance in committing the alleged crimes, according to Sun’s indictment.

Sun is not the only alleged Chinese operative in New York’s political orbit who has been arrested for their involvement in espionage or influence activities. The DCNF previously found that Lu Jianwang, an alleged Chinese spy who was arrested in 2023, had a long history of mingling with Democratic New York Rep. Grace Meng, who herself previously praised the Chinese Communist Party’s “leadership,” according to a separate DCNF investigation.

Lu was allegedly helping operate an illegal Chinese police station in New York City — which the FBI raided in 2023 and was eventually shuttered — that spied on and intimated critics of the Chinese government and was linked to a China-based law enforcement unit that specializes in extraditing Chinese citizens. Chinese operative Chen Jinping was arrested alongside Lu in 2023 for his alleged involvement in the police station.

Lu had received an indirect request from New York’s Chinese consulate to help counter a protest of the Chinese government in 2015, according to his federal indictment. He was also present at a protest against Taiwan in 2023 that was partially orchestrated by the consulate, according to National Review.

“China has an extensive spy and infiltration network in the United States,” John Lee, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former national security adviser in the Australian government, told the DCNF, noting that New York politicians who have potentially interacted malignly with Chinese operatives should face legal consequences. “I would like to see the federal government publicize these infiltrations and condemn them openly and frequently to alert Americans at all levels of government that this is occurring.”

The State Department, tasked with overseeing U.S. relations with other nations, can take a number of steps to deter Beijing, such as by confronting and issuing warnings to China’s U.S.-based consulates or issuing public condemnations, experts told the DCNF.

In certain cases, the State Department could even expel a diplomat from the U.S., a significant move that would likely be met with an equal response from Beijing. But experts told the DCNF they feel there has been an alarming lack of action from the State Department on the matter, even though the department has an annual budget of over $80 billion. and approximately 70,000 employees domestically and abroad.

“The State Department appears to be doing everything it can to downplay this situation and avoid retaliation from Beijing,” Michael Sobolik, senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, told the DCNF. “Deterrence is just as real in diplomacy as it is in the military realm. The State Department is signaling that it is unwilling to make it painful for Beijing to influence U.S. politics for its own gain. That’s a mistake, one that will leave us vulnerable to future predations from the Chinese Communist Party.”

Hochul said last Wednesday that she had asked the State Department to expel Huang Ping, the highest-ranking diplomat at China’s consulate in New York, given that he frequently coordinated with Sun, according to Politico. However, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters later that day that Huang did not need to be expelled because he had already left the U.S. at the end of August as his term had ended.

But Huang was seen in New York and serving in his post as of last Thursday, according to public records. China’s Embassy in the U.S. confirmed to the DCNF in a statement this week that Huang is “performing his duties as usual.”

The State Department told the DCNF that diplomats usually have 30 days at the end of their term to leave the U.S. or seek to change their diplomatic status.

“It is possible that they just didn’t do the due diligence to see what was going on. They accepted a talking point that wasn’t fact-checked and took it out publicly. That’s malpractice on their part, but you have to judge whether that’s major malpractice or a little screw-up,” Yates told the DCNF. ” I would think that it’s a degree of laziness on the part of the State Department. There’s also a degree of defensiveness on the part of this administration, which doesn’t want to escalate this because it is an embarrassment to them and an embarrassment to the government of New York.”

Broadly, the Biden administration has faced questions for its handling of U.S.-China relations in recent years, with some critics arguing that Beijing has failed to respond to diplomatic pressure and continues to attempt to undermine the U.S. through a variety of methods, including cyberwarfare, election interference, domestic espionage activities and drug trafficking.

Though New York has become a focal point for China’s influence activities, its malign influence extends well beyond the state and into the rest of the country, director of the China Policy Initiative at AFPI Adam Savit, told the DCNF.

“Unfortunately, New York is only one of many hotspots for CCP spying activity in the U.S.,” Savit said. “In many cases, the federal government has acted too late, or not at all.”

AUTHOR

Jake Smith

Contributor.

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Dem Rep Calls On New York Gov Kathy Hochul To Pardon Trump ‘For The Good Of The Country’

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota called on Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday night to pardon presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “for the good of the country.”

A jury in the notoriously blue borough of Manhattan convicted Trump on all 34 counts Thursday in the falsified business records case brought by Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Phillips took to social media, where he directly requested that the New York governor step up to the plate and pardon Trump.

“Donald Trump is a serial liar, cheater and philanderer, a six-time declarer of corporate bankruptcy, an instigator of insurrection, and a convicted felon who thrives on portraying himself as a victim,” Phillips wrote on X. “@GovKathyHochul should pardon him for the good of the country.”

“You think pardoning him is stupid? Making him a martyr over a payment to a porn star is stupid. (Election charges are totally different.)” Phillips wrote in another post. “It’s energizing his base, generating record sums of campaign cash, and will likely result in an electoral boost.”

Politically, Trump appears to have benefitted significantly from his conviction as the Republican candidate’s campaign announced a major fundraising haul of $54.8 million and counting by late Friday. As Democrats and left-wing media outlets pounce on referring to Trump as a “convicted felon,” the former president has effectively rallied support by branding himself a “political prisoner.”

Hochul appeared to suggest that pardoning Trump is off the table as she made clear her support for the verdict in a statement released Thursday.

“Today’s verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law. In preparation for a verdict in this trial, I directed my Administration to closely coordinate with local and federal law enforcement and we continue to monitor the situation. We are committed to protecting the safety of all New Yorkers and the integrity of our judicial system,” the statement said.

Phillips is not the only congressman calling for Hochul to pardon Trump. Republican New York Rep. Nick LaLota, who represents New York’s 1st Congressional district on Long Island, wrote on social media that “the best way to unwind” Trump’s conviction is for Hochul to “immediately announce her intention” to pardon the former president.

Phillips suspended his own 2024 presidential campaign in early March after President Joe Biden easily swept all Super Tuesday states.

AUTHOR

JULIANNA FRIEMAN

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

HISTORIC! Trump Storms the Bronx, Over 30K at Trump’s Bronx Rally, NY’s Bluest County

President Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America, visited Crotona Park in the Bronx, New York, on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. EDT to highlight the horrendous effects Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency has had on New York’s economy.

A rally for former President Donald Trump drew a large crowd at Crotona Park in the Bronx Thursday night.

NY1 reporters on scene said the turnout was in “in the thousands.”

What You Need To Know:

  • Trump in 2020 won only 16% of the vote in the borough, which is considered a Democratic stronghold. Trump used a recess in the Bragg’s sham trial to campaign for support in his presidential bid.
  • In his speech, Trump criticized the current state of the city. “Sadly, this is now a city in decline. Throughout my life, I’ve seen New York through good times and bad, through boom times and crime waves, through market crashes and terrorist attacks. But I’ve never seen it quite like this,” Trump said.
  • The former president said he could “make New York City great again,” while touting his prior accomplishments in the city — such as helping build Wollman Rink in Central Park and the Javits Center — as a real estate developer.
  • “Don’t worry, it gets positive,” Trump said. “Remember, we’re all winners. We’re going to win so big we’re going to make it [New York City] bigger and better than ever before.”
  • Democrat politicians had previously voiced opposition to Trump’s stop in the Bronx, calling it a political stunt. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it was a “fundraising tactic” in an interview on “Mornings on 1” Thursday.
  • Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres said, “The only place in the Bronx where Donald Trump has any place being is Bronx Criminal Court.”
  • In an interview on CNN Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York will never support Donald Trump for president. “We know him better than anyone, and that means we understand what he’s all about,” Hochul said. “If he wants to spend his time doing these made-up, fake rallies pretending there’s support here, be my guest.”

Governor Hochul Calls New Yorkers Who Turn Out for Trump Bronx Rally ‘Clowns’

By Vaughn Golden

Politicians from across the state reacted with outrage Friday to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul calling supporters of Donald Trump “clowns” after his massive Bronx rally Thursday, which drew a diverse array of supporters.

Hochul made the remarks while bragging to CNN’s Jake Tapper about her confidence in President Joe Biden’s electoral prospects in the Empire State.

“I’ll tell you what won’t make a difference at all Jake and that’s for Donald Trump to be the ringleader and invite all his clowns to a place like the Bronx,” Hochul said.

Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said Thursday on CNN’s “The Lead” that former President Donald Trump is wasting time in New York, which is “solidly behind Joe Biden,” while the president is “out there winning over the rest of the battleground states.”

Host Jake Tapper said, “So Donald Trump, former President Trump, he’s holding an event shortly in the Bronx in an effort to attract voters of color, Latinos and African-Americans. Historically, a loyal voting block for Democrats, especially African-Americans but the truth is this is, this is a sport, this is a politics of margins. What more to Democrats need to do to solidify and mobilize their base?”

Hochul said, “Well I’ll tell you, what won’t make a difference at all Jake, and that is for Donald Trump to be the ringleader and invite all his clowns to a place like the Bronx. New York will never, ever support Donald Trump for president. We know him better than anyone and that means we understand what he’s all about is just for himself. So this state will go solidly behind Joe Biden for president as it has in the past.”

Continue reading.

Watch the whole South Bronx Rally:

AUTHOR

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Hochul’s New Religion: God Gave Us the Vaccines, and He Wants Us to Be Vaccinated

My latest in PJ Media:

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Planned Parenthood) is ostensibly a Catholic. When she was sworn in as governor in August, the Leftist Catholic America Magazine noted that she thanked her “big Irish Catholic” family, but her real religion was suggested in the next sentence of the America Mag report: “Her immediate family sat in the front row, wearing masks and spaced slightly apart.” Of course they did. For the secular, pro-abortion Left, the political agenda of the day is much more than just an array of policy imperatives and goals: it’s a holy faith, to be believed fervently and spread among the unenlightened masses. Hochul provided the latest example of this Sunday in a speech at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, where she preached her new gospel of faith and redemption coming at the point of a needle: the unvaccinated, she said, “aren’t listening to God and what God wants.”

Hochul spoke to the congregation as if she were a true believer, but given the likelihood that Hochul doesn’t actually share the faith of those who attend the Christian Cultural Center, her speech is less of an evangelical display than it is a nauseatingly condescending masterpiece of pandering. “God,” Hochul proclaimed, “let you survive this pandemic because he wants you to do great things someday. He let you live through this when so many other people did not and that is also your responsibility. But how do we keep more people alive?”

How indeed? Every religion is in one way or another a story of loss and gain, of sin and redemption, and the prophet Hochul’s new religion is no exception: she offered the Christian Cultural Center a parody of Christianity in which the coronavirus is the original sin, the vaccine is the means of redemption, and the vaccinated are the grateful saved community. “I prayed a lot to God during this time,” she claimed, “and you know what – God did answer our prayers. He made the smartest men and women, the scientists, the doctors, the researchers – he made them come up with a vaccine. That is from God to us and we must say, thank you, God. Thank you. And I wear my ‘vaccinated’ necklace all the time to say I’m vaccinated. All of you, yes, I know you’re vaccinated, you’re the smart ones, but you know there’s people out there who aren’t listening to God and what God wants. You know who they are.”

Hochul’s story is resonant of conversion stories down through the ages: I once was lost but now I’m found, I was wandering in sin and desolation but now – hallelujah! – I have seen the light and gotten the vaccine! Hochul continued her Christian parody by making her claim to be none other than the Lord himself, sending out His followers with the good news of salvation: “I need you to be my apostles. I need you to go out and talk about it and say, we owe this to each other. We love each other.”

There is more. Read the rest here.

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