China Detained Federal Reserve Employee to Spy on President Trump’s Tariff Plans

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has released a report this week after a two-year investigation into an incredible act of Chinese espionage that took place when President Trump was in office. This example shows just how badly US interests have been penetrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A Federal Reserve employee was forcibly detained by the CCP at least four times in 2019; they threatened his family unless the employee agreed to give the CCP secret information about President Trump’s planned tariffs in the trade war. This was yet another act of economic war against the USA that federal officials are now shrugging as if to say, “Oh well, it’s just China, no big deal.”

First, we need to give a shout-out to independent journalist Jack Posobiec. He was talking about this story two years ago, but nobody paid much attention to it at the time. Posobiec has now been completely vindicated once again, after the Senate issued this report two years later.

According to the Senate report, and Posobiec’s earlier reporting, a Federal Reserve employee was held against his will by the CCP on four separate visits to Shanghai in 2019. They tapped his phone and his computers and threatened his family to gain sensitive data on the US economy and on Trump’s planned tariffs against China. The first time the CCP detained him was at his hotel room, after they spied on his phone conversations.

The report indicates that the CCP accused the man of “committing crimes against China.” Chinese government agents then cracked into the employee’s WeChat account and stole the names and contact information of other Federal Reserve employees. They also tapped into his phone and computers at this time. They approached the employee three additional times and demanded confidential data on the Trump tariffs.

The report doesn’t say whether the Fed employee gave up confidential data to the CCP. It does seem telling, however, that the committee referred the employee’s case to the FBI, and the FBI did interrogate him about what happened.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee says this is part of a broader campaign by the CCP to “target, influence and undermine the US Federal Reserve.” The CCP has been waging that campaign since at least 2013, during the Obama-Biden years.

Keep in mind that the Democrats control this committee right now – and they still issued this report, despite the obvious foreign bought-and-paid-for loser Beijing Biden being in the White House. That’s how bad this situation is from a diplomatic standpoint. China isn’t allowed to just conduct fake arrests against US employees and tap their phones and computers.

The Senate report also heavily criticizes the Federal Reserve, saying the bank is not doing enough to protect sensitive data from China (and other enemies), and is not doing enough to protect its own employees when they are abroad.

Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) sent a letter to Fed chairman Jerome Powell this week, suggesting that the Fed do more to protect its employees and info. (Portman is the ranking Republican on the committee.) Chairman Powell dismissed his concerns. Whatever, no big deal. Just Communist China waging economic war against the US taxpayers and the US government. Not like Jerome Powell should worry about that!

Powell wrote back to Portman:

“We are confident that Federal Reserve staff understand their obligations and are committed to maintaining both the confidentiality of sensitive information and the integrity of our workforce. Because we understand that some actors aim to exploit any vulnerabilities, our processes, controls and technology are robust and updated regularly.

“We respectfully reject any suggestions to the contrary.”

The Chinese literally roughed up one of Jerome Powell’s employees and threatened his family members. The FBI is involved. But the Fed chairman rejects any suggestions to the contrary? That’s… a pretty swampy statement.

Every federal agency in the US has now been infiltrated by the CCP. (And yes, we know the Federal Reserve is not a federal agency, but a private bank.) Yet Congress appears to be asleep at the switch for the most part on this issue. This report is a good step in the right direction. The report also makes it clear that the CCP were a lot more worried about Donald Trump’s policies than they have been about Beijing Biden’s.