FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed this week that prior FBI leadership “chose to play politics” when it came to evidence of Chinese interference in the 2020 presidential election.
According to Patel and Bongino, the FBI under former Director Christopher Wray had credible intelligence as early as August 2020 that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was engaged in a scheme to influence the election outcome. This plot allegedly included mass-producing fraudulent U.S. driver’s licenses and exporting them to America. These fake IDs enabled tens of thousands of Chinese nationals and illegal immigrant not eligible to vote otherwise that were sympathetic to the CCP’s cause to cast fraudulent mail-in ballots for then-candidate Joe Biden.
What makes this revelation even more troubling is that the FBI reportedly had this information months before Election Day — yet chose not to act on it or reveal the plot to the American people.
Director Patel, speaking before Congress, said that the FBI had in its possession a report detailing the Chinese operation. This report noted that U.S. personal data collected via TikTok was used to create fake IDs that could pass as legitimate at polling places or for mail-in ballot requests. Rather than investigate further, the FBI ordered the destruction of the original report and any copies held by other agencies. A recall notice directed recipients to destroy records and remove digital versions from their systems, citing plans to “re-interview the source” — an action that was never taken.
Former Director Wray testified to Congress in September 2020 that the FBI had not seen any coordinated national voter fraud effort, despite this earlier intelligence.
In a joint statement, Patel and Bongino said:
“Based on our continued review and production of FBI documents related to the CCP’s plot to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, previous FBI leadership chose to play politics and withhold key information from the American people — exposing the weaponization of law enforcement for political purposes during the height of the 2020 election season.”
They added that they are committed to transparency and reform, but the damage from these past decisions remains significant.
What happened in 2020 is not just about one election. The integrity of the U.S. electoral system — a cornerstone of democracy and a model for the world — was put at risk. The fact that a hostile foreign government could have had a hand in influencing the outcome of a presidential election raises grave concerns. If foreign nations like China, or potentially others such as Iran, learn that they can interfere without consequences, it opens the door to future manipulations of America’s most sacred democratic process.
Imagine a scenario in 2028 or 2032 where foreign adversaries not only repeat these tactics but refine them — flooding mail-in ballot systems with fraudulent votes, targeting swing states, or exploiting voter registration systems with sophisticated digital attacks. The potential for chaos, contested results, and a loss of public confidence in elections would be enormous.
If future administrations fail to address these vulnerabilities, foreign governments could effectively decide U.S. leadership — weakening national security, undermining the rule of law, and emboldening adversaries around the globe.
Patel and Bongino’s commitment to uncovering the full truth and restoring public trust is an essential step. But it will require accountability, reforms in federal agencies, and new safeguards to ensure that no foreign power ever interferes in America’s elections again.