On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) stated that he found an FBI briefing on Chinese government operations in the U.S. lacking, so “we have some work to do to better understand this.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Do you think the U.S. government even has a real handle and knows the full scope of the degree to which the Chinese government is operating inside the United States?”
Moulton answered, “We met with the FBI recently as part of the China select committee, and they gave us a briefing. But it wasn’t in the level of detail, frankly, that I expected, so I think we have some work to do to better understand this.”
Moulton also stated, “It’s absolutely an escalation. And, of course, they’re escalating tensions all over the globe. They’re escalating tensions right here at home in America. They’re escalating tensions over Taiwan. Let’s not forget, Xi Jinping has threatened to invade Taiwan. He said, very explicitly — much like Putin did in the lead-up to the Ukraine war — that he intends to take over democratic Taiwan. And so, the story out there that the Americans and Chinese are ratcheting up tensions is really not accurate. This is China ratcheting up tensions. This is the Chinese Communist Party trying to exact their oppressive regime all over the globe.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett