Article by Megan Fox in "PJMedia":
In a shocking speech in front
of the National Governors Association, Secretary Mike Pompeo revealed
that he is in possession of a list of American governors who have been
listed as "friendly" by Chinese Communist infiltrators.
Pompeo
said he received an invitation from a former governor to attend a
networking event that promised great "deal-making" opportunities with
the Chinese government. This networking event was run by "The Chinese
People's Association for Friendship in Foreign Countries," said Pompeo.
But what the participants might not have known is that "the group is the
public face of the Chinese Communist party's official foreign
influence agency, the United Front Work Department." Pompeo knew of this
connection from his time at the CIA.
He
questioned the governors on how many of them knew that this group was a
communist front group. "What if you made a new friend while you were at
that event?" he asked. "What if your new friend offered to invest big
money in your state, perhaps in your pension, an industry sensitive to
our national security?"
And
then he dropped a huge bomb on the crowd. "These aren't hypotheticals,"
he continued. "Last year a Chinese government-backed think tank in
Beijing produced a report that assessed all fifty of America's governors
on their attitudes toward China. They labeled each of you friendly,
hardline, or ambiguous." Pompeo continued, "I'll let you decide where
you think you belong, someone in China already has. Many of you, indeed,
in that report, are referenced by name."
I don't know about you, but I'd sure like to see that list. A quick perusal of the CPAFFC website identifies Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, as a friendly governor to the association with photographs of her and the association's president.
The state of Iowa and China enjoy more than 30 years of active exchanges and deep-rooted friendship. She hoped that under the leadership of Governor Reynolds, Iowa will continue to play a leading role in economy and trade, agriculture and state-province cooperation with China.Governor Reynolds expressed her heartfelt thanks to CPAFFC for its long-term support of Iowa. She said, China is the most important trading partner of Iowa and she will carry on the friendly relations forward, to create more opportunities for win-win cooperation between U.S., Iowa and China.
Calls to Governor Reynolds's press officer did not go through and the voicemail was full. Former Kentucky governor Matt Bevin
was also photographed with the same president of the association. Attempts to reach Bevin for comment went unanswered. Among other U.S.
officials named on the Chinese website are former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, and the lieutenant governor of California, Eleni Kounalakis.
It
is unknown whether or not these officials knew of the Chinese Communist
influence connected to the group, but it's worth pointing out how
vulnerable local governments are to foreign interference.