The largest biotech company in the world offered to run coronavirus testing sites, but US intelligence said it was a Chinese plot to collect DNA



An offer from the largest biotech company in the world to build and run coronavirus testing sites in the United States was actually a Chinese scheme to collect Americans' DNA, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

The covert effort was thwarted thanks to a rare public warning issued by Bill Evanina, the country's top counterintelligence officer at the time.

"Foreign powers can collect, store and exploit biometric information from COVID tests," read the statement issued by Evanina.

A CBS report said that the BGI Group made the offer to Washington state, California, New York, and at least 2 other states. The offer was made as soon as the first major coronavirus outbreak appeared in the United States.

Evanina, a veteran of the CIA and the FBI, told CBS that he believed the Chinese government was engaged in a concerted effort to collect DNA in order to gain an edge on medical advancements.

"This shows the nefarious mindset of the Communist Party of China, to take advantage of a worldwide crisis like COVID," said Evanina.

Evanina said that he believed Chinese companies were investing in U.S. biotech companies as part of their effort to collect American DNA. He said that some people may be submitting their DNA for analysis to genealogical companies that partner with Chinese companies too.

The military has already sent a warning to service members against using direct-to-consumer genealogy companies over similar concerns.

"These genetic tests are largely unregulated and could expose personal and genetic information," read the warning. "Outside parties are exploiting the use of genetic data."

Evanina has stepped down from his position but says that the threat from Chinese DNA collection persists.

"We put out an advisory to not only every American, but to hospitals, associations, and clinics," said Evanina. "Knowing that BGI is a Chinese company, do we understand where that data's going?"

Here's part of the investigation from CBS News:

U.S. intelligence officials say Chinese government is collecting Americans' DNAwww.youtube.com

Report: Alleged Chinese spy got so close to Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell that federal investigators had to step in to alert him



An alleged Chinese spy operating in California's Bay Area during the Obama administration got so close to Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) that federal investigators had to step in and alert the congressman.

What happened?

The suspected foreign agent, Christine Fang, "targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage" as part of a years-long operation run by China's main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios reported Monday night.

She first came into contact with Swalwell and other up-and-coming politicos through her role as the head of two different student groups at California State University East Bay, where she enrolled in 2011. Using her position in the groups, Fang gained access to political events and fundraisers for several prominent Democrats in the area, including Democratic California Reps. Swalwell, Ro Khanna, Judy Chu, and former Rep. Mike Honda.

Fang became closest with Swalwell, Axios reported, and by 2014, had "developed close ties" with his congressional office. She worked as a "bundler" for him and other local candidates, helping him connect with big donors and deepening his ties with target communities, and even successfully planted an intern in his office.

Then in 2015, "amid a widening counterintelligence probe, federal investigators became so alarmed by Fang's behavior and activities that ... they alerted Swalwell to their concerns — giving him what is known as a defensive briefing," the report said.

"Swalwell immediately cut off all ties to Fang, according to a current U.S. intelligence official, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing," the report added.

What else?

Fang's targeting of Swalwell shows China's long-game strategy of embedding people with politicians before they reach the national stage in hopes of influencing them towards pro-Beijing policies later, Axios noted. Swalwell was elected to Congress in 2012 and in 2015 was assigned to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, serving as the lead Democrat on the subcommittee on CIA oversight.

The report added: "Even though U.S. officials do not believe Fang received or passed on classified information, the case 'was a big deal, because there were some really, really sensitive people that were caught up' in the intelligence network, a current senior U.S. intelligence official said."

Swalwell's office provided Axios with the following statement before publication of the report: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn't seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

Anything else?

Sometime in 2015, Fang abruptly left the United States without warning. Officials believe Chinese authorities called off her covert duties and had her return home.

In addition to her various connections to Bay Area politicians, Fang developed romantic or sexual relationships with at least two unnamed Midwestern mayors, with one of the sexual encounters being captured by FBI surveillance.

In an op-ed Thursday, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe revealed that Chinese spies have targeted U.S. lawmakers more than any other country, including Russia and Iran.

DNI Ratcliffe says US intelligence proves China is the greatest threat to freedom around the globe since WWII



Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe warned Americans that China is running a "massive influence campaign" to bend U.S. lawmakers to the will of the communist government, and called it the country's top national threat.

Ratcliffe made the accusations in a startling op-ed in the Washington Post published Thursday.

"If I could communicate one thing to the American people from this unique vantage point, it is that the People's Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II," wrote Ratcliffe.

He explained that evidence gathered by the U.S. intelligence community indicated that the goal of China's government is to dominate the globe "economically, militarily and technologically."

Ratcliffe said that the country uses the camouflage of its prominent companies to rob intellectual property from American companies, replicate their innovations, and then replace them in the global marketplace.

He gave an example of how Chinese owned company in the U.S. could use its influence to subtly manipulate politicians to do the will of the communist government back home.

Consider this scenario: A Chinese-owned manufacturing facility in the U.S. employs several thousand Americans. One day, the plant's union leader is approached by a representative of the Chinese firm. The businessman explains that the local congresswoman is taking a hard-line position on legislation that runs counter to Beijing's interests—even though it has nothing to do with the industry the company is involved in—and says the union leader must urge her to shift positions or the plant and all its jobs will soon be gone.

The union leader contacts his congresswoman and indicates that his members won't support her re-election without a change in position. He tells himself he's protecting his members, but in that moment he's doing China's bidding, and the congresswoman is being influenced by China, whether she realizes it or not.

Radcliffe also said that China had been crossing ethical boundaries by experimenting with human subjects in order to develop soldiers with enhanced abilities.

He concluded by warning that America needed to be prepared for the challenges from China.

"Americans have always risen to the moment, from defeating the scourge of fascism to bringing down the Iron Curtain. This generation will be judged by its response to China's effort to reshape the world in its own image and replace America as the dominant superpower," wrote Ratcliffe.

"The intelligence is clear," he concluded. "Our response must be as well."

Here's more about Radcliffe's warning:

Ratcliffe says China poses biggest threat to U.S. since World War IIwww.youtube.com