China’s back door into our military? US recruiters use CCP-controlled messaging app to target Chinese nationals



Several U.S. military recruiting offices are communicating through a Chinese Communist Party-monitored messaging application as they seek to target Chinese nationals interested in enlisting, fueling concerns about potential national security risks.

CCP's grip on recruiting

After looking into a Department of Justice affidavit filed in June, Blaze News has discovered that some recruiters have been using WeChat. The court document claimed that the U.S. Navy Recruiting Station Alhambra in San Gabriel, California, had a bulletin board displaying recent recruits, the majority of whom identified their "hometown" as "China."

'China is our nation's greatest hegemonic adversary.'

The DOJ's criminal complaint was filed against two Chinese nationals who have been accused of taking photographs of the bulletin board and sending them to an officer with the CCP's Ministry of State Security.

The foreign adversary hometown designations spark serious concerns that individuals with divided loyalties and even potential CCP operatives have infiltrated the U.S. military.

While U.S. citizenship is required for officer and security clearance positions, noncitizens who are lawful permanent residents can enlist in the military. LPRs are generally eligible to naturalize after five years of continuous U.S. residence, and service members may qualify for expedited naturalization.

As of February 2024, roughly 40,000 foreign nationals were serving in the U.S. military. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' reporting, China ranks among the top 10 countries of birth for U.S. service members who have become naturalized citizens through the military. Just over 2,000 Chinese nationals were approved for military naturalizations from fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

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Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Experts sound alarm

Dr. Lawrence Sellin, a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and biological and chemical warfare defense expert, told Blaze News, "Infiltration of the U.S. military is a major goal of the Chinese Communist Party."

"It is accomplished via Chinese immigrants to the United States who become permanent residents or U.S. citizens but remain loyal to the CCP, either directly by the Chinese immigrants themselves or their pro-CCP children," he explained. "In fact, pro-CCP Chinese-American organizations are promoting such recruitment, facilitating CCP infiltration of the U.S. military."

Gordon Chang, a Gatestone Institute senior fellow, similarly warned that China has "weaponized its nationals."

He said in a comment to Blaze News, "China's National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires Chinese nationals and entities to spy if relevant authorities make demands."

"Moreover, in the Communist Party's top-down system, no person can disobey an order from the Party. Additionally, the regime coerces all ethnic Chinese, regardless of nationality, to do its bidding by threatening harm to loved ones and relatives in China," Chang stated. "Therefore, ethnic Chinese pose a special risk of espionage and sabotage to the U.S. military. Except under special circumstances, the U.S. military should not accept recruits who are Chinese nationals."

Lily Tang Williams, a Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire and a survivor of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, also argued against allowing foreign nationals from adversarial countries, including China, to enlist in the U.S. military.

Tang Williams told Blaze News, "China is our nation's greatest hegemonic adversary. They have made it very clear that they are seeking to usurp the United States' position in the world by taking advantage of our open society and using their nationals and businesses to spread their influence, doing military and economic espionage. The 'China Dream' is Xi Jinping's 'Soft Power Invasion' slogan to enable China overtaking the U.S. as the dominant number one global power by 2049."

More evidence of CCP reach

The troubling information that emerged from the DOJ affidavit led to further concerning revelations.

Journalist Jennifer Zeng uncovered another alarming detail about the Navy recruiting office in San Gabriel. She discovered that a suspected Chinese influencer had filmed a tour of the facility, which was later posted online as an apparent advertisement aimed at Chinese nationals.

The original video, posted to YouTube with nearly 25,000 views, is entirely in Chinese. The video shooter, "Rocky," joins EN2 Qlang Wang on his commute to work. He then interviews several suspected Chinese nationals as they go through the recruiting process at the office.

One recruit tells Rocky that he is 37 years old, has been residing in the U.S. for six years, and that he wants to join the Navy because it is "a chance for new opportunities [and] life experience," according to Zeng's translation of the video. Two additional recruits similarly attribute their decision to join the U.S. military to its opportunities.

The recruitment video concludes by listing WeChat as the first way to contact Zhong Yang, a presumed recruiter at the office. Initially, the video's YouTube description also highlighted WeChat as the main contact option, but that information was later removed, according to Zeng.

A Navy spokesperson confirmed to Blaze News that Wang and Yang are in the Navy, though declined to comment further.

‘Given that the CCP views the US as its No. 1 enemy and has actively infiltrated and spied on the US military, it's hard to believe that the US Navy would tolerate such a massive national security risk.’

Zeng wrote in a post on X, "EVERY recruiter here is Chinese, as well as all the people coming to enlist. The working language here is also Chinese."

Following her discovery of the Chinese-language tour video, Zeng posted her own videos from outside the U.S. Navy Recruiting Alhambra office and the neighboring Marine Corps Recruiting Station that showed bulletins taped to the windows.

The flyers were written in Chinese, featuring the U.S. Marine Corps seal, contact information for "Sgt Liu," and a QR code linking to Liu's WeChat.

"Joining the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve does not force you to become a citizen; you can maintain your permanent green card status," one of the flyers read, according to Zeng's translation. "Fast track to citizenship is also an option."

Image Source: Jennifer Zeng

A spokesperson with the Marine Corps told Blaze News that the flyers had been removed.

"In December 2024, materials featuring a QR code linking to a personal WeChat account were displayed at a Marine Corps facility in San Gabriel, California. WeChat is not an authorized platform for official use, and the materials were promptly removed following review," the spokesperson stated.

When asked about the screening processes for U.S. citizens versus green card holders, particularly those from adversarial nations, the Marines said, "All applicants, whether naturalized or birthright U.S. citizens, undergo the same screening process. Additional vetting is conducted for individuals with ties to countries designated as potential security concerns."

RELATED: University of Michigan now under fire after Chinese scholars allegedly smuggle bio-weapon

Photo by PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Zeng told Blaze News that she was "truly shocked" that military recruiters were using WeChat for recruiting purposes.

"Virtually all Chinese dissidents — and many ordinary Chinese people — know that WeChat is 100% owned and monitored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There are numerous documented cases of the CCP using WeChat to surveil and persecute Chinese citizens," Zeng said.

"Given that the CCP views the U.S. as its No. 1 enemy and has actively infiltrated and spied on the U.S. military, it's hard to believe that the U.S. Navy would tolerate such a massive national security risk," she continued. "I sincerely hope the growing number of cases involving CCP agents stealing U.S. military secrets will serve as a wake-up call — and that the U.S. military and Navy will address this issue urgently."

Zeng explained that after she posted her findings on social media, some of her followers informed her that another recruiting office in New York was similarly advertising with flyers written in Chinese.

Blaze News confirmed those claims.

A U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Flushing, New York, advertised reaching out via WeChat to contact the office's recruiter in two posts on Google Maps.

Additionally, another U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Rowland Heights, California, similarly posted on Google Maps in Chinese, listing the recruiter's contact information, including a WeChat account.

USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told Blaze News, “USCIS’s first priority is rooting out malicious actors who seek to take advantage of our lawful immigration system, whether for their own enrichment or to attack and undermine our nation. Our agency was born out of the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, and every American counts on us to detect and stop threats to our country. Individuals from high-risk countries, or countries with known anti-American governments, may face enhanced measures to protect American interests.”

“USCIS screens all applicants for immigration benefits — regardless of military status. USCIS maintains the integrity in the U.S. immigration system through enhanced screening and vetting to deter, detect, and disrupt immigration fraud and threats to our national security and public safety,” Tragesser added.

When reached for comment, the White House directed Blaze News to the Department of Defense, stating that the department was looking into the allegations regarding WeChat. The DOD, in turn, referred the matter to the individual branches involved. Neither the U.S. Army nor any of the recruiters listed in the advertisements responded to a request for comment.

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'Unintended consequences': Trump dispatches nuclear subs following radioactive engagement with Putin's right-hand man



President Donald Trump told reporters in Great Britain on Monday that he was "very disappointed" in Russian President Vladimir Putin over his failure to play ball on peace talks, noting that he would shorten a 50-day negotiating window and "make a new deadline of about 10 or 12 days."

The president later added, "And then we're going to put on tariffs."

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Federation's security council and former Russian president, said in response, "Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!"

'Russia is right about everything and will continue to go its own way.'

The engagement between the two men online quickly devolved into talk of nuclear war and, on Friday afternoon, the dispatch of two nuclear submarines.

Grigorii Golosov, a political science professor at the European University in St. Petersburg, Russia, told the New York Times that Trump has targeted Medvedev rather than Putin online because he "wants to criticize someone in Russia" but is still hoping to make a deal with the current Russian president.

On Thursday, Trump suggested that Russia and the United States should continue to do "almost no business together" — total trade between the two nuclear powers amounted to $3.5 billion in 2024 — and said that Medvedev should "watch his words," adding, "He's entering very dangerous territory!"

RELATED: Trump slaps India with 25% tariff — in an attempt to influence Russia

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Getty Images

Medvedev issued a rejoinder hours later on Telegram, writing in Russian, "If certain words uttered by the former Russian president provoke such a nervous reaction from the formidable US president, then Russia is right about everything and will continue to go its own way."

Putin's right-hand man added, "Let him remember his favorite movies about 'The Walking Dead,' as well as how dangerous the non-existent in nature 'Dead Hand' can be."

"Dead Hand" is a reference to a nuclear weapon launch system that could apparently trigger nuclear attacks across the U.S. in the event that a nuclear strike on Moscow is detected or if communications with top Russian leaders drop off.

Russian Strategic Rocket Forces Col. Gen. Sergey Karakayev told the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in a 2011 interview that the system was indeed "on combat duty."

President Trump was not at all amused by the allusion to an American nuclear holocaust.

On Friday afternoon, Trump noted that based on Medvedev's "highly provocative statements," he has "ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

"Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences," continued the president. "I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared Trump's statement online. Neither the president nor Hegseth indicated where the submarines were being deployed.

— (@)

In an earlier message on Friday, the president bemoaned the loss of life in Ukraine, noting:

Almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine. Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year. That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH! Ukraine, however, has also suffered greatly. They have lost approximately 8,000 soldiers since January 1, 2025, and that number does not include their missing.

This is a developing story.

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Mike Rowe warns of massive trade-job vacancies: 'AI is coming for the coders'



Blue-collar hero and former host of "Dirty Jobs" Mike Rowe says claims of a massive deficit of trades workers in the United States are not hyperbole.

Rowe spoke at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, where he sounded the alarm on a serious lack of young people going into the trades.

Providing stories from employers, politicians, and even the military, Rowe stressed the need to move away from computer programming and coding in favor of tougher, more traditional career paths.

'I know where they are. They're in the eighth grade.'

"We've been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code," Rowe told an audience at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He then delivered a stark warning to those who may have followed Joe Biden's infamous "learn to code" advice in 2019.

"Well, AI is coming for the coders," Rowe remarked.

From there, the 63-year-old dropped some industry knowledge, detailing that the demand for tradespeople was not going away anytime soon: "[AI is] not coming for the welders, the plumbers, the steamfitters, the pipe fitters, the HVAC. They're not coming for the electricians."

Adopting a more serious tone, Rowe leaned into the audience to deliver the jaw-dropping numbers of exactly how many trade jobs remain vacant in the United States.

RELATED: Mike Rowe raises important question about Ivy League schools as 'thugs and bullies' protest Israel: 'Truly lost its mind'

Recalling his time at the Aspen Ideas Festival in late June, Rowe said billionaire investor and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told him the U.S. needs "500,000 electricians in the next couple of years — not hyperbole."

"This is me being the alarmist again," Rowe continued, now tapping into America's military industrial needs.

"The BlueForge Alliance, who oversees our maritime industrial base — that's 15,000 individual companies who are collectively charged with building and delivering three nuclear-powered subs to the Navy every year for 10 years."

Rowe explained that the head of the alliance called him and said, "We're having a hell of a time finding tradespeople. Can you help?"

Rowe replied, "I don't know, man, it's pretty skinny out there. How many do you need?"

The man indicated to Rowe that the industry needed 140,000 people over the next seven years.

"They need 80 to 90 thousand right now," Rowe emphasized. "These are for our submarines, folks. [If] things go hypersonic — a little sideways with China, Taiwan — our aircraft carriers are no longer the point of the spear. They're vulnerable."

Rowe added, "Our submarines matter, and these guys have a pinch point because they can't find welders and electricians to get them built."

The Trump administration drastically increased naval production in April 2025 through an executive order that placed at least $40 billion per year into shipbuilding efforts for the next 30 years.

With fewer than 300 battle force ships in the U.S. Navy currently, according to Military Times, the president set a goal for a 381-ship fleet.

To that end, the Discovery Channel host said he is consistently getting calls from tradespeople, companies, and even governors, who ask him a simple question.

RELATED: Mike Rowe: Parents didn't get an 'honest chance' to consider college alternatives

Mike Rowe in 2014. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"Where are they?" they ask Rowe, referring to tradespeople. "They've said, 'We've looked everywhere.'"

Rowe revealed his response to industry leaders: "I know where they are. They're in the eighth grade."

The trades advocate stressed that a "clear and present freak-out" was happening under the surface in America in the automotive and energy industries, suggesting that children need to be encouraged to go into these fields.

"The automotive industry needs 80,000 collision repair and technicians," he explained. "Energy, I don't even know what the number is — I hear 300,000; I hear 500,000."

The latter is likely to do with not only nuclear-powered subs but also small modular reactors that are popping up across the United States to supply the growing power demand from data centers, new and old.

Several large companies like Amazon and Microsoft are building new, massive data centers and campuses to house data and AI machine-learning systems. These new locations require so much power that they have put stress on existing power grids, necessitating their own energy sources.

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Pentagon Pulls Promotion Of Admiral Who Allowed Drag Shows After Federalist Inquiry

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-6.00.35 PM-e1752184936354-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-6.00.35%5Cu202fPM-e1752184936354-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]The Defense Department is pulling the recommendation for Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly’s promotion, one week after the DoD refused to answer The Federalist’s inquiries, as the Daily Wire first reported. “Secretary Hegseth has chosen to withdraw Admiral Donnelly’s nomination to lead [the] 7th fleet. The Secretary is thankful for his continued service and wishes him luck […]

U.S. Navy Sails To 2025 Recruiting Target Three Months Ahead Of Schedule

With the wind in its sails, the U.S. Navy hit its recruiting goal for the 2025 fiscal year three months ahead of schedule, the service announced Wednesday. “This is a critical time in history. The world is more complex and more contested than it has been in decades, and our ability to respond starts with […]

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A president’s job is to stop the burning if governors won’t



In response to widespread rioting and domestic disorder in Los Angeles, President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard units. More than 700 U.S. Marines from the Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms were also mobilized on Monday to protect federal property around the city.

As expected, critics pounced. They claim Trump’s orders violate American tradition — calling them anti-constitutional, anti-federal, and an authoritarian misuse of executive power. They say Trump is turning the military into a domestic police force.

In moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

But that argument isn’t just wrong — it’s nonsense on stilts.

The U.S. Army Historical Center has published three comprehensive volumes documenting the repeated and lawful use of federal military forces in domestic affairs since the founding of the republic. From the Whiskey Rebellion to civil rights enforcement, history shows that federal troops have long been a constitutional backstop when local authorities fail to maintain order.

Certainly, the use of military forces within U.S. borders must be limited and considered carefully. But the Constitution explicitly grants this authority. Article IV, Section 4 states: “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.”

That clause isn’t a suggestion — it’s a command. A republican government exists to safeguard life, liberty, and property. The First Amendment protects the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government, but it does not shield acts of arson, looting, or assault. When rioters threaten the public, federal intervention becomes not just permissible but, in this instance, necessary.

Article II empowers the president, as commander in chief of the Army, Navy, and National Guard (when called into federal service), to act decisively against both foreign and domestic threats. That includes quelling insurrections when state leaders fail to uphold public order.

The National Guard is not the “militia” the founders discussed. That distinction was settled with the passage of the Dick Act in 1903, which clarified the Guard’s federal identity in relation to state control. Since then, the Guard has operated under dual federal and state authority — with federal control taking precedence when activated. Once federalized, the National Guard becomes an extension of the U.S. military.

Congress codified this authority in 1807 with the Insurrection Act. It authorizes the president to use military force when ordinary judicial proceedings fail. This provision enabled presidents throughout history to deploy troops against domestic unrest. During the 1950s and ’60s, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy used it to enforce desegregation orders in the South.

In 1992, President George H.W. Bush relied on the same statute to deploy Army and Marine forces alongside the California National Guard during the L.A. riots following the Rodney King trial verdict. That was done without sparking cries of dictatorship.

RELATED: Why Trump had to do what Gavin Newsom refused to do

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Those accusing Trump of violating norms by acting over a governor’s objection should revisit 1957. After Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (D) defied federal orders to desegregate Little Rock Central High School, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent in the 101st Airborne Division. Democratic Sen. Richard Russell of Georgia decried the move, comparing the troops to Hitler’s storm troopers — a reminder that hysterical analogies are nothing new.

Americans have sought to limit military involvement in domestic life. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was designed to do just that — restrict the use of federal troops in civil law enforcement without explicit authorization. But even that law has historical nuance.

The concept of “posse comitatus” comes from English common law. It refers to the authority of sheriffs to summon local citizens to restore order. In early American history, federal troops often supported U.S. Marshals. They enforced the Fugitive Slave Act, stanched the bleeding in Kansas, and helped capture John Brown at Harpers Ferry.

After the Civil War, the Army played a key role in enforcing Reconstruction and suppressing the Ku Klux Klan under the Force Acts. Southern Democrats opposed this use of federal power. But by the 1870s, even Northern lawmakers grew uneasy when soldiers were ordered to suppress railroad strikes under direction of state and local officials.

The Army eventually welcomed Posse Comitatus. Being placed under local political control compromised military professionalism and exposed troops to partisan misuse. Officers feared that domestic policing would corrupt the armed forces.

I’ve long argued for restraint in using military power within U.S. borders. That principle still matters. But lawlessness, when left unchecked, can and will destroy republican government. And when local leaders fail to act — or worse, encourage disorder — the federal government must step in.

President Trump has both the constitutional and statutory authority to deploy troops in response to the violence unfolding in Los Angeles. Whether he should do so depends on prudence and necessity. But the idea that such action is unprecedented or somehow illegal has no basis in law or history.

If mayors and governors abdicate their duty, Washington must not. The defense of law-abiding citizens cannot hinge on the whims of ideologues or the cowardice of local officials. And in moments like this, the republic must defend itself.

North Korea claims new destroyer can now float weeks after humiliating 'launch'



North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un attended the communist regime's launch ceremony of the second of its two new Choe Hyon-class destroyers at the Cheongjin shipyard in eastern port city of Chongjin on May 21. The side-launch went really, really poorly.

Jong Un looked on as his brand-new, 5,511-ton, 144-meter warship immediately capsized.

After laying on its side for weeks, North Korean state media now claims the ship was been righted. Nevertheless, the damage has been done — both literally and figuratively.

'Criminal act caused by sheer callousness, irresponsibility, and unscientific empiricism.'

The Korean Central News Agency attributed the failure to "inexperienced command and operational carelessness in the course of the launch," claiming that "the launch slide of the stern departed first and stranded as the [hydro-pneumatic catapult] failed to move in parallel, holes made at some sections of the warship's bottom disrupted its balance, and the bow failed to leave the slipway, leading to a serious accident."

Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector who helms the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told the Guardian, "It appears the dock was hastily constructed, and multiple issues may have arisen during the shipbuilding process."

Jong Un rushed to the conclusion that the incident was a "criminal act caused by sheer callousness, irresponsibility, and unscientific empiricism, which should never occur and could not be tolerated."

RELATED: Nancy Pelosi outraged after Defense Sec. Hegseth orders removal of gay icon's name from naval ship

Photo by Contributor/Getty Images

While the communist regime lost face over the accident, the individual it scapegoated — Ri Hyong Son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee — will likely lose a great deal more. Son was arrested and deemed "greatly responsible," according to state media.

38 North, a project of the Stimson Center, a peace-oriented think tank, indicated that in the wake of the accident, there were desperate efforts in recent days to manually right the ship. Satellite imagery revealed that numerous barrage balloons were employed to keep the communist ship afloat while cables were fastened to the destroyer to stabilize its position.

Additional satellite images reportedly indicate damage to the sonar bow section, which will require significant repairs at a dry dock.

State media claimed Friday — and satellite imagery confirms — that the ship had been balanced and launched the previous day and can now stay afloat, moored at the pier.

The South Korean military reportedly indicated that the battered and bruised vessel may have been developed with the help of the Russians in exchange for the regime sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

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Retired 4-star Navy admiral convicted after using his post to line his 'own pockets'



Retired four-star Navy Admiral Robert Burke, formerly the Navy's second-highest ranking officer, was convicted by a federal jury Monday on felony bribery charges.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, who announced the verdict a day after instructing criminals to "run for the hills," said in a statement, "When you abuse your position and betray the public trust to line your own pockets, it undermines the confidence in the government you represent."

While overseeing U.S. naval operations in Europe, Russia, and most of Africa, and commanding thousands of military personnel, Burke awarded a government contract to a company that had been told not to communicate with him. Several months later, Burke ended up with a lucrative gig and hundreds of thousands of stock options at that same company.

The company — which the Department of Justice did not name but the New York Times indicated was the New York-based technology and work force training company Next Jump — provided a workforce training pilot program to a "small component of the Navy" from August 2018 through July 2019. The original indictment against Burke indicated that the company had subcontracts for this work from another company, similarly unnamed in federal court documents, via the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

'Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy.'

According to the DOJ, the Navy scrapped its contract with the company in late 2019 and directed it not to contact Burke.

Despite this directive, the company's two co-chief executives, Yongchul Kim and Meghan Messenger — who were both arrested and charged last year in connection with the scheme — allegedly emailed Burke on May 10, 2021, to propose a $20 million contract for their company to provide workforce training, despite no indication of need on the part of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa, bids or otherwise.

The trio reportedly met in Washington, D.C., in July 2021.

During their meeting, Kim and Messenger agreed that Burke would use his official position in the Navy to secure a new contract for the company in exchange for a position there following his retirement, said the DOJ. The trio also apparently agreed that the second highest-ranking officer in the Navy would lean on other officers to award the company with an additional training contract, which one of Burke's co-defendants allegedly estimated to be valued at "triple digit millions."

Burke commanded his staff in December 2021 to dish out a $355,000 contract to the company to train personnel under his command in Italy and Spain. Burke then championed the company after the January 2022 training session in a failed effort to get another senior admiral to award it a government contract.

RELATED: Trump names Jeanine Pirro of Fox News as interim US attorney of DC after failed Ed Martin nomination

Photo (left): Terry Wyatt/Getty Images; Photo (right): Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Justice Department indicated that in order to conceal the scheme, "Burke made several false and misleading statements to the Navy, including by falsely implying that Company A's employment discussions with Burke only began months after the contract was awarded and omitting the truth on his required government ethics disclosure forms."

Several months later, Burke went to work for Next Jump at a yearly starting salary of $500,000 with the added bonus of a grant of 100,000 stock options.

At the time of Burke's arrest last May, then-FBI Special Agent in Charge David Scott stated, "As a four-star admiral, Burke not only cheated U.S. taxpayers but also did a disservice to military personnel under his command."

The original criminal indictment against Burke stressed that the admiral had a lawful duty not to accept any gift or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking official action from the Navy; not to engage in outside employment that conflicted with official government duties and responsibilities; not to participate personally and substantially in an "official capacity in any particular matter that had a direct and predictable effect on his financial interests"; and to disqualify himself from taking official action that affected financial interests of a potential employer of seeking employment.

Blaze News reached out to the Pentagon for comment, which deferred to the Navy. The Navy did not respond by publication time. Next Jump similarly did not respond when pressed for comment.

'The jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth.'

After a five-day trial, a federal jury found Burke guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, performing acts affecting a personal financial interest, and concealing material facts from the United States.

Burke is due to be sentenced on Aug. 22 and could land up to 30 years in the slammer.

Pirro said Monday, "Our office, with our law enforcement partners, will root out corruption — be it bribes or illegal contracts — and hold accountable the perpetrators, no matter what title or rank they hold."

The admiral's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, said in an interview Monday that Burke plans to appeal his conviction, reported the Times.

RELATED: Ex-Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's wife convicted for her role in bribery scheme: 'Partners in crime'

"They presented a tiny, tiny sliver of evidence," said Parlatore. "We do think this is a case where a wrongful conviction was obtained because the jury was prevented from hearing the whole truth."

Reed Brodsky, a lawyer for Next Jump, told the Times that he expects a different outcome in the cases of Kim and Messenger, who are scheduled for trial in August.

"I expect the evidence will show that Burke and others at the Navy misled Charlie and Meghan in material ways, and they're not liable for bribing the guy who lied to them," wrote Brodsky. "I think it'll be a little embarrassing for the Navy."

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New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill Repeatedly Inflated Her Navy Rank in Campaign Materials, Records Show

She's a rank fabulist. New Jersey Democratic congresswoman Mikie Sherrill's campaign has repeatedly inflated her rank in the United States Navy in fundraising emails, the Washington Free Beacon can reveal. In more than 20 fundraising appeals during her time in Congress, Team Sherrill referred to the congresswoman as a lieutenant commander. That designation, however, is false, according to Sherrill's Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty form, which clearly states she retired from the service as a lieutenant.

The post New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill Repeatedly Inflated Her Navy Rank in Campaign Materials, Records Show appeared first on .