DHS official warned colleagues that Walz's nomination “supports” China's efforts to influence D.C.

FIRST ON FOX: A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told colleagues that Vice President Kamala Harris' decision to appoint Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate “feeds into activities that the People's Republic of China (PRC). ) carries out together with him”. local government” and warned that Beijing could “target” him to exert influence over US policy.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., launched an investigation in August into Walz's alleged “longstanding” ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Last month, Comer subpoenaed DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for records related to these alleged connections after a whistleblower informed the committee about the existence of an unclassified Microsoft Teams group chat among DHS employees, as well as additional intelligence reports that allegedly contained information about Walzs contained alleged connections to the CCP.

COMER FILES DHS for documents related to Walz's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party

Minnesota Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event at Burns Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Monday, October 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

On Tuesday, Comer wrote a letter to Mayorkas in which he made public that DHS “did not respond to the subpoena.”

Now Comer has unilaterally released some of DHS's internal communications that it received from the whistleblower.

“Walt's (sic) got the Vp,” the message reads, with the sender's identity redacted. “You all have no idea how this affects what the People’s Republic of China has done here with him and the local government.”

The official added: “It is seriously an intelligence line. Target someone who is believed to have the ability to get into DC.”

Message from a DHS employee about Microsoft Teams submitted by a whistleblower to the House Oversight Committee.

“The Committee is releasing the above message as an example of communications in the possession of DHS in which DHS officials express concern about the CCP's targeting of politicians and its influence operations at the state and local levels – and particularly concerns about the same related CCP influence operations on Governor Walz,” Comer wrote in a letter to Mayorkas on Tuesday.

Comer explained that the message was sent via a Microsoft Teams group chat among DHS employees titled “NST NFT Bi-Weekly Sync,” the same chat cited in Comer’s subpoena.

Meanwhile, Comer said a whistleblower provided the committee with additional information indicating that officials from DHS's Office of Intelligence and Analysis and Homeland Security Investigations were participating in the agency's investigative and/or intelligence work related to the CCP, Federal Minnesota and others involved Walz.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The Committee's concerns about CCP elite hijacking operations aimed at influencing officials like Governor Walz have increased in light of recent reports about Governor Walz's extensive travel history, unusual interactions in the People's Republic of China, and recent inability to address fundamental questions to respond to his involvement in China,” Comer wrote.

Comer is also subpoenaing all intelligence briefing reports and regional intelligence notes from November 2023 to the present that relate to Walz.

Last month, Comer revealed that Walz had “collaborated and partnered” with Chinese companies, making him “vulnerable” to the CCP's “elite capture” strategy, which aims to capture influential figures from elite political, cultural and academic circles to co-opt in order to “have influence over the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and to the detriment of the Americans.

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Comer pointed to reports that Walz organized a trip to China for Alliance High School students while he was a teacher in the 1990s. The costs were reportedly “paid by the Chinese government.”

Comer is investigating Walz's private company, Educational Travel Adventures, Inc., founded in 1994, which coordinated annual student trips to China until 2003 and was managed by Walz.

Minnesota Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz shakes hands with comedian George Lopez before Walz speaks during a campaign rally at Trevor Browne High School on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The company reportedly “dissolved four days after he took office in Congress in 2007.”

Comer said Walz traveled to China an estimated “30 times.”

Comer also pointed to Walz's time in Congress when he served as a fellow at Macau Polytechnic University – a Chinese institution that describes itself as having a “long-standing devotion and love for the motherland.”

In 2019, Walz chaired the 27th National Convention of the US China Peoples Friendship Association in Minnesota. Walz also spoke with the president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. A year later, the State Department exposed this organization as “a Beijing-based organization tasked with co-opting subnational governments,” including efforts to “directly and maliciously influence state and local leaders to advance the PRC's global agenda.” the House Oversight Committee revealed.

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In addition, Walz had a meeting with Consul General Zhao Jian in March this year to discuss “China-US relations and subnational cooperation.”

Minnesota Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks at a campaign stop Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Regarding the subpoena, Comer said DHS was “unresponsive” and was not acting in “good faith.”

Comer said DHS “has not produced any response documents.”

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Last week, Comer said he spoke with the DHS senior adviser for legislative affairs during an Oct. 21 phone call, but said that official “did not offer any substantive information, nor did he provide any assurance that substantive information would be available.”

“DHS has not responded at all and the Committee is considering all available options,” Comer wrote. “The documents covered by the Committee’s subpoena will shed light on the Committee’s understanding of the CCP’s political war against the United States and the effectiveness of federal authorities in countering the Communist regime’s infiltration operations.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign and DHS for comment.