Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
Trump warned us and he was right…again.
A recent FBI investigation has found some shocking details regarding equipment made by the Chinese electronics firm, Huawei.
CNN reported the findings exclusively and said that the Chinese government offered to spend $100 million for the construction of an “ornate Chinese garden” art in Washington D.C.’s National Arboretum. The project would have included temples, pavilions, and a 70-foot white pagoda. Officials were excited to imagine the tourists it would bring.
However, US counterintelligence was not too excited.
CNN reported:
But when US counterintelligence officials began digging into the details, they found numerous red flags. The pagoda, they noted, would have been strategically placed on one of the highest points in Washington DC, just two miles from the US Capitol, a perfect spot for signals intelligence collection, multiple sources familiar with the episode told CNN.
Also alarming was that Chinese officials wanted to build the pagoda with materials shipped to the US in diplomatic pouches, which US Customs officials are barred from examining, the sources said.
Since at least 2017, federal officials have investigated Chinese land purchases near critical infrastructure, shut down a high-profile regional consulate believed by the US government to be a hotbed of Chinese spies, and stonewalled what they saw as clear efforts to plant listening devices near sensitive military and government facilities.
Among the most alarming things, the FBI uncovered pertains to Chinese-made Huawei equipment atop cell towers near US military bases in the rural Midwest. According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, the FBI determined the equipment was capable of capturing and disrupting highly restricted Defense Department communications, including those used by US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear weapons.
There have many many concerns regarding the use of electronics made by Huawei, especially the equipment installed near U.S. military installations.
CNN reported that it’s unclear if the U.S. intelligence community has determined that sentiment communications were intercepted by the Chinese government.
Of course, the Chinese government denies that it uses Huawei equipment to spy on U.S. operations.
President Trump sounded the alarm on this issue in 2019.
In May 2019 he signed an executive order “allowing the Commerce Department to stop U.S. companies from doing business with companies ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of a foreign adversary, clearing a path to bar transactions with Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant that officials have labeled a national security threat.”
President Trump wanted to end the use of Huawei gear in the United States.
The order also “declares a national emergency with respect to the threats against information and communications technology,” according to a statement from then-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Sounds like people should listen to what President Trump has to say, more often.
