Republicans press forward with probe of Tim Walz's 'devotion' to China that includes more than 30 trips including honeymoon there
Oversight chairman James Comer is forging ahead with his probe of Tim Walz's affinity for China.
The Kentucky Republican admitted on Fox Business that he's not quite sure why the Minnesota governor and Harris running mate is so fond of the Asian superpower - he doest not appear to have reaped any financial benefits from it.
Walz, 60, taught school in China and says he's been there around 30 times.
'We're trying to find out exactly what the FBI has on Tim Walz with respect to China,' he said.
'No, it doesn't appear that he's accepted money from China if he's being honest about his financial disclosure form. He really doesn't have a whole lot of money to his name other than, government pension.'
Top Oversight Republican James Comer is forging ahead with his probe of Tim Walz's affinity for China
Tim Walz in an undated photo from the Mankato West High School Alumni for Walz Facebook Group. Walz is seen here on a class trip
But, 'we know that Tim Walz, has made several trips during his life to China. We know he spent a year there. We know he went on his honeymoon there,' Comer went on.
'We fear..that it's an infatuation that Tim Walz has with China, with their with their communist system, with the way they've, operated over the past 30 years.'
Republicans have sought to highlight Walz's progressive values ever since he was hoisted onto the national stage by the Harris campaign.
In a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray Friday, Comer expressed his concern over Walz being 'susceptible' to the Chinese Communist Party's influence to the 'detriment' of Americans.
He describes a cozy relationship between the Minnesota governor and the hostile nation, highlighting that the former school teacher has taken an estimated 30 trips to the country - including many field trips he and his wife organized.
Now Comer is demanding the FBI turn over documents it may have on Walz's communications with Chinese entities and officials to investigate how deeply the ties between the potential vice president and the communist-run country are.
Star-Herald newspaper clipping dating January 9, 1994 highlights a story about Walz's trip to China for his honeymoon with his wife Gwen
'Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China,' Comer wrote in a statement.
'The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walz’s relationship with China goes.'
Comer isn't the only one seizing on Walz's China ties.
'The House is going to investigate it now — it’s very strange. He got married on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. He’s gone to China. He’s taught in China. He’s got deep connections to China,' Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson recently said on Fx.
While Walz's wedding anniversary does fall on the anniversary of the day Chinese troops opened fire and killed hundreds, maybe thousands, that's a day the CCP tries to crack down on anyone mentioning. It doesn't even appear on internet searches within the country.
Writing to Wray, Comer said: 'It has come to the Committee’s attention that Governor Walz has longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible to the Party’s strategy of elite capture, which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural, and academic circles to influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.'
'Reporting about Governor Walz’s extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office raises questions about possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor—and, should he be elected, as vice president.'
Tim Walz's first trip to China reported in his local newspaper
In the letter, the Kentucky Republican notes how when the governor was a school teacher he founded a company called 'Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,' to bring students to China.
The group was run by Walz and his wife Gwen and facilitated trips from 1994 until it was dissolved in 2007, Comer notes.
In addition to the field trips, the Walzs even had their honeymoon in China, just five years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
The Democrat has called his experiences visiting the country dozens of times 'amazing.'
And his admiration for the country opens the door for him to be attacked by Donald Trump and Republicans as the U.S, and China enter a period of increasing economic and military rivalry.
Walz has described his myriad trips to China as 'amazing' and has said he does not believe the country to be an 'adversary' of the U.S.
Walz, who speaks some Mandarin, said recently he did not accept that China had to be an 'adversary.'
He said: 'I've lived in China and, as I've said, I've been there about 30 times. If anyone tells you they're an expert on China they're probably not telling you the truth because it's a complex country.'
'But it's critically important for us. I don't fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship, I totally disagree.'
Responding to Walz's selection Donald Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaking in Philadelphia earlier this month, accused him of planning to send jobs to China.
Vance said: 'Tim Walz is a guy who wants to shift more and more American manufacturing jobs to China.'
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump's vice presidential pick slammed Walz for sending jobs to China
'He said it on camera in the name of the green energy scam. If you care about the environment, and I certainly do, why are you going to ship American manufacturing jobs to the dirtiest economy in the world? Why wouldn't you keep them right here, in Pennsylvania, the places that really need it?'
'To have a guy who wants to ship manufacturing jobs to China? There is no way the American people are going to buy it. It just doesn't make sense.'
