U.S. President Donald Trump recently claimed in a speech to reveal details of what he described as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interference in U.S. elections, including allegations that Beijing had obtained 220 million U.S. voter records.
Newly declassified documents indicate that the email accounts of officials in the Executive Office of the President, as well as senior officials across multiple executive branch agencies, were targeted by the CCP.
An analyst has said that Trump’s disclosures had “completely stripped away the mask” of Xi Jinping and the CCP. They also argued that whether Xi will still have the confidence to meet Trump during a planned visit to the United States in September has now become an open question.
Trump claims CCP obtained 220 million US voter records
President Trump announced on July 14 that he would deliver a nationwide prime-time address on Thursday evening (July 16, U.S. Eastern Time), saying he would unveil “a very significant announcement.”
Following this announcement, during a speech on July 16, Trump released recently declassified documents that he said detailed foreign interference in U.S. elections.
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The documents were published on a newly created “Election Integrity” webpage on the White House website. They address issues including China’s (the CCP’s) alleged acquisition and use of U.S. voter data, vulnerabilities in electronic voting and vote-counting systems, an investigation into Michigan’s voter registration records, and the presence of non-citizens on state voter rolls. Some of the newly declassified documents contain extensive redactions.
Trump described the disclosures as a major revelation, stating: “First, the documents show that, over the course of several years beginning with the 2020 election cycle, the Chinese Communist Party carried out the largest election data breach in history, resulting in its obtaining the personal information of 220 million American voters.”
Trump said the information allegedly included voters’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, party affiliations, and other sensitive information that could potentially be used in voter registration or other unlawful activities.
According to Trump, U.S. intelligence agencies had already determined in 2020 that voter data from 18 states, involving tens of millions of voters, may have been unlawfully obtained by the CCP. However, he claimed that the matter was not fully disclosed at the time. He further alleged that members of what he described as the “deep state” within the U.S. intelligence community had deliberately concealed intelligence concerning alleged Chinese interference in U.S. elections.
Trump said: “These were briefings I would get almost every day. Everything was kept out that was of importance. One email among intelligence analysts admitted that they had deliberately massaged the presidential daily briefing to withhold information regarding Chinese activities related to the election.”
Trump also stated that, after reviewing state voter rolls and public records, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found that approximately 278,000 non-U.S. citizens had been registered as eligible voters.
RELATED:
- Trump Accuses China of 2020 Election Interference; Expert Cites Prior Documentation of Beijing’s Cyber
- Trump Says China Stole 220 Million American Voter Files in the ‘Largest Compromise of Election Data in History’
Newly declassified documents: Emails of senior US officials allegedly targeted
According to a newly declassified CIA memorandum, dated July 2020, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was targeting the personal email accounts of senior U.S. government leaders. The reported targets included officials within the Executive Office of the President, senior officials from multiple executive branch agencies, as well as senior officials in the U.S. Congress and the federal judiciary.
The cyber actors linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were collecting election-related data from U.S. databases, polling firms, political organizations, election campaigns, and other non-profit organizations.
A raw intelligence report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cites information provided by a source alleging that the CCP counterfeited tens of thousands of U.S. driver’s licenses and shipped them to the United States. According to the source, the purpose was to enable Chinese students and immigrants sympathetic to the CCP to vote for the U.S. presidential candidate favored by Beijing.
The investigation further alleges that the CCP sought to influence U.S. politics and interfere in elections through other means, including stoking social tensions, exploiting immigration issues, and using anti-government protests to deepen racial and socio-economic divisions.
According to a report by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the CCP began mobilizing anti-Trump forces both inside and outside the United States as early as 2018, in an effort to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, while also attempting to interfere in the election through political, business, and media channels.
These disclosures have exposed what it describes as the CCP’s long-running covert activities.
Has Xi ‘dug his own grave’—will he still dare meet Trump?
President Donald Trump visited Beijing from May 13 to 15. Following the state banquet on the evening of May 14, he publicly invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan to visit the United States on Sept. 24.
With just over two months remaining before the planned visit, Trump’s decision to release what he described as explosive revelations about the CCP’s alleged interference in U.S. elections has prompted speculation over whether Xi’s September trip to the United States will still go ahead.
Commenting on the developments, Jian Yi, a columnist for Vision Times, said that the information disclosed by President Trump during his nationwide address was “shocking to the world” and “completely stripped away the mask of Xi Jinping and the CCP.”
According to Jian, this direct and public approach is “the most powerful way to deal with the issue and precisely what the Communist Party and Xi Jinping fear most.” He concluded by saying that “the whole world is holding its breath, waiting for Trump’s next thunderous blow against Xi Jinping and the CCP.”
Jian Yi further noted that Trump’s decision to reveal these allegations came just as Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States in September. He argued that the key question now is whether, after what he described as Trump’s “nuclear bomb-level” speech, Xi will still have the confidence to meet Trump.
Jian continued: “As everyone knows, Trump has a very straightforward style. Now that these alleged schemes by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, which were directed personally against him, have been brought to light, Trump will undoubtedly seek justice for himself and for the American people. As the person behind the planning and final approval of these actions, Xi Jinping will certainly not escape Trump’s response.”
Jian also pointed to what he described as “a second key moment”—the anticipated disclosure in the coming months of the hidden wealth of Xi Jinping and other senior CCP leaders. He wrote that many people in the Chinese community had previously worried that the U.S. government might abandon such plans.
However, he argued that Trump’s speech should dispel those concerns: “Xi Jinping’s own actions have enabled Trump to see clearly the true nature of both Xi and the Communist Party. Given Trump’s personality, he will settle this matter with Xi thoroughly and unequivocally.”
Jian concluded with the metaphor: “This time, Xi Jinping and the CCP have effectively dug their own grave and then, in self-satisfaction, jumped into it themselves.”
