The Trump administration has significantly expanded its intelligence presence in Cuba in recent months, according to people familiar with the plans, as Washington intensifies pressure on Havana&#8217;s communist regime and prepares for a wider range of potential operations.  
Two people familiar with the administration’s efforts told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/04/us-sends-more-intel-assets-to-cuba-01023267">Politico</a> that the United States has increased intelligence assets on the island. One described the move as a significant expansion of the CIA’s presence, while another said the intelligence buildup could serve as a critical step for future operations against the Cuban government.
The sources cautioned that military action remains far from certain. Expanded intelligence collection can support a wide range of operations, including diplomatic pressure, counterintelligence, recruiting sources inside foreign governments, and preparation for possible military contingencies.
The increased intelligence activity comes as the administration has made Cuba a central target of its broader effort to confront hostile governments in the Western Hemisphere, arguing that the communist regime poses a national security threat just 90 miles from American shores.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose family fled Cuba after Fidel Castro’s revolution, has made confronting the Cuban regime one of the defining priorities of his foreign policy agenda. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-reveals-how-cuba-is-trying-to-undermine-america?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Reveals+How+Cuba+Is+Trying+To+Undermine+America">In July</a>, the State Department released a 99-page report accusing Havana of decades of espionage, ideological influence operations, and support for revolutionary movements around the world.
“For more than six decades, the Cuban regime has been the leading sponsor of radical leftism and Third Worldism in the United States,” Rubio wrote following the report’s release.
The report argued that Cuba’s greatest strategic success has not been military power but its ability to export revolutionary ideology, conduct espionage, and cultivate influence networks inside the United States and abroad.
The administration has repeatedly framed Cuba as a growing national security concern because of its relationships with Russia, China, and Iran.
During a House budget hearing in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hegseth-says-cuba-poses-a-national-security-threat-as-tensions-rise?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Hegseth+Says+Cuba+Poses+A+National+Security+Threat+As+Tensions+Rise">May</a>, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told lawmakers that he considers the Cuban regime a threat to the United States after Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) questioned him about Havana’s relationships with America&#8217;s foreign adversaries.
“I do,” Hegseth said when asked whether he believes Cuba poses a national security threat. 
One administration official described Cuba as a major priority for Rubio, who believes Washington has run out of patience with a regime that has resisted years of diplomatic engagement and economic pressure.
The Trump administration has already increased pressure on Havana through renewed sanctions and an energy blockade that has contributed to widespread blackouts across the island. 
Officials have also intensified public messaging against the regime. The State Department’s recent report accused Havana of serving as a hub for Russian, Chinese, and Iranian intelligence activity while maintaining its own espionage networks against the United States.
Although U.S. intelligence agencies have long operated in Cuba, as they do throughout the world, rebuilding capabilities on the island would provide the United States with greater visibility and leverage in the Cuban government’s military, intelligence services, and relationships with foreign powers.
Whether that pressure results in negotiations, internal political change, or a broader confrontation remains unclear. But the expansion of U.S. intelligence activity suggests Washington is preparing for a wider range of possibilities than traditional diplomacy alone.

Cuba. Havana. Theatre Detail

Communist Cuba Is Back In Trump’s Crosshairs

Communism

Cuba

foreign affairs

Foreign Policy

Leftism

Marco Rubio

National Intelligence

Rubio

Spying

State Department

Trump Administration

House Republicans urged the Justice Department to prosecute former special counsel Jack Smith after new revelations that his team obtained text messages from dozens of members of Congress as part of their investigation into President Donald Trump. 
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2026-07-22-jdj-to-doj-blanche-re-smith-referral.pdf">criminal referral</a> Wednesday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accusing Smith of lying to lawmakers about the text messages. Documents released last week by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jack-smith-surveilled-dozens-of-members-of-congress-as-part-of-trump-investigation">show</a> that Smith’s investigative team accessed text messages involving 44 members of Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats, during their investigation into the 2020 election. 
“Mr. Smith and the Biden-Harris DOJ barely considered the Constitution as they seized these records of Congressional Republicans — and to the extent that they did, subject matter experts within DOJ warned that their subpoenas might be unconstitutional,” Jordan wrote to Blanche
Reacting to the news of the criminal referral, Trump questioned on Truth Social, “Justice at last???”
The records appear to indicate that Smith’s team bypassed a Justice Department “Filter Team” that had been established to review potentially privileged communications before investigators could access them.
Jordan said that the revelations appear to conflict with what Smith said during a December 2025 deposition when he told lawmakers that he did not request to see the content of lawmakers&#8217; text messages. Smith claimed he only asked for data on information about the timing and where the texts were going. Jordan said that Smith could be prosecuted for making false statements to Congress based on this testimony. 
“In light of the new information detailing that Mr. Smith’s team did have access to content of Members’ text messages and the fact that Mr. Smith made false statements regarding this information during his deposition, suggests that he willingly and knowingly made false representations to the Committee,&#8221; Jordan said. 
Smith has <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5984841-jordan-recommends-jack-smith-charges/?email=f6b514743a4c4be03b373e82e3096223711c5295&amp;emaila=495f8e0f1d79a16dce6ab880852eca0d&amp;emailb=6c5fed0ae73f12e322cea84f2bd830b09416e6d9633edaee8bac92b31c351a88&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=7.22.26%20CT%20Breaking-Jordan-Smith">disputed</a> accusations he lied to lawmakers, with his lawyers saying that he was unimpeachably truthful” and accused Jordan of pushing an “unprecedented theory that Mr. Smith provided false testimony not because of what he said, but because of what he did not say.” 
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, argued that Smith was forthcoming because the texts involving the 44 lawmakers were obtained through requests to the National Archives, not subpoenas. He said that Jordan went after Smith “for not reading the minds of congressional investigators and for not volunteering information they didn&#8217;t ask for.”

Former US Special Counsel Jack Smith Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Jack Smith Could Be In Trouble After Latest Revelation On Lawmaker Texts

2020 Election

Department of Justice

Donald Trump

House Judiciary Committee

Jack Smith

Jim Jordan

Republicans

Todd Blanche

An American citizen has been arrested in Israel for allegedly spying on behalf of Iranian intelligence, Israeli authorities announced Tuesday.
The suspect, identified as a U.S. citizen in his 20s, was taken into custody on June 9, 2026, following a joint operation by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet. According to a joint statement, the arrest was triggered by intelligence flags raised by international security organizations. 

The young man’s assignments reportedly included photographing and documenting “sensitive sites” across Israel in exchange for payments ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars per task.
The investigation, which was conducted under a strict, sweeping gag order by the Jerusalem District Police’s Central Unit, revealed that the suspect had been in active contact with Iranian intelligence handlers over the past several months. To allow authorities to investigate, a Jerusalem court repeatedly extended his detention over the last three weeks.
With the investigation complete, prosecutors have filed a formal statement against the suspect, clearing the way for a formal indictment in the coming days.
Prosecutors are expected to request that he be kept in custody until legal proceedings are concluded, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-900984">reported the Jerusalem Post</a>.
“In recent months, several defendants suspected of spying for the enemy have been exposed, some of whom allegedly acted during wartime and thereby assisted the enemy in advancing its plans within Israel,” Chief Inspector Amichai Panta, an investigations officer in the Jerusalem District’s central unit, reportedly said.
The arrest highlights a growing trend of espionage orchestrated by Tehran. According to a 2025 Shin Bet annual summary cited by The Jerusalem Post, security forces disrupted 120 separate Iranian intelligence operations and indicted 25 individuals on related espionage charges. In many of the cases, individuals are contacted through social media and receive small payments for various spying tasks.

Handcuffs with hand in front of flag

Israel Arrests American Citizen Accused Of Spying For Iran

Iran

Israel

The security of America’s power grid is under threat from the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign regimes who are pre-positioning energy devices they can sabotage from afar. Rapid state government action is needed to remove these technological threats that are already embedded in our electrical grid.
A <a href="https://www.striderintel.com/newsroom/strider-u-s-power-grid-exposed-to-unprecedented-risk-from-prc-made-equipment/">new report</a> from Strider Intelligence revealed that solar inverters feeding electricity into the U.S. power grid are overwhelmingly manufactured by Chinese companies tied to Beijing’s government and military. These devices are connected to the same networks that power America’s hospitals and defense installations, keep communications and water systems running, drive manufacturing and transportation, underpin the financial sector, and enable emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing.
The Chinese inverters are present at a scale far larger than previously understood. Nearly every utility surveyed by Strider, representing roughly 12% of national electricity generation, relies on Chinese inverters.
As Strider warns, without decisive intervention, “the Chinese government, through its control over [government-linked] firms and data networks, could exploit this access to manipulate or disrupt the U.S. grid in a crisis.” Because these inverters occupy critical control points and can be controlled remotely, they give Beijing a degree of proximity no foreign adversary should ever possess inside American infrastructure.
These vulnerabilities did not appear overnight. They grew out of decades of accelerated “green” energy expansion, during which time solar became the dominant source of new electricity across America. Much of the solar hardware came from companies with direct links to Chinese intelligence and military. Security concerns were ignored in the rush to scale renewables, resulting in American tax incentives and utility fees funding Chinese sabotage devices.
This outcome is in part the product of a successful CCP influence operation. China has long waged an insidious campaign to promote the “green” energy agenda to make the United States more dependent on their products. Research from State Armor revealed that <a href="https://statearmor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/State-Armor-Who-is-Energy-Foundation-China-Report.pdf">Energy Foundation China</a>, a nonprofit supervised by the Chinese Communist Party, has quietly pushed tens of millions per year into U.S. universities and advocacy groups to push policies that deepen America’s reliance on Chinese technologies. Industrial ambition paired with political influence secured Beijing’s access to our infrastructure.
While federal action is needed, Washington’s response has been slow, disjointed, and largely blind to the scale of the threat. Many of the vulnerabilities sit in infrastructure overseen by the states. That is where the solutions must begin.
State leaders must completely block adversary-linked companies, nonprofits, and middlemen from critical infrastructure. Texas did so with the <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/SB02116I.pdf">2021 Lone Star Critical Infrastructure Protection Act</a>, enacted to prevent a Chinese General from controlling the electrical grid near Laughlin Air Force Base. Entities tied to the CCP have no business inside the systems that power our grid, move our water, carry our data, or keep our transportation networks running.
States should also prohibit the installation of Chinese network-connected technologies that create <a href="https://www.congress.gov/119/meeting/house/118444/witnesses/HHRG-119-HM08-Wstate-GleasonN-20250722.pdf">remote access points and kill switches</a> inside critical systems. Strider’s findings confirm that many inverters and battery systems include built-in communication features that expose the grid to third parties without operator knowledge or consent.
State attorneys general should invoke existing consumer-protection, data-privacy, and deceptive trade practices laws to hold companies liable when they sell equipment that contains malware and kill switches. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-launches-investigation-use-ccp-aligned-tech-products-critical-state">opened an investigation</a> into Chinese Military Company CATL for battery systems that create grid vulnerabilities. <a href="https://ago.nebraska.gov/news/attorney-general-hilgers-sues-lorex-selling-cameras-put-nebraskans-security-risk">Nebraska Attorney General Hilgers</a> and <a href="https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-james-uthmeier-issues-subpoena-lorex-consumer-protection-data-privacy">Florida Attorney General Uthmeier</a> have launched fraud lawsuits against Chinese camera systems that facilitate espionage and sabotage. Companies should be enjoined from selling dangerous devices, and the dollars recovered through successful fraud claims should go toward replacing insecure Chinese-connected hardware.
States have the authority to act now, long before Congress finishes arguing over what comes next. They can close the backdoors, cut off adversary-linked contractors, and replace the equipment that should never have been allowed into the grid in the first place.
America cannot secure its future while foreign adversaries secure control over our essential systems. China has spent years pre-positioning itself inside U.S. infrastructure through industrial dominance and political influence. The danger is already inside our systems. We can either treat this as the national security threat it is, or concede that our utilities will be regulated by China’s government instead of our own.
* * *
Michael Lucci is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of State Armor, which he created to develop and enact state solutions to global security threats. Follow him at: @Michael7ucci
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.
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Workers Manufacture Solar Panels For Export In Suqian

America’s ‘Green’ Power Grid Has A Red China Problem

Attorney General

China

Energy

Espionage

Green New Deal

Solar Power

Technology

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) says he was not among the Republicans targeted and tracked by former President Joe Biden&#8217;s FBI — and he claimed during a recent podcast episode that it was largely thanks to his wireless service provider, AT&amp;T.
Cruz was responding to recent reporting on an operation code-named Arctic Frost that the Biden administration used to spy on a number of conservatives and even elected Republicans, including many of Cruz&#8217;s current colleagues in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Chuck Grassley released a list of senators who had been targeted through Arctic Frost early in October, naming Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (MO), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Lindsey Graham (SC), and Tommy Tuberville (AL), among others — but Cruz&#8217;s name did not appear on the list.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into &#8220;election conspiracy&#8221; Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith&#8217;s elector case against Trump
BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE <a href="https://t.co/V2JyiVlX48">pic.twitter.com/V2JyiVlX48</a>
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1975297712712262100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Cruz explained on the October 22 episode of &#8220;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/verdict-with-ted-cruz/id1495601614?i=1000732943212">The Verdict</a>&#8221; that he was one of nine whose phone records were subpoenaed by Biden&#8217;s Justice Department in an effort to investigate the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill — but that AT&amp;T had refused to turn over his information. The DOJ reportedly received information on the other senators from Verizon.
&#8220;All nine of them had their cellphone records handed over to the Biden Department of Justice,&#8221; Cruz said. &#8220;Now, I gotta admit just over a week ago, Sean Hannity was in town and I had dinner with Sean and with several of the senators on that list as well — and I was laughing with Sean, I was actually kind of offended. Like how did I get left out of this list?&#8221;
The Texas senator laughed, adding, &#8220;What did I have to do? I was literally standing on the Senate floor on January 6 objecting and leading the fight, and I had brought together 11 senators to stand together and fight for an election commission to assess the evidence of voter fraud &#8230; I was joking with Sean, but I wasn&#8217;t entirely joking.&#8221;
Cruz said the reason he had initially been left out was soon clear: &#8220;Well, it turns out the reason that I was not on the list, is apparently all eight of those senators, their cellphones are with Verizon — and evidence had come out that Verizon had handed over their cellphone information. Well, my cellphone is with AT&amp;T, and I didn&#8217;t know it at the time, but I found out late last week that Jack Smith sent a subpoena to AT&amp;T demanding my cellphone records, and AT&amp;T told him to go jump in a lake.&#8221;
AT&amp;T, Cruz explained, refused to give up the information: &#8220;I&#8217;m proud of them. They did the right thing, I appreciate that.&#8221;

Pam Bondi Swears In Kash Patel As FBI Director

‘I Was Offended’: Ted Cruz Explains Why He Wasn’t Tracked By Biden’s FBI

Why Ted Cruz Says He Wasn't Tracked By Biden FBI Along With Other Senators

Joe Biden

Media

Politics

Ted Cruz

Israel successfully launched its Ofek-19 military spy satellite Tuesday night, which Defense Minister Israel Katz called both a major technological leap and a direct warning to the nation’s enemies.
The satellite was launched from Palmachim Airbase via a “Shavit” rocket and entered its planned orbit, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. Initial tests have shown that the satellite is functioning as expected and is already transmitting data. Developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with the Defense Ministry and IDF, Ofek-19 is equipped with synthetic aperture radar, capable of providing high-resolution imaging day or night — regardless of weather conditions, The Times of Israel <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-successfully-launches-ofek-19-spy-satellite-an-eye-on-our-enemies/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reported</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🇮🇱 BREAKING: Israel has launched the Ofek 19 spy satellite, marking a historic leap in national defense and intelligence. With this launch, Israel joins an elite club of just 3–5 nations that can independently build, launch, and operate advanced reconnaissance satellites.
Ofek… <a href="https://t.co/Ak9oE3kG8E">pic.twitter.com/Ak9oE3kG8E</a>
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1963100633013076072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Katz was blunt, writing on X: “The launch of the ‘Ofek 19’ satellite yesterday is an achievement of the highest global level. Few countries possess these capabilities. I salute the aerospace industry, the Ministry of Defense, the IDF, and everyone who took part in the development. It is also a message to all our enemies, wherever they may be — we are watching you at all times and in all circumstances. And in general, a message to the peoples of the region &#8211; come collaborate with these capabilities for a better shared future for all of us.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
שיגור הלוויין &#8220;אופק 19&#8221; אתמול הוא הישג ברמה העולמית הגבוהה ביותר. למדינות מעטות יש את היכולות האלה. אני מצדיע לתעשייה האווירית, למשרד הביטחון, לצה&#8221;ל ולכל מי שנטל חלק בפיתוח.
זהו גם מסר לכל אויבינו באשר הם &#8211; אנחנו פוקחים עליכם עין בכל שעה ובכל מצב. ובכלל המסר לעמי האזור &#8211; בואו… <a href="https://t.co/I2aZPb6moN">pic.twitter.com/I2aZPb6moN</a>
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1963110689590956303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In the past two years, Israel has faced hundreds of rocket and missile attacks — most intercepted — from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
President Isaac Herzog of Israel, who attended the launch along with Katz and senior defense officials, called it a milestone for Israel’s high-tech leadership, stating, “We are not only a Start-Up Nation, we are a Space Nation.”
Once operational, Ofek-19 will be handed over to the IDF’s elite Unit 9900, which specializes in visual intelligence. The satellite follows Ofek-13, launched in 2023, and is part of Israel’s broader plan to build a satellite constellation for intelligence dominance. Defense officials noted the satellite’s importance was highlighted during Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s recent confrontation with Iran.
With imaging resolution down to under 50 centimeters, Ofek-19 provides Israel with unmatched surveillance capabilities — a “force multiplier” in modern warfare, as officials have described it. Katz called the achievement “a moment of immense national pride” and a clear sign that Israel’s eyes are now firmly in the sky.

Satellite image showing the Sinai and Negev regions and the shrinking of the Dead Sea in Israel.

Israel Launches High-Tech Spy Satellite, Warns Enemies: ‘We Are Watching You’

Satellites

Spy Planes

World

A dual citizen of China and the United States pled guilty on Monday to stealing American missile defense technology for the Chinese government. 
The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/engineer-pleads-guilty-stealing-chinese-governments-benefit-trade-secret-technology-designed">announced</a> that 59-year-old Chenguang Gong pled guilty to theft of trade secrets. Gong, a former engineer who lives in San Jose, California, admitted to stealing information developed by the U.S. government for detecting nuclear missile launches, tracking ballistic and hypersonic missiles, and technology to assist fighter jets evade heat-seeking missiles. 
Gong, who faces up to 10 years in prison upon sentencing, is currently free on $1.75 million bond. 
In his plea agreement, Gong said that he transferred 3,600 files from the Los Angeles area research and development company where he worked and moved them to personal storage devices, including a personal laptop. The file transfers took place between March 2023 and April 2023, when he was fired by the company, which was identified as a victim of Gong.
The files contained blueprints for infrared sensors designed for use in space-based systems to detect missiles and blueprints for sensors for American military aircraft to combat heat-seeking missiles. Some of the files were later discovered at Gong’s private residence, the Justice Department said. 
The information on the files was worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to prosecutors.
From 2014 to 2022, Gong applied for multiple “talent programs” run by the Chinese government while working for major American technology companies.  
The Justice Department said that China “established these talent programs as a means to identify individuals who have expert skills, abilities, and knowledge of advanced sciences and technologies in order to access and utilize those skills and knowledge in transforming the PRC’s economy, including its military capabilities.”
Gong sent in applications to the talent programs that mirrored technology produced by his employers. For example, in September 2020, Gong submitted an application for “low light/night vision” image sensors that had the model number of a sensor produced by a defense industry company he worked for from 2015-2019, according to investigators. 
The Justice Department also said that Gong took several trips to China to meet with talent program managers. In a 2019 email, Gong admitted that he “took a risk” to fly to China “because [he] worked for…an American military industry company.”
The guilty plea comes as government officials have attempted to crack down on intellectual property theft by China. It is estimated that Chinese-backed IP theft costs American companies between $300 to $600 billion per year.

HONG KONG-CHINA-HANDOVER-ANNIVERSARY

Chinese National Admits To Stealing Missile Defense Blueprints For Communist China

California

Communist China

Two Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly working on behalf of a Chinese intelligence agency to recruit members of the United States military to betray America, the Justice Department announced.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that the FBI on June 27 had arrested 38-year-old Yuance Chen, a Chinese national who has legal permanent residency in Oregon, and 39-year-old Liren “Ryan” Lai, a Chinese national who entered the country on a tourist visa in April. Both were charged with operating within the United States as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the attorney general.
The criminal complaint against them says that they were working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security (MSS), Communist China’s primary foreign intelligence service. Specifically, they are accused of attempting to recruit members of the Navy to be assets for the MSS.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/justice-department-charges-two-individuals-acting-agents-prc-government">said</a> Attorney General Pam Bondi. “The Justice Department will not stand by while hostile nations embed spies in our country – we will expose foreign operatives, hold their agents to account, and protect the American people from covert threats to our national security.”
In January 2022, the pair facilitated the leaving of a backpack containing $10,000 from MSS in a locker at a recreational facility in Livermore, California, in a dead-drop payment in exchange for national security information on the United States, according to the Justice Department.
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“The FBI arrested two Chinese nationals who were allegedly attempting to recruit U.S. military service members on behalf of the PRC,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources.”
The two also allegedly worked together to obtain recruitment information from a Naval installation in Washington and a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California. Chen stole personal recruitment information and sent it to an MSS agent in China, the Justice Department said.
Chen allegedly met with MSS intelligence officers in April 2024 and March 2025 to discuss his assignments and what he would be paid. If convicted, the pair of Chinese nationals could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

AG Bondi, FBI Director Patel Hold Press Conference In Florida After Drug Seizure

Chinese Nationals Arrested Over Plot To Recruit American Military Personnel

Crime

U.S.

U.S. Navy

An ex-Army Sergeant faces up to ten years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempting to give American military secrets to China. 
Joseph Daniel Schmidt, 31, last stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington, pled guilty on Wednesday to charges of attempting to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information. He will be sentenced in September by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour. In addition to prison, Schmidt could be hit with a $250,000 fine.  
Schmidt was an active duty soldier from January 2015 to January 2020 and mainly worked with the 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. During his military service, he had access to information designated as secret and top secret, according to the Justice Department. 
After leaving the military in January 2020, Schmidt emailed the Chinese Consulate in Turkey and the Chinese security service, offering to provide them with national defense information. 
In March 2020, Schmidt flew to Hong Kong, where he attempted to give Chinese security officials intelligence he had kept from his time in the military. According to the Justice Department, he produced multiple documents detailing the “high level secrets” he had in his possession and offered to give a device that allows access to secure military computers to the Chinese. 
He flew back to the United States in October 2023 when he was arrested in San Francisco. 
“Joseph Daniel Schmidt was once a trusted guardian of our nation’s secrets and swore an oath to defend and protect U.S. national security,” Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in October 2023 when Schmidt was indicted. “As alleged by the government, Schmidt betrayed his promise and potentially placed our nation at risk in his attempts to pass national defense information to Chinese security services.”
In recent years, the FBI has made a number of arrests involving former American soldiers accused of attempting to give sensitive military information to China. 
Earlier this year, former Army intelligence officer Korbein Schultz was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-army-intel-officer-sentenced-after-selling-u-s-military-secrets-to-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to seven years in prison for selling critical military documents to an individual believed to be tied to the Chinese government. Schultz was paid $42,000 for information on American military exercises and technical equipment manuals.
Just last month, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/active-duty-and-former-us-army-soldiers-arrested-theft-government-property-and-bribery">announced</a> that Jian Zhao and Li Tian, both active duty Army soldiers also stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and former soldier Ruoyu Duan had been charged with stealing U.S. military secrets. They were accused of taking top-secret hard drives, information on weapon systems, and documents on missile defenses to sell to individuals based in China.

TOPSHOT-ASIAD-2022-2023-HANGZHOU-OPENING

Ex-U.S. Army Soldier Admits Plot To Provide China With Sensitive Military Intel

Ex-U.S. Army Soldier Admits To Plot To Provide China With Sensitive Military Intel

Military

U.S. Army

Washington

In May, U.S. energy officials <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/">released</a> bombshell findings about China’s ability to turn out the lights across America. Rogue communications devices were found inside Chinese solar power inverters. In addition, undisclosed cellular radios were found inside Chinese batteries. These Chinese Communist Party sabotage efforts are reminiscent of CCP-tied Huawei’s infiltration of our communications network, which gave Beijing the ability to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html">disrupt our nuclear arsenal communications</a>.
Beijing seeks the ability to remotely access and destroy the systems upon which Americans depend for everyday life and upon which our military depends to project power across the globe. The U.S. rightly began to remove Huawei technologies from our market <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-050547906.html?guccounter=1">in 2019</a> because of security risks. Since then, ironically, we’ve allowed China to flood our market with network-connected technologies such as routers, drones, cranes, healthcare devices, cameras, green tech, and more, which collectively constitute a deeper penetration of our vital systems. This trend must be reversed through new laws and better law enforcement to block and remove all Chinese network-connected technologies. 
American tax dollars should not fund technologies that facilitate Chinese espionage and sabotage efforts. At the federal level, Congress should ban federal procurement of Chinese network-connected technologies. Congress should also codify President Trump’s Information and Communications Technology <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/05/17/2019-10538/securing-the-information-and-communications-technology-and-services-supply-chain">executive order</a> from 2019 and fund ICT programs to block CCP tech. During March 2025 testimony, former Biden Administration official Dr. Rush Doshi <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/oS_aZXE6W0k">argued</a> that codifying Trump’s order “would let us prohibit certain [Chinese] goods,” especially power converters and network-connected technologies, “from being in the U.S. market.”
States must excise CCP network-connected technologies from their critical infrastructure and government systems. For example, Texas’ 2021 <a href="https://www.jw.com/news/insights-texas-lone-star-infrastructure-protection-act/">Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (LIPA)</a> forbids Texas businesses and government from contracting with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran on critical infrastructure, especially if foreign parties would gain remote access or control of the infrastructure. A 2023 Nebraska law <a href="https://flood.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-flood-applauds-bipartisan-work-ban-state-funds-huawei-equipment">prohibits</a> the state from providing public funds to telecommunications providers that have not yet removed Huawei 5G hardware from their cell towers. Utah passed a 2024 law to end procurement of Chinese technologies such as computers and routers. All states should adopt these measures.
Furthermore, the U.S. must enforce the rule-of-law. The Chinese Communist Party has made tremendous gains at the expense of the U.S. in part because the U.S. and its allies have failed to enforce their own laws upon malicious CCP agents and entities. At a fundamental level, the two legal systems are incompatible because <a href="https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-national-security-advisor-robert-c-obrien-011521-2/">China’s laws require businesses to engage in espionage for the party-state</a>, while America’s laws require data privacy. America must pivot and crush CCP lawlessness. Consumer fraud and data privacy laws must be tightened, and robust enforcement actions must be taken by both federal agencies and state attorneys general. 
In March 2025, the FCC’s Council on National Security <a href="https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/fcc-investigating-china-companies-national-security/743316/">opened an investigation</a> into several telecommunications companies, including Huawei, for engaging in unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices such as selling banned equipment in the United States. The FCC can go further by revoking telecom licenses from corrupt entities. Meanwhile, other federal agencies must get in the fight.
State AGs must enforce the law against Chinese manufacturers that embed hidden backdoors in products, and American companies that “white-label” such products must also be held accountable. For example, according to the federal <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/contec-cms8000-contains-backdoor">Cybersecurity &amp; Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)</a> the Chinese company Contec sells healthcare monitors with embedded backdoors that provide Beijing with access to patient data along with the ability to manipulate readings of a patient’s vitals. AGs should investigate Contec for potential violations of consumer and medical data protections. As a recent FDA Safety Communication states, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/safety-communications/cybersecurity-vulnerabilities-certain-patient-monitors-contec-and-epsimed-fda-safety-communication">Florida-based Epsimed</a>, which sells Contec products in the U.S., should also be investigated.
These security concerns are amplified by ethical concerns. Chinese green energy technologies are not only riddled with backdoors, they often <a href="http://www.cecc.gov/events/hearings/from-cobalt-to-cars-how-china-exploits-child-and-forced-labor-in-the-congo">rely on slave labor</a>. Too many environmental activists have been hoodwinked into promoting cheap CCP hardware to “save the planet,” all while supporting slave labor and compromising our energy grid.
The United States <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-050547906.html?guccounter=1">2019 actions against Huawei</a> were a strong step, but since then we’ve lost ground. Rapid and concerted action is needed to protect our way of life against Chinese Communist Party sabotage, and to build an economic system based upon rule-of-law rather than communist infiltration and subversion.
* * *
Michael Lucci is the Founder and CEO of State Armor, a 501(c)(3) non-profit advocating for state solutions to the global threats posed by the CCP. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

TOPSHOT-CHINA-TECHNOLOGY-AI

CCP In The Machine: How China’s Tech Continues To Infiltrate American Hardware

Opinion

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the State Department would start to “aggressively” revoke the visas of Chinese students. 
Rubio said that the revocations would focus on those with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in “critical fields.” Rubio’s actions come after he froze all new student visa interviews pending the development of new admittance guidelines. 
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” Rubio announced in a statement. “We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
There are roughly 275,000 Chinese students studying in the United States. 
Chinese theft of American intellectual property has been a problem for years, and several Chinese students have been charged and convicted of espionage. 
In 2020, a Chinese woman studying at Boston University named Yanqing Ye <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/fbi-wanted-yanqing-ye-china/">fled</a> the country after being accused of working for China while studying chemistry, physics, and biomedical engineering. According to the FBI, Ye was a lieutenant in the Chinese military but did not disclose that when she applied for a student visa. She reportedly gathered intelligence on two American scientists. 
In another <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/convicted-ex-chicago-illinois-institute-technology-college-student-chaoqun-ji-part-us-china-spy-swap/15596442/">incident</a>, a Chinese student named Chaoqun Ji, who was attending the Illinois Institute of Technology, was convicted in 2023 of acting as an unregistered agent for China after gathering information on defense contractors. 
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The targeting of Chinese student visas comes as the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-freezes-all-new-student-visa-interviews-in-major-blow-to-elite-universities?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Admin+Freezes+All+New+Student+Visa+Interviews+In+Major+Blow+To+Elite+Universities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has increased vetting</a> for what foreign students are allowed into the country. On Tuesday, Rubio signed a cable directing U.S. embassies to “not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued … which we anticipate in the coming days.”
The pause affects all applicants for student visas while the administration reportedly prepares guidance for expanded social media vetting requirements.
Rubio also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rubio-announces-new-visa-restrictions-for-foreigners-who-censor-americans?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rubio+Announces+New+Visa+Restrictions+For+Foreigners+Who+Censor+Americans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took steps</a> on Wednesday to implement new visa restrictions targeting foreigners “complicit” in censoring Americans.
“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio said. “It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/group-trying-to-convince-asians-that-america-is-oppressive-has-ties-to-chinese-state-media">Group Trying To Convince Asians That America Is Oppressive Has Ties To Chinese State Media</a>

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies on the 2026 Budget In House Hearing

Rubio Promises To ‘Aggressively’ Target Students Tied To Chinese Communist Party

Education

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives convened a Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security hearing entitled, “Beijing’s Air, Space, and Maritime Surveillance from Cuba: A Growing Threat to the Homeland.”
In June 2023, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/cuba-to-host-secret-chinese-spy-base-focusing-on-u-s-b2fed0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, “China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island.” The facility would reportedly enable Chinese intelligence services to monitor electronic communications on the American mainland.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, stated:
<blockquote>
Mounting evidence suggests that the Chinese Communist Party is expanding its strategic partnership with the totalitarian communist regime in Cuba to build advanced surveillance infrastructure capable of targeting the United States. This collaboration represents one of the most brazen intelligence operations ever attempted near the American mainland, and places our military operations, commercial activity, and communications squarely in the crosshairs of a hostile foreign power.
Recent satellite imagery and open-source analysis suggest the presence of several Chinese-funded signals intelligence facilities across Cuba. The possibility that these sites are capable of monitoring U.S. military operations, commercial shipping, space launches and sensitive communications is deeply troubling.
</blockquote>
“A mere 90 miles off our shores, the United States’ most formidable 21st century competitor, the People’s Republic of China, has found fertile soil to deploy its arsenal of espionage, digital surveillance, and maritime competition,” Dr. Ryan C. Berg, the director of Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the subcommittee. “When Soviet influence diminished on the island following the end of the Cold War, eyes, ears, and antennas stayed. In many ways, China filled the void.”
“CSI has positively identified about four specific facilities as highly likely sites supporting Chinese intelligence operations targeting the U.S. &#8230; As you can see &#8230; our adversaries are at our doorstep,” he declared.
“We should not be funding a regime that turns around and opens its doors to our greatest adversaries,” Gimenez said. “If reports of rising Chinese activity in Cuba are accurate, then this is no longer just a diplomatic issue. It is a direct security risk to the American people.”
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Cuba and China two flags together textile cloth, fabric texture

House Opens Hearing On Chinese Surveillance Targeting U.S. From Cuba

Global Politics

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