FBI Raises 'Alarming' Claims of Chinese Interference in 2020 Election
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FBI Director Kash Patel has declassified and shared documents with senators that he says "detail alarming allegations" about potential Chinese interference in the 2020 election.
Why It Matters
China has denied any nefarious involvement in swaying the election results in 2020, and again in 2024. Trump allies have alleged that China rigged the 2020 results in Joe Biden's favor, invigorating hardcore supporters to march on the Capitol, leading to the riot on January 6, 2021.
Flags hang outside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building on June 1, 2025, in Washington.
Flags hang outside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building on June 1, 2025, in Washington.What To Know
Patel shared the update on alleged election fraud in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and potentially others are alleged to have been involved in interfering with the 2020 election outcome.
He also said he has turned over documents to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican and chair of the Judiciary Committee, for further review.
"Specifically, these include allegations of plans from the CCP to manufacture fake driver's licenses and ship them into the United States for the purpose of facilitating fraudulent mail-in ballots—allegations which, while substantiated, were abruptly recalled and never disclosed to the public," Patel told Just the News.
Newsweek reached out to the FBI for comment.
On Tuesday, Grassley sent a letter to Patel seeking additional records and information related to the document, an Intelligence Information Report (IIR) that originated in the FBI's Albany Field Office in September 2020, a Grassley spokesperson told Newsweek.
"Chairman Grassley is in receipt of an FBI document responsive to a request he made based on legally protected whistleblower disclosures," the spokesperson said. "The document alleges serious national security concerns that need to be fully investigated by the FBI.
"Grassley is requesting additional documentation from the FBI to verify the production and is urging the FBI to do its due diligence to investigate why the document was recalled, who recalled it and inform the American people of its findings."
Grassley's letter, also shared with Newsweek, requests all communications between and among agents and intelligence analysts. Also, he asks Patel "to describe all investigative steps the FBI has taken, or will take, to determine the veracity of the allegations in the IIR as well as who recalled the IIR and the basis for the recall, if that basis extends beyond the request for the source to be re-interviewed."
The declassification of these reports now come years after they were allegedly not fully investigated and recalled from intelligence agencies by former FBI Director Chris Wray in the lead-up to Biden's 2020 victory over Trump.
An FBI spokesperson told the New York Post that federal authorities became aware of an alleged plot to impact the 2020 election around August of that year, though the intelligence reports were recalled for unknown reasons.
What People Are Saying
Kash Patel during his Senate confirmation hearing in January: "Senator, as I've said before that President Biden was certified and sworn in, that he was the president. I don't know how else to say it."
What Happens Next
Grassley requests the FBI to send all unclassified material directly to him, including segregating all unclassified material within classified documents. He's asked for a response to his newest letter no later than July 1.
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