(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI has declassified internal records about possible Chinese election interference in 2020. Buried in those documents is perhaps an even more explosive allegation—that the Chinese Communist Party has underground bases in the U.S.
The newly declassified—but still heavily redacted—records were released Tuesday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who’s been investigating the matter. Grassley previously revealed that the FBI received a tip from an informant in 2020 that China may have shipped “tens of thousands” of pro-Biden “fraudulent mail-in votes”—but that FBI headquarters squashed the investigation.
The new records confirm that FBI headquarters indeed squashed the investigation. Moreover, internal communications show that officials were concerned that the allegations of election interference conflicted with testimony from then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, who had told Congress that he had no credible evidence that interference was taking place.
“The reporting will contradict Director Wray’s testimony,” a heavily redacted September 2020 internal FBI email stated.
I hate to burst the MAGA bubble here, but Kash is serving you cattle slop.
I read through the declassified emails that were released today, and in Dan Bongino's words, "there's no there there."
Basically, the FBI received a tip about CCP election interference from an FBI… https://t.co/MuQBYe5Kc6 pic.twitter.com/zgnaKT4LsB— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 1, 2025
However, the newly released documents also cast doubt on the veracity of the FBI informant’s tip about election interference. According to the documents, the FBI informant obtained his information from a sub-source in China, who in turn said he received the info from “unidentified PRC officials.” The FBI said the “placement of the ultimate sub-source is unknown.”
Moreover, the same FBI informant apparently provided his handler with allegations about “underground bases in Republican states to disperse Coronavirus.” The FBI informant received that information from a different sub-source than the one who alleged election interference. The FBI informant told his handler that he found his sub-source’s tip about underground Chinese bases to be credible.
“We’re skeptical of this reporting based on the portions regarding COVID that veer into conspiracy theories,” a skeptical agent wrote on Sept. 29, 2020.
The newly released documents also address the fact that Customs and Border Patrol had captured 19,888 fraudulent driver’s licenses in 2020. Most of these IDs allegedly came from Hong Kong and China in late July 2020 and were en route to a Midwestern battleground state.
The internal documents show that agents raised questions about whether the FBI informant learned information about the driver’s licenses from the internet, as opposed to having any special or inside knowledge from sources in China. Indeed, the informant provided the tip about that scheme in August 2020, a month after CBP issued a press release about the matter.
Despite the fact that the FBI didn’t seem to have solid info about CCP election interference, Sen. Grassley still blasted the bureau for recalling the info on the grounds that it contradicted Wray’s testimony.
“These records smack of political decision-making and prove the Wray-led FBI to be a deeply broken institution. Ahead of a high-stakes election happening amid an unprecedented global pandemic, the FBI turned its back on its national security mission,” Grassley said in a press release.
“One way or the other, intelligence must be fully investigated to determine whether it’s true, or if it’s just smoke and mirrors. Chris Wray’s FBI wasn’t looking out for the American people – it was looking to save its own image. Now’s the time to rebuild the FBI’s trust. Director Patel’s willingness to work with me to establish renewed transparency and accountability is a critical part of that process, and I applaud him for his efforts.”
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
