Author Peter Schweizer, president of the Government Accountability Institute, joined guest host Jason Chaffetz on the Sean Hannity Radio recently to discuss Elaine Chao’s reported June trip to China, the Chao family shipping empire, and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s health and Senate role.

“What in the world is going on with Mitch McConnell? And, equally important, what’s going on with his wife?” Chaffetz asked Schweizer.

“As we’ve talked about before, Elaine Chao and Mitch McConnell have a long financial association with the Chinese Communist Party,” Schweizer said. “Elaine Chao’s family has a shipping business called the Foremost Group, a company that does considerable business with the Chinese government.”

Schweizer researched and previously documented these relationships in his 2018 bestseller, Secret Empires.

He traced the Chao family’s shipping wealth through Foremost Group, started by her father, and its extensive business ties to Chinese state-linked shipbuilding interests. Chao also has ties to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which dedicated a new building named after her mother.

“The problem is that that building, which is the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Memorial Hall, houses the Naval Architecture School, which does major contracts for the Chinese military,” Schweizer told Chaffetz, noting Elaine Chao has visited the school about 12 times in recent years. “And when you look further at this university, it is deeply tied with the People’s Liberation Army. In fact, freshmen at this university undergo mandatory military training with physical drills and ideological education.”

While her husband was laid up in the hospital, Chao was meeting in Beijing with Chinese government leaders.  “She meets with Wu Ken, who is the head of the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, which is widely recognized as a united front group. In fact, the US Congress has designated it as such. The purpose of that group is to help the Chinese Communist Party cultivate good relations and advance the interests of the CCP in the Western world,” Schweizer explained.

The next day, he continued, “Elaine Chao meets with the vice president of China, Han Zheng. What’s interesting about this guy is that he sat until recently on the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which is pretty small and is the most powerful committee in the Chinese Communist Party.”

“So, a lot of big questions to ask here,” Schweizer said.

Chaffetz, a former congressman who served as chairman of the House Oversight Committee and now  Distinguished Fellow of GAI, stressed the transparency problem around incapacitated lawmakers. McConnell has not been seen since he went into the hospital and rumors have spread that his condition is dire. Nevertheless, several Republican senators claimed to have had substantive conversations with him by phone and are offering assurances that McConnell is convalescing and eager to return to the Senate.

“There’s no way that he’s having an in-depth policy discussion about Iran,” Chaffetz said. “I mean, I’d be shocked. And if that’s the case, then why is he in the hospital?”

“It raises questions about what the Senate leadership should be doing — should this individual still be occupying a seat in the US Senate?” Schweizer replied. He explained further from his research on Secret Empires about the history with China. “The Chinese cultivated their relationship with the Chao family, the McConnell-Chao family, once Mitch McConnell became a US senator,” Schweizer said. “Once he was elected, that’s when the coziness began. And there’s a long history that I’ve documented of Mitch McConnell, who used to be very hawkish on China, becoming increasingly soft on China.”

“So, you have to ask the question: Was there something to be done with China before Mitch McConnell actually relinquishes his Senate seat? If that is what really matters to the Chinese, the fact that he is a leader in the Senate and can influence the direction of the Senate, was there value in trying to meet with them before Mitch McConnell resigns his seat or passes away?”

“The Chinese don’t mess around. They’re very aggressive about it. We (GAI) were the first to expose the Biden family and their China ties. The same thing applies to the McConnells,” Schweizer said.

Chaffetz notes the importance of maintaining control of the Senate during some important deliberations. “These votes are coming down to one vote here, one vote there. The SAVE Act. On the Senate side, Mitch McConnell has been one of those naysayers about passing what is, I think, one of the most important pieces of legislation out there. So, at what point do you think there is a duty… a rule about disclosure of what’s really going on?”

“It’s a great question, Jason. You did, I think, the most important and earliest work on the whole ‘autopen’ issue involving President Biden. What was he actually signing? What did he know he was signing? It’s slightly different, obviously, in the Senate, but not that different,” Schweizer answered.

“If we are going to have representative government, with which we were endowed by our founders, it should mean the people that were voted into office are aware of what is going on. Let’s hope that somebody on Mitch McConnell’s staff will step up in a way that nobody in the Biden White House seemed to be willing to do and say, ‘Look, this is not serving the residents of our state. This is not representative government.’” Schweizer concluded.

(Listen to the full interview above)

During a recent interview, Schweizer pointed to reported DOJ scrutiny involving tech billionaire Neville Roy Singham and argued that investigators should focus on whether foreign connections, nonprofit funding and organized protest activity crossed legal lines.

“The Department of Justice is looking at, I think, particularly that foreign angle,” Schweizer said.

He described Singham as an American-born businessman, self-described Maoist, and founder of ThoughtWorks, who later moved to Shanghai after selling the company.

“He made about $1 billion off of that deal, and then promptly moved to Shanghai, China, which is where he lives now,” Schweizer said.

Schweizer alleged that Singham has directed money to organizations including the People’s Forum and groups connected to the Party for Socialism and Liberation. He argued investigators should examine whether any undisclosed foreign relationships could create potential exposure under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

“If he is not disclosing those contacts, he could be in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act,” Schweizer said. “And, of course, it could go even further than that, depending what the allegation is.”

Schweizer also urged investigators to examine the financial operations of nonprofit organizations.

“These are 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) charities that are supposed to be for the general good,” he said. “The allegation is that these are actually disruptive organizations that are causing trouble on American streets.”

As the discussion turned to recent protests, Schweizer drew a distinction between peaceful demonstrations and organized violence.

“You might have a peaceful protest somewhere where people are holding signs,” he said. “People from these groups will show up, and they will start throwing Molotov cocktails… because they want a fight and they want the disruption.”

Schweizer said he expects federal investigators to rely on subpoena power to trace financial records and communications in ways journalists cannot.

“They are going to use their subpoena power to look at the flow of funds. They will be able to look at communications,” he said. “It is going to be very, very interesting… to look under the hood, something that I have not been able to do because I am just a journalist.”

He added, “I imagine they are going to find some pretty explosive stuff.”

Schweizer stressed any prosecution must be grounded in criminal conduct rather than political disagreements.

“The claim from the left is going to be this is just political, you are silencing speech,” Schweizer said. “But… you are talking about violent criminal activity.”

Pointing to past prosecutions involving individuals accused of violent conduct during protests in Texas and to domestic terrorism charges filed in connection with protests targeting Atlanta’s planned “Cop City” training facility, Schweizer argued authorities have shown they can successfully distinguish constitutionally protected protest from alleged criminal violence.

“It has got to be fact-driven,” he said. “You have to put the evidence out there for the American people to see and to know precisely what it is they are saying they are doing and what evidence you have for what they have done.”

Listen to the appearance above.

During a recent appearance, Eggers argued that the Court’s 5-4 decision upholding birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment puts new urgency on closing what he calls the “birth tourism loophole” — a practice GAI contends has been exploited for years by the Chinese Communist Party.

“The major concern that we’ve had, and that we’ve articulated at the Government Accountability Institute, is that the birthright citizenship law… is being exploited, specifically through the practice of birth tourism,” Eggers said.

Drawing on GAI’s research and the findings in Peter Schweizer’s book The Invisible Coup, Eggers said hundreds of thousands of children have been born in the United States to Chinese nationals who later returned to China. By 2030, he said, as many as one million could reach voting age while retaining full U.S. citizenship.

“You’ve got potentially what we’re calling a Manchurian generation: people who have loyalties to China but have full citizenship privileges, including the right to vote in this country,” Eggers said. “We think that actively undermines American sovereignty.”

With the constitutional question now largely settled by the Supreme Court, Eggers said lawmakers should instead focus on legislation targeting birth tourism itself.

“We’ve heard now Senator Eric Schmitt and… Chip Roy talk about the need for congressional and legislative action to amend the birth tourism loophole specifically, since birthright citizenship was codified and upheld today by the Supreme Court,” he said.

Eggers also argued that birth tourism is magnified by existing immigration law through chain migration, allowing parents of U.S.-born children to eventually obtain legal status themselves.

“It’s not just the people that are born here that become citizens by virtue of birthright citizenship, but through visa laws and the practice known as chain migration, their parents are able to eventually become citizens as well,” he said.

The GAI executive contrasted what he described as differing enforcement approaches between administrations, saying the Obama and Biden administrations instructed border officials not to turn away visibly pregnant women, while the Trump administration has encouraged Customs and Border Protection officers to deny entry to travelers suspected of coming to the United States solely to give birth.

Eggers also pointed to the Northern Mariana Islands as a strategic vulnerability, arguing that the U.S. territory has become a gateway for birth tourism because children born there receive U.S. citizenship.

“It’s near Guam,” Eggers said. “This is a strategic territory that will keep us safe and sovereign from threats from the Asian Pacific… How ironic is it that now… this is the portal, this is the loophole that Chinese elites actively exploit.”

Eggers’ appearance comes as congressional Republicans increasingly shift their focus from challenging the Constitution’s birthright citizenship protections to pursuing legislation aimed at restricting birth tourism and tightening immigration enforcement.

Watch the clip above.

During a recent media appearance, Bruner praised the Trump administration’s decision to pair the Department of Justice with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to target organizations accused of facilitating the schemes.

“I think that’s way too soft a term. It’s an espionage pipeline,” Bruner said. “Organizations bringing these foreign nationals in, minting U.S. citizens, then taking them back to China.”

Bruner argued the investigations extend well beyond immigration violations, alleging the organizations also commit visa fraud and abuse federal relief programs.

“These organizations are committing all kinds of fraud—visa fraud,” he said. “They’re getting a bunch of loan fraud, which is just crazy that you’ve got foreign nationals getting PPP loans, using that money to mint U.S. citizens and then send them back to China to become spies.”

According to Bruner, the alleged fraud reflects a much larger problem that has cost American taxpayers enormous sums over decades.

“Billions and millions — trillions really — is what’s been defrauded of the U.S. taxpayer over the number of years,” he said. “It’s good that we’re finally kind of cracking down on it.”

Bruner also pointed to broader healthcare fraud cases, including allegations involving Medicaid and Medicare, arguing the administration’s enforcement push is beginning to expose longstanding abuse.

He cited reports about a Houston woman accused of orchestrating a $90 million Medicaid fraud scheme who allegedly removed her ankle monitor before fleeing to Vietnam, saying such cases demonstrate the need for aggressive prosecutions.

Bruner argued immigration fraud, healthcare fraud and political corruption are interconnected.

“It’s really all connected to fraud in terms of defrauding the government with Medicare… and the immigration fraud,” he said. “And it’s all anti-American at the end of the day.”

He further contended that lax immigration policies ultimately create political incentives that benefit progressive candidates.

“It’s actually a central component of their business model, to bring in non-citizens… get them hooked up to benefits so that they become dependent on the system,” Bruner said. “Eventually they become political power.”

Bruner concluded by calling the cycle “treasonous,” arguing that continued cooperation between DOJ, ICE and DHS will be essential to dismantling what he described as networks built on immigration fraud, financial fraud and exploitation of American taxpayers.

Watch the clip above.

“No. According to the Chinese government itself, they believe that every year, on average since 2013, roughly 100,000 Chinese babies have been born in the United States. That is a government estimate from China,” Schweizer told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday night.

“Research firms sometimes put that number even higher,” he added. “The problem is that our federal government doesn’t even know. We don’t track this. We don’t put the nationality of the parents on a birth certificate,” he pointed out.

“Since 2013, Laura, we’re looking at potentially more than 1 million ‘US citizens’ that are being raised in China. They are citizens only because their mothers came here to give birth,” Schweizer said.

These children, he said, are raised fully in China but “when they turn 18, they’re US citizens, and they can vote in US elections. They can get government jobs.” They can also (at age 21) sponsor their parents and siblings to obtain permanent resident status in the US.

“So. it’s a massive problem, but there are things the Trump administration can do to fix this or, at least, deal with it,” he told Ingraham.

The segment ended there, but on his own podcast, Schweizer offered a few suggestions for things the administration could and should do in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision:

• Legislation that revokes a previous law granting birthright citizenship to persons born in US territories. Congress specifically passed a law to do this, so it can be undone or modified without a constitutional amendment.
• Shut down birth tourism companies operating in the US, prosecuting them for visa fraud and stiffening the penalties for a conviction.
• Revoke the agreement made by President Obama in 2014 creating a unique 10-year visa for Chinese visitors to the US, which Schweizer believes has been abused by Chinese women to come into the US to give birth without having to apply for a new visa later when they become pregnant.