Good afternoon. I am joined today by Deputy Attorney General Monaco, FBI Director Wray and Assistant Attorney General Olsen. Also here are the Assistant United States District Attorneys for the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey.
Last week, the Department of Justice took several steps to stop the criminal activity of individuals working on behalf of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As always, defendants in these cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Earlier today in the Eastern District of New York, a complaint was filed accusing two PRC intelligence officers of trying to obstruct, influence and prevent a criminal prosecution of a PRC-based telecommunications company.
The complaint alleges that in 2019, the defendants instructed an employee of a US government law enforcement agency to steal confidential information about the company’s criminal case in the United States.
Defendants believed they had recruited the US government official as an asset. But in fact, the individual they recruited was actually a double agent, working on behalf of the FBI.
As the complaint alleges, the defendants paid a bribe to the double agent to obtain non-public information, including files from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District. They did so in hopes of getting the prosecution’s strategy memo, confidential witness information, trial evidence, and possible new charges to be brought against the company.
The double agent provided the defendants with documents that appeared to present some of the requested information. In fact, the documents were prepared by the US government for the purposes of this investigation and did not reveal actual meetings, communications or strategies.
This was a blatant attempt by PRC intelligence officers to protect a PRC-based company from liability and undermine the integrity of our judicial system.
Also earlier today, in the District of New Jersey, an indictment was filed accusing four individuals, including three PRC intelligence officers, of conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents on behalf of a foreign government.
The indictment alleges that between 2008 and 2018, the defendants used the coverage of an alleged Chinese academic institute to target, co-opt and target individuals in the United States to further the PRC’s intelligence mission.
These guidelines included attempts to acquire technology and equipment from the United States and ship it to China. They also included attempts to stop protected First Amendment activities – protests here in the United States – which would have been embarrassing for the Chinese government.
Separately, in the Eastern District of New York, the Department of Justice charged seven individuals, working on behalf of the PRC, with engaging in a multi-year campaign of threats and harassment to force a US resident to return to China. Last Thursday, we arrested two of those defendants.
These activities were part of the PRC’s global, extralegal effort known as “Operation Fox Hunt”. Its objective is to locate and bring back to China suspected fugitives who have fled to foreign countries, including the United States. The PRC has a history of attacking political dissidents and government critics who have sought refuge in other countries.
The indictment alleges that the defendants, working under the direction of the PRC government, engaged in a campaign of harassment, threats, surveillance and intimidation aimed at coercing the victim to return to China.
We also allege that the defendants threatened and harassed the victim’s family members, both in the US and China.
The PRC government forced the victim’s nephew to travel from China to the United States to convey the PRC threats to the victim’s son.
The defendants threatened the victim, saying that “coming back and surrendering is the only way out”. They showed up at the victim’s son’s New York home. They filed frivolous lawsuits against the victim and his son and said it would be “endless misery” for the [father] and son to defend themselves.
And they made it clear that their harassment would not stop until the victim returned to China.
As these cases demonstrate, the government of China has sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights. They were not successful.
The Department of Justice will not tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the rule of law on which our democracy is based.
We will continue to fiercely protect the rights guaranteed to everyone in our country. And we will defend the integrity of our institutions.
Before passing the podium to the Deputy Attorney General of Monaco, I want to acknowledge the FBI, Division of National Security and the US Attorney’s offices for their extraordinary work in these cases.
And now, Deputy Attorney General of Monaco.
