{"id":2316911,"date":"2024-07-31T17:05:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T21:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-kelly-downplays-founding-chinese-funded-spy-balloon-firm-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-31T17:08:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T21:08:03","slug":"mark-kelly-downplays-founding-chinese-funded-spy-balloon-firm-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mark-kelly-downplays-founding-chinese-funded-spy-balloon-firm-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Kelly downplays founding Chinese-funded spy balloon firm &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmark-kelly-downplays-founding-chinese-funded-spy-balloon-firm-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2316911&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a top candidate to be Vice President \u2062Kamala Harris&#8217;s running mate, is facing scrutiny over his past \u200bties to a company he co-founded, World View, which has received funding from the Chinese tech \u2063giant Tencent. This attention comes in light of recent\u2062 incidents involving Chinese spy\u200b balloons \u2064in U.S. airspace. Kelly has\u2062 downplayed the significance of Tencent&#8217;s \u2063investments in World View, claiming that \u2062the company, founded in 2012, has \u2063supported various U.S. government operations, including those of the Department of Defense. Despite stepping away from active involvement with the company before becoming a senator in 2020, he retains a financial stake in it.<\/p>\n<p>The scrutiny into Kelly&#8217;s connections\u2064 has intensified as he undergoes vetting for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-pac-blasts-trump-for-fight-with-iowa-governor\/\" title=\"DeSantis PAC criticizes Trump over clash with Iowa governor.\">vice presidential position<\/a>, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/political-strategists-grapple-with-artificial-intelligences-political-ramifications\/\" title=\"Political strategists struggle with the political consequences of artificial intelligence.\">potential political ramifications<\/a> for \u2062both him and Harris. Other Democrats, like Senator\u200b Jon Tester, have also attempted to downplay the issue, suggesting that they were unaware of Kelly&#8217;s ties to World View. Although Kelly\u2019s relationship with Tencent has drawn concern, the company has stated that its investment is minor \u200cand does not involve significant influence over World View, particularly \u2063as the company&#8217;s focus shifted away from space tourism to government contracts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Vice presidential contender Mark Kelly downplays founding Chinese-funded spy balloon company<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1711113\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>EXCLUSIVE &mdash;<\/strong> Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3094678\/mark-kelly-top-names-harris-vp-short-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mark Kelly\">Mark Kelly<\/a> (D-AZ), a top <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3105421\/harris-rally-vice-presidential-pick-philadelphia-tuesday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mark Kelly\">candidate <\/a>to be Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3105513\/mark-kelly-dodges-vp-questions-pumps-kamala-harris-credentials-cop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mark Kelly\">running mate<\/a> on the presidential ticket, is minimizing the role that Chinese investing played in a high-altitude surveillance company that the former astronaut co-founded.<\/p>\n<p>Tucson-based World View, which was created in 2012 and contracts with the federal government and private companies, received an unknown amount of funding in the years that followed from Chinese tech giant Tencent in at least two rounds of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/youtube-permanently-blacklists-dan-bongino\/\" title=\"YouTube Permanently Blacklists Dan Bongino\">venture capital funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly&rsquo;s former ties to World View, which he separated from prior to becoming a senator but maintains a financial stake in, received fresh scrutiny in 2023 after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2581699\/chinese-spy-balloon-used-us-technology-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Chinese spy balloons flew in American airspace<\/a> and again this month as his name floated to the top of Harris&rsquo;s vice presidential list. Kelly&rsquo;s company is not linked to the Chinese spy balloons that were shot down over U.S. airspace.<\/p>\n<p>However, the incidents brought renewed attention to the financial ties Chinese companies have in American companies such as Kelly&rsquo;s. Kelly declined to address to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> on Wednesday the role that Chinese investing played in the firm.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Myself and some other folks formed a company that has supported Department of Defense, NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], special operations, to provide our warfighters with capabilities that they need,&rdquo; said Kelly, who is also a former U.S. Navy combat pilot.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly disclosed to the Senate in July 2021 that he&rsquo;d placed his stock in World View, valued between $100,001-$250,000, in a blind trust, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/efdsearch.senate.gov\/search\/view\/paper\/991d5e89-dfb2-4142-aad8-5b7858906d3c\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>financial disclosure<\/a> report. He ceased working with the company in 2019 prior to unseating former Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly&rsquo;s career is under the microscope amid vetting by Harris&rsquo;s team to potentially join her on the ticket, and such episodes from his past that would be put further in the spotlight as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-knows-he-messed-up-on-fracking-at-debate-and-is-now-doing-damage-control-the-daily-wire\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Knows He Messed Up On Fracking At Debate And Is Now Doing Damage Control | The Daily Wire\">vice presidential candidate<\/a> could present political liabilities for both Harris and some down-ballet Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Jon-Tester\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Jon Tester<\/a> (D-MT), one of the Senate&rsquo;s most vulnerable members this cycle as Democrats fight to keep their one-seat majority, also downplayed Kelly&rsquo;s connections, telling the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&nbsp;that he had never heard of Kelly&rsquo;s ties to the company before.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That son of a bitch,&rdquo; Tester quipped. &ldquo;What you just told me is the first time I&rsquo;ve heard of it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Montana, home to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-military-issues-dire-warning-about-chinas-rapid-military-nuclear-weapons-buildup\/\" title=\"U.S. Military Issues Dire Warning About China\u2019s Rapid Military, Nuclear Weapons Buildup\">nuclear missile silo fields<\/a>, was among the states where a Chinese spy balloon was spotted flying over in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Tencent contributed at least twice in separate rounds of venture capital funding, including one in 2016 that was valued at <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2016\/04\/28\/world-view-lands-15-million-series-b-to-bring-new-stratosphere-flying-platform-to-life\/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGSstFR24jprFDMziq5FFMqqYSBqjIkuBnq0ZJz6TtfnsntWZOwCvUMxlgBXtd2DNSN6RVsV_seqYU-OF5yXN5yl1_QXoUJTR-tPpPeumF-esb69sNXODZfZb4adGfW0_aY6I45h-PlVwvHnJ-A6u0VhpAuA9H-PXGj1G2CmMC_e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"$15 million\">$15 million<\/a>. Tencent&rsquo;s portion was unclear. An earlier investment in 2014 was also for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chinaexpats.com\/12120-tencent-invests-in-near-space-travel-firm-world-view\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"$15 million\">undisclosed amount<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., stops to talk with reporters as he boards an elevator in the basement of the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tencent previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/phoenix\/2023\/02\/27\/arizona-spy-balloon-china-mark-kelly\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told <em>Axios<\/em><\/a>  it maintains &ldquo;a very small stake&rdquo; in World View that does not include a board seat or investment rights. Once World View shifted from its earlier focus on space tourism to its more current role as a U.S. government contractor, Tencent said they &ldquo;stopped investing and no longer have any active communications with the company.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kelly met with the head of Tencent&rsquo;s U.S. operations in 2014, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepaper.cn\/newsDetail_forward_1276479\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>interview<\/a> former World View CEO Jane Poynter gave that year to Chinese news outlet Pengpai. The article, when translated to English, reported that Poynter credited Kelly for having &ldquo;introduced him to space travel technology&rdquo; and said Tencent was &ldquo;very interested and was willing to invest at this stage.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kelly described that conversation with Tencent in a 2020 <em>Arizona Republic <\/em>pre-election <a href=\"https:\/\/www.azcentral.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2020\/09\/02\/a-celebrity-brand-how-senate-candidate-mark-kelly-made-his-millions-arizona-martha-mcsally\/5675407002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>interview<\/a> as a &ldquo;very brief conversation with one individual that lasted about 30 seconds, maybe a minute.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The campaign arm of Senate Republicans at the time accused Kelly of having &ldquo;sold out in order to persuade Chinese communist executives to invest in his space company.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1711113\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1711113\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vice presidential candidate Mark Kelly is downplaying the influence of Chinese investment in a surveillance company he co-founded. Kelly, a Democratic senator from Arizona and a leading contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217;s running mate, has faced scrutiny regarding his ties to World View, a Tucson-based company established in 2012 that collaborates with the federal government and private entities. The firm received undisclosed funding from Chinese tech giant Tencent during at least two rounds of venture capital financing after its inception. Although Kelly distanced himself from World View before becoming a senator while still holding financial interests in it, recent incidents involving Chinese spy balloons over U.S. airspace have reignited concerns about foreign investments in American companies like his.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by the Washington Examiner about Tencent&#8217;s role in World View, Kelly emphasized that he and others founded the company to support U.S. defense efforts rather than focusing on its financial backers. He reported placing his stock in World View\u2014valued between $100,001-$250,000\u2014in a blind trust as part of his Senate disclosures and ceased working with the firm in 2019 prior to winning election against former Senator Martha McSally.<\/p>\n<p>As Harris\u2019s team evaluates potential vice presidential candidates, past associations like these could pose political risks for both her campaign and other Democrats facing tight races. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), who is among those vulnerable this election cycle, dismissed concerns over Kelly\u2019s connections by stating he was unaware of them until now.<\/p>\n<p>Tencent had previously stated it holds only &#8220;a very small stake&#8221; in World View without any board representation or investment rights and ceased investing once the company&#8217;s focus shifted away from space tourism towards government contracting. In 2014, Kelly met with Tencent&#8217;s U.S. operations head; however, he later described their interaction as brief\u2014lasting no more than one minute\u2014and denied any significant engagement with them regarding investments for his company amidst accusations from Senate Republicans suggesting otherwise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2316912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mark-kelly-downplays-chinese-funding-spy-balloon-company.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[36810,35898,23621],"class_list":["post-2316911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-chinese-funded","tag-mark-kelly","tag-spy-balloon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mark-kelly-downplays-chinese-funding-spy-balloon-company.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2316911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2316911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2316912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2316911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2316911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2316911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}