{"id":2454498,"date":"2025-07-01T20:54:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-withheld-2020-china-investigation-to-avoid-contradicting-wray-records-show-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T00:56:00","slug":"fbi-withheld-2020-china-investigation-to-avoid-contradicting-wray-records-show-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-withheld-2020-china-investigation-to-avoid-contradicting-wray-records-show-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI withheld 2020 China investigation to avoid contradicting Wray, records show &#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\">28<\/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%2Ffbi-withheld-2020-china-investigation-to-avoid-contradicting-wray-records-show-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=2454498&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>A newly declassified FBI letter reveals that the agency halted a 2020 investigation into claims of Chinese interference in the presidential election to avoid contradicting the testimony of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) obtained the letter, which indicates that after Wray&#8217;s congressional testimony on September 24, stating that no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-gop-passes-resolution-declaring-biden-not-legitimately-elected\/\" title=\"Texas GOP Passes Resolution Declaring Biden Not Legitimately Elected\">coordinated voter fraud<\/a> was detected, FBI headquarters ordered the recall of an Intelligence Details Report (IIR) alleging that the Chinese Communist Party had shipped fake U.S. driver&#8217;s licenses to supporters in the U.S.to influence the election. <\/p>\n<p>Despite reliable sources confirming the allegations, the FBI suppressed the report, with leadership stating it would contradict Wray&#8217;s earlier claims.This suppression raised concerns among field agents, who felt it compromised the bureau&#8217;s non-political stance. The incident led to new policies requiring FBI headquarters&#8217; oversight of all election-related intelligence reports.Grassley criticized the FBI&#8217;s decision-making, suggesting it reflected political motivations, while also revealing that Customs and Border Protection had seized a notable number of fake licenses linked to the allegations. The controversy underscores tensions between political considerations and national security in the FBI&#8217;s operations.  <\/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\">FBI withheld 2020 China investigation to avoid contradicting Wray, records show<\/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 class=\"tpd-featured-video\">\n<div id=\"Brid_21235\" class=\"brid\" style=\"width:1280;height:720;\"> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">A<\/span>ccording to a newly declassified FBI letter obtained by Sen.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Chuck Grassley\">Chuck Grassley<\/a>&nbsp;(R-IA), the&nbsp;FBI&nbsp;headquarters shut down a&nbsp;2020&nbsp;investigation into allegations that&nbsp;China&nbsp;attempted to interfere in the 2020&nbsp;presidential election&nbsp;by shipping fake driver&rsquo;s licenses to the United States after concluding that the intelligence would contradict then-director&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/christopher-wray\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Christopher Wray<\/a>&rsquo;s sworn testimony to Congress.<\/p>\n<p>A June 27&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fbi_to_grassley_-_iir.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter to Grassley<\/a>, sent by Assistant FBI Director Marshall Yates, outlines how officials at the FBI&rsquo;s headquarters ordered the recall of an Intelligence Information Report just one day after Wray told Congress on Sept. 24, 2020, that the bureau had not identified any coordinated voter fraud. The Albany Field Office had submitted the IIR based on a source&rsquo;s claim that the Chinese Communist Party sent fake U.S. driver&rsquo;s licenses to sympathizers in the U.S. who would vote for then-candidate Joe Biden.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3459878\/two-chinese-spies-arrested-espionage-us-military-navy\/\">Two Chinese nationals arrested in US for trying to spy on military<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3460069\/new-fbi-headquarters-stay-dc-three-blocks-ronald-reagan-building\/\">FBI headquarters to stay in DC, will move three blocks away to Ronald Reagan Building<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3459452\/doj-tells-prosecutors-seek-denaturalization-certain-criminals\/\">DOJ tells prosecutors to seek denaturalization for certain criminals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FBI Director Christopher Wray listens at a meeting of the Justice Department&rsquo;s Election Threats Task Force in Washington, D.C., on September 4, 2024. (Nathan Posner \/ Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>FBI leadership instructed agents to destroy all copies of the report and delete it from all computer systems, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fbi_albany_iir_recall_provided_to_chairman_grassley.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">according<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/fbi_albany_iir_provided_to_chairman_grassley.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">recall notice<\/a>. Although the source was later reinterviewed and confirmed additional details, the bureau still refused to republish the intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;One reason cited for not releasing the IIR was because &lsquo;the reporting will contradict Director Wray&rsquo;s testimony,&rsquo;&rdquo; Yates wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>In that testimony, Wray had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hsgac.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/imo\/media\/doc\/Testimony-Wray-2020-09-24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">claimed<\/a> the bureau had not seen &ldquo;any kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/beginning-to-lock-them-up-ex-fbi-dir-wray-referred-for-criminal-prosecution-related-to-2020-voter-fraud\/\" title=\"Beginning to Lock Them Up: Ex-FBI Dir. Wray Referred for Criminal Prosecution Related to 2020 Voter Fraud\">coordinated national voter fraud effort<\/a>.&rdquo; He added that the Chinese were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/la-mayor-karen-bass-met-with-chinese-influence-group-despite-biden-admin-warnings\/\" title=\"LA mayor Karen Bass met with ... influence group despite Biden admin warnings\">expanding influence operations<\/a> but did not mention specific interference involving fake IDs.<\/p>\n<p>The source, a China-based individual who was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was considered reliable by field agents. An Albany officer partially corroborated elements of the claim, and FBI records confirm that the FBI never shut down the source for lack of credibility. Nevertheless, the FBI&rsquo;s&nbsp;Foreign Influence Task Force declined to pursue the information or issue a new report, even as agents raised alarms internally.<\/p>\n<p>Internal emails released to Grassley and declassified by current FBI Director&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kash-patel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Kash Patel<\/a>&nbsp;show Albany agents objected to the decision. One wrote: &ldquo;I found this troubling because it implied to me that one of the reasons we aren&rsquo;t putting this out is for a political reason, which goes directly against our organization&rsquo;s mission to remain apolitical.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Notably, Yates&rsquo;s letter revealed that, in the wake of this incident, FBI leadership instituted a new policy requiring that &ldquo;all raw reporting concerning the election will now require HQ coordination, which was not required before.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A screencap from Marshall Yates&rsquo;s June 27 letter states the &ldquo;HQ coordination&rdquo; requirement on the 2020 election, which was not required before.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Field agents pushed back. Internal emails from the Albany office questioned the recall, warning it was dangerous &ldquo;if we cite potential political implications as reasons for not putting out our information.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Yates acknowledged the Albany team&rsquo;s objections. &ldquo;It was not the role of analysts to align intelligence with public testimony,&rdquo; Yates wrote. &ldquo;Suppressing field-generated reporting could deprive other IC [intelligence community]  elements of the opportunity to corroborate or discredit intelligence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/customs-and-border-protection\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Customs and Border Protection<\/a>&nbsp;data bolstered the initial allegations. In the first half of 2020, CBP seized nearly 20,000 fake U.S. driver&rsquo;s licenses, most from China and Hong Kong, at the Chicago O&rsquo;Hare mail facility. The FBI documents do not link the seizures directly to the alleged voting scheme, but investigators said they provided &ldquo;logical investigative leads&rdquo; that were never pursued.<\/p>\n<p>Wray also stated in his testimony that the FBI would &ldquo;aggressively&rdquo; investigate any incidents that revealed evidence of widespread voter fraud efforts. &ldquo;That is something that we would investigate seriously,&rdquo; he said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>In response to Yates&rsquo;s revelations, Grassley&nbsp;blasted the bureau, saying the documents &ldquo;smack of political decision-making&rdquo; and show Wray&rsquo;s FBI &ldquo;turned its back on its national security mission.&rdquo; He praised&nbsp;Patel&rsquo;s transparency and called for a full accounting of the bureau&rsquo;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>Adding more fuel to Grassley&rsquo;s frustrations, Wray&rsquo;s establishment of the FTIF coincided with a statement on his goal to &ldquo;identify and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >counteract malign foreign influence operations targeting<\/a> the United States.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Chris Wray&rsquo;s FBI wasn&rsquo;t looking out for the American people; it was looking to save its own image.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3460069\/new-fbi-headquarters-stay-dc-three-blocks-ronald-reagan-building\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"FBI HEADQUARTERS TO STAY IN DC, WILL MOVE THREE BLOCKS AWAY TO RONALD REAGAN BUILDING\">FBI HEADQUARTERS TO STAY IN DC, WILL MOVE THREE BLOCKS AWAY TO RONALD REAGAN BUILDING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In early February, Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/doj-disbands-foreign-influence-task-force\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">announced<\/a> the closure of the FBI&rsquo;s&nbsp;Foreign Influence Task Force, created by Wray in 2017 under the first Trump administration. Bondi cited a need to &ldquo;free resources to address more pressing priorities and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Grassley suggested that move was much needed in light of the latest revelation about the bureau&rsquo;s efforts to shroud the alleged Chinese 2020 election influence operation, calling it &ldquo;a positive step, given what the task force had been twisted into.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\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_21235\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"playlist\":\"21235\"}});<\/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>FBI halted 2020 China probe to avoid contradicting Wray, records reveal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2454499,"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\/12\/Christopher-wray-fbii-w14.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[58256,36066,50645,3918,32076],"class_list":["post-2454498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-china-investigation","tag-christopher-wray","tag-fbi-2","tag-records","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Christopher-wray-fbii-w14.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454498","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2454502,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454498\/revisions\/2454502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2454499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}