Former Senator Tom Daschle – a board member of a new dark money, left-wing group targeting conservative election integrity lawyers – took a trip to China sponsored by a key communist influence group flagged by the U.S. government for its efforts to infiltrate American politics.
The new group – 65 Project – seeks to deter right-wing lawyers from fighting on behalf of election integrity by attempting to disbar and intimidate lawyers who fought for the issue during the 2020 election. In addition to the former Democratic Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota, longtime Clinton ally and George Soros-funded Media Matters for America founder David Brock is also advising the 65 Project.
The National Pulse can reveal that Daschle took a trip to China sponsored by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), a state-sponsored propaganda effort that seeks to “influence foreign governments and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” according to the U.S. government.
CUSEF functions as part China’s “United Front,” which the federal government identifies as Beijing’s covert operation “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party.” The U.S. State Department also compares the United Front to the Chinese regime’s “magic weapon” to advance its preferred policies by infiltrating American politics, media, and academia.
Despite these ties, Daschle joined a China-bound delegation comprised of scholars from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for American Progress (CAP) sponsored by CUSEF.
CAP, a think tank heavily influential under President Barack Obama, noted it was “sending a distinguished group of experts and officials to Beijing on a fact-finding mission to meet with ministers and high-level officials from the Chinese government”:
CAP President and CEO John Podesta led the delegation, which included Senator Thomas Daschle (D-SD), Ambassador Wendy Sherman, CAP Senior Vice President for National Security and International Policy Rudy deLeon, SEIU President Andy Stern, MIT Professor John Deutch, Chairman of Pritzker Realty Group Penny Pritzker, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, Blue Engine Message and Media President Erik Smith, and Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission member Byron Georgiou. President of Fontheim International, LLC Claude Fontheim and CAP staffers Julian Wong, Sarah Miller, and Winny Chen were also in attendance to provide support for the trip.
“The delegation met with officials and held a series of in-depth discussion sessions with renowned Chinese academics, businesspersons, religious leaders, and policy advisors on issues at the forefront U.S.-China relations, including climate change, economics, and national security,” a summary adds.
CUSEF boasted about the event in its 2009 promotional brochure, describing “discussion sessions” that focused on “geopolitical cooperation” and “military-to-military collaboration.”
And delegation lead John Podesta emphasized that “both countries now must exhibit commitment and determination to build a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-US relationship for the future.”
Daschle is pictured in a CUSEF brochure with Commerce Minister Chen Deming.
The unearthed linked between the 65 Project Advisory Board member and the Chinese Communist Party, which sought a victory for Joe Biden in 2020, raises questions about the group’s motivations to fight for election integrity.
