Over the last few years, there have been a slew of spy stories coming from DC. During Biden’s time in office, it was revealed that someone deep inside his administration was likely working on behalf of Iran.
Now, we are finding out that someone who has been in place since the Bush administration has been hoarding documents and has been allegedly sharing them with the Chinese.
If you follow politics, the name Rob Malley is probably a familiar one, as he served as Biden’s Iranian envoy.
In 2023, the FBI announced that it was investigating Malley for the mishandling of classified documents, but the allegations against him started to pile up not long after that.
Then-State Department spokesman Matt Miller stated, "We take our oversight obligations extremely seriously. We obviously got the letter from the chairman; we've been reviewing it and we will be engaging with his office on the matter."
This went much deeper as time progressed, as it appeared that several people working for Malley all had the interests of Iran over the United States.
A month after Biden left office, the House Homeland Security Committee released a scathing report on the Biden administration regarding Chinese espionage that was taking place under his watch.
Committee Chair Mark E. Green (R-TN) explained, “The PRC has gained significant ground in its information warfare on American soil over the past four years.
“If you think the U.S. military and our government are the only targets of the Chinese Communist Party, think again. The shadow of Beijing’s malign influence falls upon American businesses, university campuses, and the critical infrastructure we rely on — not to mention those on U.S. soil who dare to speak out against the CCP.”
This is exactly the type of thing Republicans warned against with the Biden family’s chummy relationship with China.
Ashley Tellis of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has been working as an adviser in our government dating back to the Bush days, and he apparently has been hoarding documents this entire time.
He has been accused of taking these documents, then meeting with Chinese officials, going back to the point we noted above during the Biden administration. Katelynn Vogt, vice president for communications for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated, "We are aware of the allegations against Ashley Tellis. He is now on administrative leave, including from his role as Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs.”
Tellis had a top-secret clearance, so he was privy to very sensitive information, information that he likely turned over to the Chinese during these meetings. Deborah Curtis and John Nassikas, two attorneys representing Tellis, say their guy is innocent, of course, stating, "Ashley J. Tellis is a widely respected scholar and senior policy advisor. At the next court hearing in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday and in our related filings on Monday, we will be vigorously contesting the allegations brought against him, specifically any insinuation of his operating on behalf of a foreign adversary.”
If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine. And if he is guilty, I hope they hit him with the maximum penalty. While I am glad they are finding all these spies, I just cannot believe that our government has been so lax as to allow this to happen.
