A staffer in the office of Virginia Congressman Don Beyer has been fired after allegedly conducting work on behalf of the Chinese Embassy, per a report from National Review.
Aaron Fritschner – Beyer’s deputy chief of staff – told National Review that “Congressman Beyer was totally unaware of these activities prior to being contacted by the House Sergeant At Arms.”
Beyer’s Republican challenger Karina Lipsman called for further investigation into the Congressman’s office in a press release issued by her campaign.
“I have been part of investigations on sensitive national security subjects before, and it’s very clear to me that, based on what we know, this matter must be thoroughly investigated by Congress. This is a similar situation as the one Rep. Eric Swalwell found himself in — Swalwell should be removed from the House Intelligence Committee, and Don Beyer should be removed from the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles international trade and all free trade agreements, as well as the Joint Economic Committee. The extent of Beyer’s office’s ties to the Chinese government needs to be determined, so the level of national security risk can be determined. His office has clearly been compromised. Again, I’ve held top-level security clearances for years and this situation is well within my experience. It needs to be treated extremely seriously.”
Lipsman is currently working to unseat Beyer during next month’s Midterm Elections.