FIRST ON FOX: Multiple vulnerable Democratic Senate candidates recently took thousands of dollars in donations from a registered lobbyist for Huawei, a Chinese technology company that is charged with trying to steal U.S. trade secrets.
According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit group that tracks U.S. political spending, Thomas Green, senior counsel at the Sidley Austin multinational law firm, has lobbied solely for Huawei for the last four years and has contributed almost exclusively to Democrats.
Green, who also previously represented ex-Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert in his 2015 sex abuse hush money case, contributed to at least a half dozen vulnerable Democratic Senate candidates in September, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The re-election campaign for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who is running to retain her seat against former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, received $1,000 from Green on Sept. 26.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto speaks at the Nevada Democratic Party’s election results watch party at Caesars Palace on Nov. 6, 2018, in Las Vegas.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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The campaign of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who is running for Senate against Republican Rep. Ted Budd, received $1,000 from Green on Sept. 25.
The campaign for Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for Senate against Republican JD Vance in Ohio, received $1,500 from Green on Sept. 25.
The campaign for Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running for Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, received $1,000 from Green on Sept. 25.
Senate candidate Mandela Barnes speaks to guests during a campaign stop at the Aris Sports Bar on Oct. 12, 2022, in West Allis, Wisconsin.
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The re-election campaign for Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is running to retain his seat against Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia, received $2,000 from Green on Sept. 25.
The campaign for Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running for Senate against Republican Mehmet Oz, received $1,500 from Green on Sept. 25.
None of the six campaigns responded to Fox News Digital’s inquiries about whether they intended to keep Green’s donations. Green also did not respond to an inquiry.
National Review reported last summer that Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., also took $2,000 from Green.
Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman participates in a debate with his GOP challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz on Oct. 25, 2022, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
(NewsNation)
In February 2020, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York announced charges against Huawei, which has close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, for an alleged conspiracy to steal trade secrets from U.S. technology firms. Last week, the Department of Justice announced charges against several Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly tried to interfere with that case.
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In June 2020, Huawei was banned from building communications infrastructure in the U.S. with federal subsidies after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) declared the company a national security threat. During the Copenhagen Democracy Summit that same month, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slammed Huawei, saying, “Everyone in this room knows that the Chinese Communist Party strong-arms nations to do business with Huawei, an arm of the CCP’s surveillance state. And it’s flagrantly attacking European sovereignty by buying up ports and critical infrastructure, Piraeus to Valencia.”
“Every investment from a Chinese state-owned enterprise should be viewed with suspicion,” he added.
In July of this year, the White House announced a second investigation into Huawei over concerns it was transmitting data from U.S.-based cellphone towers to China.
