Exclusive | Stefanik, Jordan demand Hochul end NY funding of China-linked nonprofits: Epicenter for election interference

WASHINGTON — Reps.Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are demanding that New York Gov.

Kathy Hochul terminate all state funding for China-linked nonprofits that may have been involved in “election interference” in the Empire State, according to a letter obtained by The Post.The New York gubernatorial candidate and House Judiciary Committee chairman called on Hochul Thursday to “terminate all state funding and special tax-exempt privileges to nonprofits with verified ties to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] or its proxies.”They also called for the Albany administration to “conduct a top-down review of all political appointees and staff for conflicts of interest with the CCP and other foreign countries.”“We are concerned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is engaging in widespread political interference in your administration in the State of New York,” they wrote, citing reports by The Post and New York Times on Beijing’s election influence campaigns.“As a senior Member of House Leadership and as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, we are compelled to raise the alarm on how New York has become a national epicenter for CCP election interference, political intimidation, and systemic violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and numerous other federal laws.”Of the more than 50 groups covered in the Times report, 19 of them were illicitly engaging in election activities despite their registered charity status.“Many of these CCP-aligned groups operate under the guise of tax-exempt nonprofit charities.Yet, they have blatantly violated US law by engaging in campaign fundraising and endorsing political candidates, despite indicating ‘no’ to questions from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding political activity,” Stefanik and Jordan wrote.One of those influence campaigns involved a Chinese intelligence agent who targeted a former congressional candidate who had taken part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square de...