espionage
FBI Director: CCP Behind Wave of Pathogen Smuggling as Third Chinese Student Charged in Michigan Lab Probe

Sam Cooper
“In a follow up interview with FBI and ICE HSI agents, Han admitted to sending the packages and lying about their contents”
In an intensifying pattern of national security investigations targeting unauthorized biological shipments from China into Detroit, U.S. authorities on Monday confirmed the arrest of a third Chinese national allegedly involved in smuggling undeclared bio-materials into the United States—this time for use at a University of Michigan laboratory.
“This case is part of a broader effort from the FBI and our federal partners to heavily crack down on similar pathogen smuggling operations, as the Chinese Communist Party works relentlessly to undermine America’s research institutions,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X on Monday evening.
The latest defendant, Chengxuan Han, is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China and a doctoral student at the College of Life Science and Technology in Wuhan. She has been charged with smuggling goods into the U.S. and making false statements, according to a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
From September 2024 through March 2025, prosecutors allege, Han sent four international shipments containing concealed biological materials to individuals affiliated with a University of Michigan lab. The contents were identified as Caenorhabditis elegans — roundworms commonly used in genetic and biomedical research. The packages were mis-manifested and not declared in accordance with U.S. import regulations.
On June 8, Han arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on a J-1 visa and was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. She allegedly denied having sent any biological materials to the U.S. and made false statements about the nature of the shipments. Agents also discovered that content on her electronic device had been deleted three days before her arrival — a detail included in the federal complaint.
“In a follow up interview with FBI and ICE HSI agents, Han admitted to sending the packages and lying about their contents,” Patel commented.
“The alleged smuggling of biological materials by this alien from a science and technology university in Wuhan, China — to be used at a University of Michigan laboratory — is part of an alarming pattern that threatens our security,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. “The American taxpayer should not be underwriting a PRC-based smuggling operation at one of our crucial public institutions.”
The case marks the third time in one week that Chinese nationals connected to the University of Michigan have been charged with allegedly smuggling undeclared biological material from China into the U.S. for laboratory research.
On June 3, federal prosecutors charged Yunqing Jian, 33, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements, and visa fraud. Jian and Liu are accused of importing Fusarium graminearum — a fungus considered in some scientific literature to be a potential agroterrorism threat — into the country without proper declaration.
Officials allege Liu, who conducts research on the same pathogen at a university in China, initially lied to investigators but later admitted to smuggling the fungus for research in Jian’s Michigan lab.
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espionage
Declassified evidence reveals Obama admin meddling to undermine Trump’s 2016 win

From LifeSiteNews
Tulsi Gabbard released documents that ‘detail a treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people.’
President Barack Obama and his national security cabinet members manufactured and politicized intelligence to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Donald Trump, according to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, who just released a trove of newly declassified documents providing hard evidence of the Obama administration’s subterfuge.
On Friday, Gabbard released a series of statements making damning claims about the Obama administration’s actions “subverting the will of the American people and undermining our democratic republic.”
“For months preceding the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community shared a consensus view: Russia lacked the intent and capability to hack U.S. elections,” Gabbard wrote on X. “But weeks after President Trump’s historic 2016 victory defeating Hillary Clinton, everything changed.”
🧵 Americans will finally learn the truth about how in 2016, intelligence was politicized and weaponized by the most powerful people in the Obama Administration to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President @realDonaldTrump, subverting the… pic.twitter.com/UQKKZ5c4Op
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025
“On Dec 8, 2016, Intelligence Community officials prepared an assessment for the President’s Daily Brief, finding that Russia ‘did not impact recent U.S. election results’ by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure,” Gabbard continued. “Before it could reach the President, it was abruptly pulled ‘based on new guidance.’ This key intelligence assessment was never published.
“The next day, top national security officials including FBI Dir James Comey, CIA Dir John Brennan and DNI James Clapper gathered at the Obama White House to discuss Russia,” Gabbard said. “Obama directed the Intelligence Community to create a new intelligence assessment that detailed Russian election meddling, even though it would contradict multiple intelligence assessments released over the previous several months.”
On Dec 8, 2016, IC officials prepared an assessment for the President's Daily Brief, finding that Russia "did not impact recent U.S. election results" by conducting cyber attacks on infrastructure.
Before it could reach the President, it was abruptly pulled “based on new… pic.twitter.com/XBmqnMmcC8
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) July 18, 2025
“Obama officials immediately leaned on their allies in the media to advance their falsehoods,” she noted. “Anonymous Intelligence Community sources leaked classified information to The Washington Post and others that Russia had intervened to hack the election in Trump’s favor.”
“On January 6, 2017, just days before President Trump took office, DNI Clapper unveiled the Obama-directed politicized assessment, a gross weaponization of intelligence that laid the groundwork for a years-long coup intended to subvert President Trump’s entire presidency,” Gabbard explained. “According to whistleblower emails shared with us today, we know Clapper and Brennan used the baseless discredited Steele Dossier as a source to push this false narrative in the intelligence assessment.”
“These documents detail a treasonous conspiracy by officials at the highest levels of the Obama White House to subvert the will of the American people and try to usurp the President from fulfilling his mandate,” Gabbard declared.
“This betrayal concerns every American. The integrity of our democratic republic demands that every person involved be investigated and brought to justice to prevent this from ever happening again,” she averred.
“The issue I am raising is not a partisan issue. It is one that concerns every American. The information we are releasing today clearly shows there was a treasonous conspiracy in 2016 committed by officials at the highest level of our government. Their goal was to subvert the will of the American people and enact what was essentially a years-long coup with the objective of trying to usurp the President from fulfilling the mandate bestowed upon him by the American people,” Gabbard said in a statement. “Their egregious abuse of power and blatant rejection of our Constitution threatens the very foundation and integrity of our democratic republic. No matter how powerful, every person involved in this conspiracy must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. The American people’s faith and trust in our democratic republic and therefore the future of our nation depends on it. As such, I am providing all documents to the Department of Justice to deliver the accountability that President Trump, his family, and the American people deserve.”
The declassified files cited by Gabbard have been available to the public at DNI.gov.
Crime
Former Epstein lawyer: There was never a client list

Quick Hit:
Jeffrey Epstein’s former attorney Alan Dershowitz says there was never a “client list,” calling the claim fiction in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. He also defended President Trump, saying there’s no evidence of any improper or questionable behavior.
Key Details:
- Dershowitz wrote that Epstein “never created a ‘client list,’” and clarified that the FBI only documented names brought up by alleged victims in interviews, which were redacted in released files.
- He stressed that none of the redacted names are current officeholders and added that the veracity of the accusations remains unknown.
- Dismissing rumors of hidden cameras used to entrap guests, Dershowitz said surveillance tapes existed only in public areas and were installed by law enforcement—not Epstein.
Diving Deeper:
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed this week, constitutional attorney Alan Dershowitz addressed lingering speculation surrounding the late Jeffrey Epstein, his alleged surveillance operation, and his reported ties to public figures. Dershowitz, who represented Epstein years ago and has consistently challenged many media narratives surrounding the case, said the facts don’t support the sensational claims.
“Epstein never created a ‘client list,’” Dershowitz wrote, pushing back on the widely circulated notion that Epstein maintained a record of high-profile individuals for the purpose of blackmail. He clarified that the FBI had compiled names mentioned by alleged victims during interviews, but that those names were redacted in publicly released documents. “We don’t know whether the accusations are true,” he added. “The names mentioned don’t include any current officeholders.”
Dershowitz also sought to debunk claims that Epstein maintained a secret camera system in his guest bedrooms to entrap powerful visitors. “There are videotapes, but they are of public areas of his Palm Beach, Fla., home,” he wrote. According to Dershowitz, those surveillance cameras were installed by police after Epstein reported that money and a firearm were stolen from the property. “I am not aware of video cameras in guest bedrooms,” he added.
Turning to President Donald Trump, Dershowitz flatly denied that any evidence exists linking him to wrongdoing. “Open records show an acquaintance between Epstein and President Trump many years ago,” he wrote, before emphasizing that the relationship ended long ago. “That relationship ended when President Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago, long before becoming president the first time.”
“I have seen nothing that would suggest anything improper or even questionable by President Trump,” Dershowitz concluded.
His remarks arrive amid a resurgence of political and media interest in Epstein’s associations. But Dershowitz’s message is clear: much of the speculation is unsupported by evidence, and President Trump’s name should not be dragged into narratives that have no basis in fact.
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