INTERNACIONAL
Lawmakers say they are standing at the gates against ‘Trojan horses’ promoting malign foreign interests
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a series of exclusive interviews with Digital, lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee sounded the alarm on a sprawling network of «Trojan horse» activists, nonprofits and social media influencers allegedly amplifying the hostile messages of foreign adversaries straight through the open gates of American democracy.
The warning came into sharp focus Tuesday when CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and two fellow activists walked into House Rayburn 2172 for a hearing on covert foreign influence operations, then strategically positioned themselves behind witnesses in T-shirts supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Communist Party of Cuba.
About 30 minutes into the hearing, South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., stopped the hearing and had Capitol Police escort them out.
LAWMAKERS THROW OUT ‘TROJAN HORSE’ ACTIVISTS THEY SAY ARE ENGAGED IN AMERICAN SUBVERSION
«They’re coming in, trying to look like one thing, but we know that once they’re inside the gates that those doors are going to spring open, and there’s a whole other motivation for what they’re trying to do,» Huizenga told Digital.
At the center of the controversy is communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who married CodePink co-founder Jodie Evans in a tropical wedding in Jamaica in 2017, soon after funneling $285 million to six pro-China, pro-communist, anti-American nonprofits in the U.S., including CodePink, according to a Digital investigation.
Lawmakers say the answer is transparency and following the money and exposing who finances the alleged «Trojan horse.»
In their series of interviews, Huizenga and other committee members explained how the modern «Trojan horse» isn’t made of wood but rather a network of activists, nonprofits, social media influencers and other ostensibly American voices that foreign governments and foreign-linked actors can allegedly fund, amplify or exploit to carry their messages through the open gates of American democracy.
«They’re coming in, trying to look like one thing, but we know that once they’re inside the gates that those doors are going to spring open and there’s a whole other motivation for what they’re trying to do,» Huizenga told Digital.
At the hearing, devoted to «Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America,» lawmakers expressed concern about how the Communist Party of China, Russia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Communist Party of Cuba spread their propaganda and influence in the U.S.
The phrase «Trojan horse» comes from the ancient Greek story of soldiers concealed inside a wooden horse presented to the city of Troy. Once the horse was taken behind the city’s fortified walls, the soldiers emerged and opened the gates, destroying Troy.
Huizenga stressed that Americans can hold sincere beliefs while also having those messages funded or amplified by foreign actors without necessarily knowing it. He argued that the answer to foreign influence is exposing the origins of the messaging through transparency and robust debate.
Inside the hearing room, as Digital reported, Benjamin and her fellow CodePink activists offered a vivid illustration of the debate over how political messages are created and amplified.
They sat directly behind the witnesses, placing their T-shirts in the sight line of the official committee cameras.
Benjamin then turned toward a television monitor on the side of the hearing room displaying the official video feed. She pulled out her phone, zoomed in on the image of herself and a fellow activist appearing behind the witnesses and took photo after photo of the screen.
HOUSE PANEL PROBES FOREIGN ‘TROJAN HORSES’ AS SINGHAM SCRUTINY WIDENS
Huizenga said he viewed the episode as political theater designed for an audience beyond the committee room.
«This isn’t about discourse. This is about disruption,» Huizenga told Digital. «It’s all planned out. You see people in the crowd filming with their phones, getting ready. You knew something was going to happen because, all of a sudden, the phones would come out.
«It’s really about theatrics,» he added, arguing that confrontations can subsequently be circulated on social media to attract attention, donations and volunteers.
The episode captured the central tension running through the hearing: How does the United States expose genuine covert foreign influence without treating protected American political speech as foreign subversion?
«Transparency. Transparency is the watchword,» Huizenga told Digital. «We really need to make sure that people know not only the why, but the who is behind all this.»
Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., told Digital that America’s open political system creates opportunities for foreign governments to try to influence legitimate domestic debates through social media, universities and other institutions.
«The American people need transparency and need to understand what is going on in these public policy discussions and whether it’s podcast hosts, certain actors on social media or things going on our college campuses,» Baumgartner said. «We need to know who’s behind it and what their motivations are.»
Baumgartner pointed to «clear transparency on this issue» as a solution, adding that if evidence showed organizations were acting on behalf of foreign governments without complying with applicable disclosure laws, the matter could potentially be referred to the Justice Department, which oversees the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA. The law requires that people and organizations acting on behalf of foreign interests register with the Justice Department.
Other lawmakers said the modern Trojan horse doesn’t necessarily have to walk physically through the doors of Congress, but rather arrive via social media.
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., described social media, influencers and protests as potential channels through which foreign governments influence American political debate. He said «it’s a real issue, whether it’s on social media, influencers, protests, these things are all designed to destabilize our country.»
Fine characterized what experts call «cognitive warfare» as «using our information platforms to try to poison people’s minds and to create division from within.»
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., focused on another battlefield: artificial intelligence.
«Trojan horses are things like the announcement that we should slow down on AI,» Issa told Digital, arguing that foreign adversaries can benefit when American political pressure slows U.S. technological development.
«We are in a war in which the other side uses all the clandestine tools,» Issa said. «They use their, quite frankly, their social media to our detriment.»
Huizenga similarly argued that Americans should view the organizations under examination not individually but as a network.
«It’s a network. It’s not independent organizations or even people,» he said. «You will see some of the same people at different organizations, rallies, or protests.»
At the center of much of the hearing were findings from a Digital investigation into Neville Roy Singham, an American-born communist tech tycoon who lives in Shanghai and has pumped $285 million into six nonprofits, including CodePink, the People’s Forum and other groups examined during the hearing.
Huizenga alleged in his official opening remarks that Singham uses his wealth and relationships in China to support organizations that promote communist ideology and destabilize American society. He explicitly described Singham, CodePink and a growing network of pro-communist, pro-China groups as «Trojan horses.»
‘TROJAN HORSES’ IN AMERICA: CONGRESS PROBES INFLUENCE NETWORKS TIED TO CHINA, IRAN AND CUBA
Singham and CodePink have denied taking direction from the Chinese government. Singham has said his activities reflect his own political beliefs, while Benjamin has said CodePink doesn’t receive money from the Chinese Communist Party.
As Digital reported in June, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have convened a grand jury investigation into alleged money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud by Singham and the organizations he has funded.
No criminal charges have been filed against Singham or CodePink with respect to those allegations.
Huizenga argued that the funding relationships deserve scrutiny.
«Oftentimes, it’s frankly the origins aren’t organic, or if there is a part of it being organic, this is getting fed by outside organizations, oftentimes even outside countries,» Huizenga alleged.
Being escorted through the committee room doors didn’t end CodePink’s political theater.
Outside the hearing room, Benjamin positioned herself beside the House Foreign Affairs Committee placard and began recording another video, pulling out a comb first to straighten her hair.
When Rep. Fine emerged from the hearing, Benjamin followed him down the hallway firing questions as another member of her team recorded the encounter.
After Fine disappeared into an office, Benjamin returned to the committee entrance, straightened her hair with a comb and resumed recording.
HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES FOREIGN FUNDING TRANSPARENCY ACT TO EXPOSE FOREIGN DONATIONS TO NONPROFITS
About two hours after Capitol Police escorted the activists from the hearing, CodePink posted a carefully edited video of the day’s confrontation on social media, where activists in the broader network began sharing it.
The physical protest was over, but the images it produced were just beginning to travel.
That sequence was precisely why lawmakers said Americans should look beyond the spectacle to who finances and amplifies political messaging.
«This is theater for many of these people,» Huizenga said. He said he wanted Americans, through «transparency and disclosure,» to understand «not just the what they are doing, but the who is financing them.»
The lawmakers gathered to investigate modern «Trojan horses» said the lesson of the ancient story wasn’t simply to keep the horse outside the gates but also to understand what — and who — might be inside.
«Transparency. Transparency is the watchword,» Huizenga said.
Lawmakers say ‘transparency and disclosure’ are the best defense against influence campaigns exploiting America’s democracy.
Digital’s Reagan Schroeder and Brooke Curto contributed to this report.
politics, foreign affairs, china, russia, iran, cuba
They always ask if I felt something. «Across your foot? Your shin?» My shin?
«Yeah. Your ankle. Did you feel it?» Not really. But before I respond, they ask again.
What was it like?» they inquired. «Or did you just fall?» Then they speculated I might be clumsy.
Hmmph. Clumsy. I truly don’t think so.
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS BRACES FOR POST-ELECTION GAME OF MUSICAL CHAIRS AS LEADERSHIP BATTLES LOOM
Oh. I fall like everyone else. I work out daily. I’ve taken a couple of tumbles on predawn runs in Alexandria, Virginia. You never know when one of those sidewalk snakes will slither up from the asphalt and nip you on the ankle. I used to snow ski. I studied martial arts for years and hold a second degree black belt.
Clumsy? Nah.
«But, what do you think it was?» they follow up. Well, I have my theories.
I was a little tired that day. I noted the lip on the small staircase near the Memorial Door of the U.S. Capitol where I may have caught the edge of my brown loafers.
I remember my shoes. Rubber soles. Slight scuff on the toes. Perfectly matched with my crisp tan summer suit. Not quite an «Obama» tan suit. But appropriate for summer. And I thought at least reasonably dapper for traipsing around the U.S. Capitol and covering Congress on a sweltering July day.
Was it the shoes? My fatigue? Or how about my haste to «get the story.» I spotted then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his small coterie of aides and a security detail descending a spiral staircase after a meeting with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. D-Calif.
I would try to ask Trudeau a question.
No. This really doesn’t have anything to do with Trudeau. Or the fact that I recalled that there was a picture of him, aged about 14 or 15, at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, rooting for the Expos. He’s there with his father — the most storied of all Canadian prime ministers — the late Pierre Trudeau.
Of course, the Expos no longer play in Montreal. They don’t play at all. They moved to Washington in 2005 and are now the Nationals. And this was before the tariff wars. Montreal has been bereft of Major League Baseball ever since.
What would Youppi! Say?
Look him up, kids.
No, there wasn’t something across my shin or ankle. I didn’t feel anything. I was there, on those steps, in the U.S. Capitol, because I’m a baseball fan. And I found out that Justin Trudeau watched those old Montreal Expos teams in the 1980s. Stocked with Andre Dawson, Warren Cromartie and Steve Rogers. And even though Trudeau was there to discuss affairs of state with Pelosi and others, I was there to ask him about the national pastime.
Ironic, I know, to pose such an interrogative to a Canadian.
However, the reason was that there was a report that the Tampa Bay Rays might consider splitting their season each year between Florida and Montreal. Big league baseball would return to Quebec. It would be international news if Trudeau commented. It would appear on Fox. FS1. ESPN. TSN in Canada. And Montreal — famously robbed of perhaps winning the World Series in 1994 with the best team in the game that year because of the player’s strike — might have a shot again at baseball glory.
But journalism is like baseball. A game of failure. You sometimes swing and miss. You’re doing great if you’re successful three out of ten times.
THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHY REMOVING ILHAN OMAR FROM CONGRESS COULD BE HARDER THAN TRUMP EXPECTS
And sometimes, in journalism, the question is never asked.
That was this day. On those steps. Questions about the Rays and Montreal were muted. All because of whatever got me.
Absolutely got me.
I stepped toward Trudeau, mumbled something about Tampa Bay and bought it.
I fell on those steps. Directly in front of the Canadian Prime Minister. On the hard Capitol marble.
I quickly realized I was about to fall. With a microphone in one hand, I couldn’t catch myself. I was confident I’d break a wrist or a hand if I tried to catch myself.
So, I just went with it and fell.
And because I studied martial arts for all of those years from Master Kim and Master Yang back at the Tae Kwon Do dojang, I knew how to fall without hurting myself.
I rolled onto my right shoulder toward Trudeau.
My feeling flew up absurdly high in the air.
«Oh Chad! Oh Chad! Oh Chad!» hollered my photographer, Robert Fetzer. «Chad!»
Trudeau stopped briefly. But I leaped to my feet after the roll, hoping he might say something about baseball.
I struck out. And Trudeau departed.
«But what tripped you?» they ask. «Were you all right?»
Physically, I was fine. Mentally, kind of garbled. I’ve worked daily at the U.S. Capitol for decades. I had a sneaking suspicion of what got me. Or better yet, who?
In the latter years of the 19th Century, Rep. William Taulbee, D-Ky., did not get along with reporter Charles Kincaid. Taulbee thought Kincaid wasn’t an honest broker, writing screeds about his personal affairs.
Taulbee was tall, towering over the diminutive Kincaid. Taulbee was known to sometimes physically pummel Kincaid.
Taulbee was out of federal office. But Kincaid knew Taulbee would be at the Capitol. Kincaid packed a pistol with him. And on Feb. 28, 1890, the reporter shot the Bluegrass Congressman square in the eye.
Taulbee leaked blood all the way down the House’s «Y» staircase, the plasma blending with marble. Through a miracle of chemistry, the splotches are still visible today.
The Kentucky Democrat succumbed to his injuries 11 days later.
It probably goes without saying that Taulbee does not like the congressional press corps. And, so, his phantasm is known to lurk around the Capitol.
Sometimes low bridging reporters on ornate staircases.
«What tripped you?» they ask.
And before I can answer, my inquisitors jump to a conclusion, albeit an interrogative one.
«Was it a ghost?» they giddily exclaim, like they had just figured out Final Jeopardy.
As I say, I have my theories. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions.
But I don’t want to trip you up.
political, politics, justin trudeau
INTERNACIONAL
Texas’ red wall facing its biggest threat in decades as Republicans scramble to defend it
DALLAS — Democrats see a rare opening in Texas, and James Talarico is giving them their clearest shot in years at turning the state blue. If he pulls off the upset, the former teacher and Presbyterian seminarian could knock the first brick loose in Texas’ red wall.
The polling and fundraising figures help explain why Democrats see that possibility.
To put it in perspective, Talarico’s polling leads are wider than those recorded against Ted Cruz in 2018, when Beto O’Rourke came closer than any Democrat in decades to winning a Texas Senate race. And the enthusiasm on the ground from those who spoke with Digital backs up the numbers.
DEEP IN TRUMP COUNTRY, A NEW GENERATION REVEALS THE DIVIDE BEHIND TEXAS’ TIGHT SENATE RACE
What’s more, Talarico’s campaign raised $64 million from July through September, more than three times Trump-backed candidate Ken Paxton’s $18 million haul over the same period. Since launching his campaign, Talarico has raised more than $146 million.
But Paxton, currently the state’s attorney general, has enjoyed Republican outside groups pouring more than $200 million into Texas to support him, nearly all of it bankrolled by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Additionally, MAGA Inc., President Donald Trump’s principal super PAC, has spent another $33.7 million on ads backing Paxton, according to AdImpact.
At his Dallas rally on Thursday, Talarico underscored that divide by casting the race as a David and Goliath fight, telling supporters they were his weapon against powerful interests.
«David wasn’t as big or as strong as Goliath. He didn’t have as many weapons, but he had hope. He had faith, and he had a slingshot,» he said. «Dallas, you are my slingshot. The people of Texas are my slingshot.»
Talarico’s momentum has also shown up on the campaign trail.
Earlier this week, Talarico hopscotched across Texas, stopping in El Paso before holding events in Midland and Amarillo and drawing a larger-than-expected crowd in deep-red Lubbock on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Trump campaigned with Paxton about four miles away that same night, shifting his rally time so it overlapped with Talarico’s event.
The dueling rallies put the race’s divide on display. Talarico’s campaign said more than 4,000 people signed up for his Lubbock rally, prompting a move to a larger venue.
«I know that we’re not the only show in town tonight, and I appreciate all 4,000 of you that showed up here this evening,» Talarico said at the Fiesta Center in Lubbock on Oct. 27. «That’s a lot of Talafreakos in one room.»
The Democratic candidate and his supporters have embraced the moniker «Talafreako,» a nickname first given to him as a derogatory dig by Republicans and President Trump.
Voters at Talarico’s rallies in Lubbock told Digital that Trump’s repeated Texas visits signaled Republican anxiety, while Paxton backers remained confident the state would stay red after a costly and contentious primary that saw Republicans divided over Paxton and sitting Sen. John Cornyn, who was ultimately ousted in the May runoff.
«Trump’s in Lubbock? Trump’s in Lubbock, Texas? He’s scared, he is scared,» one supporter told Digital.
Natalie, from Friona, called Trump’s same-day rally a sign Republicans were «nervous.»
«I think it’s performative, like to come the exact same day as he is here,» she said.
Jenny, from Brownsville, told Digital outside Trump and Paxton’s rally that the race was «not close» and she predicted that «Paxton will wipe the floor» with Talarico.
DUELING RALLIES THRUST DEEP-RED LONE STAR TOWN INTO THE CENTER OF THE POLITICAL UNIVERSE
Beyond the rally crowds, some Talarico supporters in Dallas and Lubbock said Paxton’s past legal controversies and impeachment by the Texas House shaped their views of the Republican nominee.
«We’re here in support of honesty, decency and integrity,» Lori, a Dallas voter who has voted Republican in the past, told Digital. «That’s what we like to see in a candidate, and we think Talarico is all that in one.»
George, a lifelong Texan at the Dallas rally, said years of watching Texas politics had become «heartbreaking» and called Talarico «a breath of fresh air.»
In Lubbock, Georgia cited several of Talarico’s policies and called him «authentic.» She also said his lack of an indictment was a plus, contrasting him with Paxton.
MEET THE VOTERS WHO COULD BREAK THE GOP’S DECADES-LONG GRIP ON A REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD
Elias, a nurse from Lubbock, described Paxton as a weak leader.
«He had a chance to kind of redeem himself despite his ugly past, but he’s not a man, he can’t stand up for himself. He needs daddy Trump to come and support him.»
With Election Day on Nov. 3, the question is whether Talarico can turn rally crowds and a polling lead into a historic win. A victory would crack the GOP’s decades-long grip on Texas. A loss would leave Democrats still searching for a path to turn the state blue.
midterm elections, politics, texas, democrats senate, republicans elections, battleground voters
INTERNACIONAL
Flávio Bolsonaro reapareció tras su salida de Brasil, denunció persecución política y cuestionó los resultados “imposibles” del balotaje
El senador Flávio Bolsonaro, ex candidato presidencial derrotado por el Partido Liberal (PL), afirmó este viernes que su salida de Brasil hacia Estados Unidos tras la segunda vuelta electoral “no es un signo de debilidad” y planteó la posibilidad de que el país celebre nuevas elecciones antes de 2030.
En una transmisión de unos 20 minutos por Instagram, Bolsonaro informó que decidió dejar Brasil tras una conversación con su esposa, Fernanda Bolsonaro. Durante su reaparición, agradeció a sus seguidores por los cerca de 60 millones de votos que recibió. “Esto me da mucha fuerza, mucha lucidez e incluso más valor para afrontar lo que sea necesario, para rescatar y salvar a nuestro país, para volver a presentarme a la presidencia. No me refiero a 2030, no, me refiero a antes”, sostuvo el legislador.
Flávio Bolsonaro acusó al presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, del Partido de los Trabajadores (PT), de utilizar recursos estatales durante la campaña, entre ellos el aumento del monto de la Bolsa Familia en vísperas de los comicios.
Durante la transmisión, Bolsonaro comparó la conducta que atribuyó a su rival con infracciones en un partido de fútbol. “Hubo varios goles marcados con la mano que mi oponente anotó y que no fueron anulados por el VAR [árbitro asistente de video]. Jugó completamente al margen de las reglas de la ley electoral”, agregó.
La legislación prevé que, si la Justicia electoral determina un abuso de poder y anula una candidatura ganadora dentro de los dos años posteriores a la elección, Brasil debe convocar a comicios presidenciales directos.
El senador también cuestionó la proclamación de los resultados por parte del Tribunal Superior Electoral (TSE) y volvió a aludir a un supuesto fraude, sin presentar pruebas. Según sostuvo, un resultado adverso para Lula en la segunda vuelta sería “matemáticamente imposible”.
Bolsonaro señaló que resolvió abandonar el país después de visitar a su padre, el ex presidente Jair Bolsonaro, quien se encuentra bajo arresto domiciliario. De acuerdo con su relato, agentes de la Policía Federal lo citaron en ese lugar para comunicarle que el ministro Alexandre de Moraes, del Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), ordenó cancelar sus pasaportes.
“Entonces lo miré a la cara y le dije: ‘Papá, la persecución ha comenzado’. Incluso un poco antes de lo que imaginaba, porque todo el mundo sabe que Brasil vive actualmente en estado de excepción”, relató Flávio Bolsonaro. El ex xmandatario respondió: “Ya sabes adónde quieren llegar con esto, ¿verdad?”.
El senador afirmó que temía ser utilizado “como moneda de cambio para algún interés dentro del sistema” y aseguró que perdió “contra el sistema” y no contra su oponente.
“Dije que no me sometería a eso. Eso no es señal de debilidad, amigos. Puedo ser muchas cosas, pero no soy tonto. Supe analizar la situación y entendí hacia dónde se dirigían, y más rápido de lo que imaginaba”, afirmó.
Jair Bolsonaro llamó a ser parte de un “momento de unión y no de buscar culpables”
El ex jefe de Estado, preso por golpismo, pidió “unión y no buscar culpables” tras la derrota electoral de su hijo Flávio, según un mensaje que su esposa, la ex primera dama Michelle Bolsonaro, publicó este viernes en redes sociales.
“Vivimos tiempos difíciles. Necesitamos reflexionar y, solo después, actuar”, transmitió Michelle al citar al referente derechista, que tiene prohibido utilizar sus perfiles o divulgar comunicados. La ex primera dama señaló que Bolsonaro, a quien definió como “líder”, agradeció el “empeño y sacrificio” de los militantes durante la campaña presidencial de Flávio Bolsonaro.
Michelle Bolsonaro negó que el exmandatario responsabilice a aliados por la derrota electoral de su hijo frente a Lula, quien ocupa la Presidencia de Brasil.
De acuerdo con su publicación, al ex presidente le “entristecen” las versiones que “pregonan la división” dentro de su espacio político y apuntan “injustamente a supuestos culpables”.
Jair Bolsonaro gobernó Brasil entre 2019 y 2022 y enfrenta una condena de prisión por golpismo. Además, no puede participar de forma directa en comunicaciones públicas a través de redes sociales ni de mensajes difundidos por otras personas.
Domestic,Politics,South America / Central America,Government / Politics
A ghost story in the US Capitol
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