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‘Deep ties to the CCP’: Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save ‘illicit’ vape industry
FIRST ON FOX: A top vaping lobbyist, whose group worked closely with the Trump campaign last year and is now ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to «uphold their promise to save the flavored vaping industry,» has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a Fox News Digital review found.
Tony Abboud, the Illinois-based executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, made several smaller donations to pro-Trump GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2024 election and met with then-candidate Donald Trump weeks before the election in a push to protect the vaping industry.
However, his past ties to the Democratic Party and CCP are setting off alarm bells with a political operative close to the Trump administration and a top Republican Congressional leadership aide as Abboud’s group ramps up pressure on the Trump administration and lobbies several states to oppose directory bills, which would crack down on Chinese vape companies.
«Tony Abboud and Vapor Technology Association have deep ties to the CCP and Never-Trumpers,» a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. «This goes against everything President Trump stands for, which is loyalty and reining in CCP influence, especially when it comes to illicit drugs pouring across the border.»
21,000% SPIKE IN MA VAPE SEIZURES THROWS CIGARETTE BAN INTO QUESTION, EX-ATF OFFICIAL SAYS
Tony Abboud and other members of the Global Vape Alliance toast each other at 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany (Left) and (Right) Tony Abboud and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump pose for photo after a private meeting weeks before the 2024 election. (Global Vape Alliance/Vapor Technology Association X screenshot)
Abboud, who previously donated thousands between Obama’s Senate campaign and failed House campaign, among other Democrats, and his vaping group have a close relationship with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), an entity of the CCP.
Abboud’s VTA and the ECCC previously had an informal relationship but officially inked an official partnership together in late 2023, forming the Global Vape Alliance, which includes the UK Vaping Industry Association and the Independent European Vape Alliance. This alliance led to cooperation between the different entities, which entails sharing «information and strategies for best practices to educate and guide member companies on existing laws, regulations and industry standards.»
«The Alliance will share strategies for the promotion of the healthy development of the global vaping industry, and as a unified voice for the industry, will look to empower their member companies by promoting the sophistication, professionalism, and importance of the industry,» the declaration continued.
«VTA–like Temu, Shein, and TikTok–is well known for putting the interests of Chinese companies ahead of Americans,» a top Republican Congressional leadership aide warned in a statement to Fox News Digital. «No Hill Republicans are take their lobbying seriously and they should be ashamed for lobbying for interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party. American kids deserve a lot better.»
However, a senior adviser to the 2024 Trump campaign dismissed criticism of the group and Abboud, telling Fox News Digital that the «idea that VTA is an anti-Trump group is downright dishonest and utterly laughable.»
«Not only did they support President Trump’s re-election financially, but they also worked closely with the Trump campaign on a get-out-the-vote program targeting pro-vaping voters in support of the President in all the battleground states,» the former senior adviser said. «Their GOTV operation was so robust that it didn’t just extend to the President himself, but it was also used to support Trump-endorsed MAGA Senate candidates like Bernie Moreno in Ohio.»
President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended national security advisor Mike Waltz amid fallout over the Signal group chat. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)
The ECCC, which partners with Abboud’s group, was established in Shenzhen, China, in January 2017 and operates under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (CECC), which is registered with the CCP’s Ministry of Civil Affairs of P. R. China.
A Fox News Digital review found that some of the top leaders of the CECC are former high-ranking members of the CCP, which includes a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a former Vice Premier of the State Council, and a former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the «key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation» under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website.
FIVE-FIGURE AD BUY URGES STATES TO CRACK DOWN AS CHINA FLOODS MARKET WITH ILLICIT VAPES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’
As the executive director of VTA, Abboud has met with Ao Weinuo, the Secretary-General of the ECCC, several times over the years and is featured in several photos with Abboud.
In a batch of photos from the 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany, which is where the Global Vape Alliance was officially announced, Weinuo and Abboud posed together for several photographs, including one where the pair and a couple other guys from the GVA toasted each other with their drinks. During the meeting portion of the event, Weinuo and Abboud were also on the same panel that appeared to be going after the Biden administration’s FDA for feeding a «false narrative.»
That same year, Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of «Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.» In the background of the photo, which included Abboud’s business partner, the hammer and sickle CCP emblem was visible.
In a promotional video that ECCC posted on Tencent in 2021, ECCC emphasized their goals for Chinese domination and price control in the vaping market, saying, «China has the pricing power» and «influence,» according to English subtitles provided by ECCC.
Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of «Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.» (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
When pressed for comment on VTA’s ties to China and the CCP, Abboud did not address them and instead talked about how he was a «former Democrat who became a Republican because of President Trump» and that «Joe Biden spent 4 years attempting to shut down and bankrupt American vape companies across the country and President Trump is the only person we trust to reverse Biden’s anti-vaping policies and save our industry.»
The political operative close to the Trump administration pushed back, pointing to a Linkedin post from Abboud’s group, which showed Abboud networking with Democrats, including then-DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, at the 2024 DNC Convention. The post said that VTA sponsored events for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Choose Atlanta and the Democratic Party of Virginia.
«I’m even more proud that VTA mobilized 360,000 voters to help overwhelmingly return President Trump to the White House because we know that after years of failed Democratic leadership, he is the champion our industry desperately needs,» continued Abboud, who along with VTA, also attended the RNC Convention and moderated a fireside chat. «The brazen attempts to distort our fight to save this industry are nothing more than coordinated attacks from competitors in the tobacco industry who are working with radical leftwingers like Letitia James and would stand to benefit financially from destroying American vape companies nationwide.»
«That would ultimately mean the loss of billions of U.S. tax revenue, hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and tens of thousands of small businesses across this great country,» he concluded.
In December 2023, Abboud traveled to China and participated in ECCC’s first «International Key Buyers Exchange Meeting» in Shenzhen, which included Weinuo as one of the leaders, according to photos reviewed by Fox News Digital.
According to a press release, «The special committee gave full play to its international influence and ‘brought in’ high-quality overseas wholesalers and brand owners, aiming to connect member companies with overseas resources and channels, and help Chinese e-cigarette products sell better in the international market.»
Abboud would then partner with Weinuo and ECCC a few months later in February 2024 at the Total Product Expo in Las Vegas. The expo was aimed at helping China gain greater access to the U.S. market and attracted more than 600 companies from around the world, including more than 100 exhibitors from China. A press release highlighting the event shows several photos of Abboud and Weinuo together as they hosted an after-party for the crowded event.
Tony Abboud (second from left) poses with Ao Weinuo (center), the Secretary-General of the ECCC, and others at Total Product Expo in Las Vegas in February 2024. (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
A person familiar with the inner workings of Abboud’s VTA downplayed concerns about the group’s ties to China and the CCP, telling Fox News Digital that «Every tobacco company in the industry has their own manufacturing in China» and that the «biggest tobacco companies also have joint ventures directly with the Chinese tobacco monopoly.» The person went on to emphasize that the Global Vape Alliance is engaged «against the black market» and is focusing «its joint efforts on combating the illegal trade in e-cigarettes,» among other initiatives.
In September 2024, Weinuo was invited to deliver remarks on behalf of ECCC at the New Tobacco (E-cigarette) Forum at the New Approaches Summit in New York City, which Abboud also attended. An ECCC press release on the event touts Weinuo as the «first representative of the Chinese e-cigarette industry to participate in the forum in history» and said the «ECCC delegation has attracted much attention at this forum.»
Tony Abboud (Center) poses with Ao Weinuo (Center Right), the Secretary-General of the ECCC, and others at the New Tobacco (E-cigarette) Forum in New York City in September 2024. (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
The press release went on to say that the «United States has the world’s largest and most influential benchmark market» and that the «ECCC delegation’s participation in this forum is of great significance.»
«It not only uses the international platform to send out a positive voice for the industry and establish a good image of Chinese e-cigarette products in the world, but also demonstrates the ECCC’s far-reaching collaborative work ability and influence in the world as the organization of Chinese e-cigarette companies,» the press release continued, highlighting that multiple current and former leaders from the World Health Organization were in attendance. «It is a concrete action to ‘tell the Chinese story well to the outside world.’»
In December 2024, Abboud visited ECCC in China for supplier and vendor conversations, where he received a «thank you prize for speaking,» according to an individual familiar with the event. A press release highlights how «more than 30 internationally renowned wholesalers and channel dealers from 10 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, France, Canada, Spain, Romania» visited ECCC as an international delegation to «accelerate the resource matching and docking of Chinese and foreign electronic cigarettes.»
In addition to Abboud, multiple people on the board of directors for his VTA have ties to China, including Magellan and Demand Vape owner Jon Glauser, who said in a 2023 deposition that he has a «good relationship with every manufacturer over» in China and that he has «spent quite a bit of time in Shenzhen, China, over the years,» noting that this is «where 99 percent of e-cigarettes are made.»
«We form a relationship with them, buy it from them either as a master distributor or distributor,» he added.
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Geoff Habicht is another member of VTA’s board of directors and serves as the CEO of Mi-Pod, an Arizona-based company that imports numerous vape juices from China.
Mi-Pod was recently the subject of a letter from the ranking Democratic member of the House Committee Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for importing vape products that were banned for domestic sale in China and were the subject of safety concern in the United States.
In addition to the board of directors, several vape companies that are included in VTA’s membership, which range from $500 to $200,000 membership levels to join, are Chinese companies, including VooPoo, which has donated at least $100,000 to be a member of VTA, according to its website.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
China,Donald Trump,Joe Biden
INTERNACIONAL
El crimen que horrorizó al Reino Unido: asesinó a su abuela de 96 años por una herencia y trato de encubrirlo con un incendio
Emma Finch, una mujer de 96 años que residía en el pueblo inglés de Liss, dependía de las visitas semanales de su nieto Joshua Powell para realizar sus compras y jugar partidas de Scrabble. Pero esa rutina cambió el 17 de mayo de 2024, cuando agentes de policía y bomberos acudieron a la vivienda tras la activación de una alarma de monóxido de carbono. Los equipos de emergencia encontraron el cuerpo de la señora en su dormitorio, donde se había iniciado un incendio en la cama.
Powell, de 27 años, fue arrestado como principal sospechoso días después. Aunque inicialmente afirmó no haber abandonado su domicilio, la investigación reveló imágenes de cámaras de seguridad que documentaban la presencia de su vehículo en Liss durante la madrugada del delito. El teléfono móvil del acusado, que se mantenía conectado al automóvil, presentaba también actividad en la zona durante el periodo del asesinato.
Además, según precisó People, la policía halló discrepancias en el relato de Powell sobre el acceso a la casa. Las notas en su celular mostraban el código de la caja de llaves de Finch, anotado por él semanas antes.
En tanto, elementos en la escena, como fósforos gastados diferentes a los presentes en otras áreas de la casa y un cinturón con sangre, aumentaron las sospechas.
Los exámenes forenses concluyeron que la causa de muerte había sido compresión del cuello y que no existía intoxicación por humo, lo que indica que Finch murió antes de que se produjera el incendio.
De acuerdo informó People, Powell atravesaba una situación financiera problemática y mantenía expectativas de recibir una herencia tras el fallecimiento de su abuela, según testimonios de su entorno y declaraciones incluidas en el expediente judicial.
Amistades de Powell informaron que él expresó en varias ocasiones su deseo de que su abuela muriera pronto y mencionó “una pesadilla en la que la mataba”. Estos elementos reforzaron el móvil económico y el nivel de premeditación detrás del crimen.
El avance de la investigación llevó a la acusación formal el 22 de mayo de 2024. Los peritajes ligaron a Powell con las lesiones en el cuello de Finch, el cinturón hallado en la escena y la manipulación de la caja de llaves.
Un cuchillo recuperado cerca del domicilio, idéntico al que faltaba en la casa de Finch, sumó más pruebas. Finalmente, Powell admitió su culpabilidad ante el tribunal el 16 de mayo de 2025. La justicia británica dictó una condena de prisión perpetua, con una pena mínima de 26 años antes de considerar una revisión.
Autoridades policiales evidenciaron que Powell se aprovechó de la confianza y dependencia que tenía su abuela hacia él. El caso marcó a la comunidad local por el contraste entre la relación familiar pública y la brutalidad del acto cometido.
El informe oficial resaltó la contradicción entre la actitud de Powell, que negó responsabilidad frente a la acumulación de pruebas, y las acciones homicidas que planificó. Howard Broadribb, responsable de la investigación, señaló que el caso prueba el desprecio del joven por la familia y el daño causado a los allegados de Finch.
La sentencia busca dar respuesta a los familiares de la víctima y cerrar un proceso judicial seguido por medios y comunidad. La policía recordó la importancia de monitorear las relaciones de dependencia en personas mayores y de atender signos de tensión intra-familiar, que pueden ser antecedentes de abuso o violencia.
La resolución del caso Emma Finch deja un mensaje de justicia frente a la vulnerabilidad y la traición familiar. Powell cumplirá la pena impuesta en prisión británica, sin derecho a revisión durante más de dos décadas, y el expediente se integra como antecedente en la historia judicial reciente del Reino Unido.
joshua powell, emma finch
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Chile elige presidente en un clima de polarización, con incertidumbre y un casi seguro giro a la derecha
Carteles con información para la elección de este domingo en Chile, en un centro de votación en Santiago. Foto: REUTERS 
Un afiche promociona a José Antonio Kast, en Santiago, Chile. Foto: EFEUn duelo entre la derecha
El ultraderechista libertario Johannes Kaiser busca su lugar en el balotaje en Chile. Foto: EFE 
El acto de cierre de campaña de Evelyn Matthei, este jueves en un estadio de Santiago, Chile. Foto: BLOOMBERG
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The 42nd week of his second administration was another busy one for President Donald Trump.
This week, Trump signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in history, backed using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers, announced plans to order the Justice Department to evaluate ties between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other U.S. figures, and issued pardons to those accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
Here’s a look at what happened.
Government shutdown ends
On Wednesday evening, Trump signed legislation that the House and Senate passed earlier in the week to fund the government again, as consequences of the lapse in funding started to mount, such as missed paychecks for federal workers and airline delays due to air traffic controller staffing shortages.
The bill maintains funding for the government consistent with fiscal year 2025 spending levels through Jan. 30 to provide a window for lawmakers to nail down a longer appropriations measure for FY 2026.
The measure also allocates spending for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which more than 42 million Americans rely on, through September. The program supports non- or low-income individuals or families to purchase groceries on a debit card.
TRUMP CANCELS $4.9B FOREIGN AID, PUSHES DC DEATH PENALTY, TOUTS KIM TIES
President Donald Trump signed legislation that the House and Senate passed earlier in the week to fund the government again. (Mariam Zuhaib/The Associated Press)
Additionally, the measure reverses layoffs the Trump administration set into motion earlier in October, and pays employees for their absence.
Foreign worker visa criticism
Trump also conducted a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that aired both Monday and Tuesday, where he said that bringing foreign workers to the U.S. on H-1B visas is important to «bring in talent» to the U.S. After Ingraham claimed that the U.S. has talent at home, Trump disagreed.
«No, you don’t. No, you don’t. You don’t have, you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn!» Trump said. «You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say I’m gonna put you into a factory where we’re gonna make missiles.»
LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN HISTORY NEARS LIKELY END AS HOUSE MOVES ON FUNDING BILL
H-1B visas permit U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers for up to six years.
It’s an issue that has remained controversial among MAGA supporters. Those who back the program claim it is critical to U.S. competitiveness, but opponents say that the visa holders are taking away jobs from Americans.
Trump’s statements earned him criticism from those that make up his base. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., rebuked Trump’s statements afterward and said that she is «America First and America Only.»
«I believe in the American people,» Greene said. «I am one of you.I believe you are good, talented, creative, intelligent, hardworking, and want to achieve. I am solidly against you being replaced by foreign labor, like with H1Bs.»
TRUMP SIGNS BILL ENDING LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY
President Donald Trump speaks during a breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/The Assocaited Press )
In response to the criticism, the White House pointed to the Trump administration’s announcement in September that would require a $100,000 annual fee for companies seeking to obtain an H-1B visa. Plus, the White House noted that the Department of Labor launched Project Firewall in September in an attempt to ensure employers don’t abuse the H-1B visa process.
Separately, Trump also defended previous statements supporting allowing up to 600,000 Chinese students to come to the U.S. in his interview with Ingraham, and asserted that they must study in the U.S. so U.S. colleges don’t «go out of business.»
Former Trump U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley said doing so would be a «massive mistake.»
«That would be a huge gift to China and a threat to the United States,» Haley said in a post on X on Thursday.
More Epstein documents
Additionally, Trump announced Friday that he would order the Justice Department and the FBI to probe financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with those including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration Larry Summers, and others.
The announcement came after both Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released thousands of documents Wednesday related to Epstein — including emails where Trump was mentioned. However, the documents do not allege wrongdoing from Trump and simply show Epstein mentioning him.
«This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,» Trump said in a Truth Social post Friday. «Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’ Stay tuned!!!»
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, Feb. 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Clinton has denied that he ever visited Epstein’s island, and wrote in his 2024 memoir «Citizen» that he wished they’d never met. A spokesperson for Summers did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Presidential pardons
Late Sunday, the Trump administration announced the president had issued pardons for more than 70 people accused of seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.
But presidential pardons only apply federal charges and those involved don’t have any federal charges leveled against them – meaning the move is primarily a symbolic gesture.
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Those pardoned include Trump allies like former New York City mayor and the president’s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who claimed that the 2020 election was «stolen» from Trump. Giuliani is currently caught up in a case in Arizona where he faces state charges for election interference for those statements.
Other prominent figures pardoned include former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell.
white house,donald trump,jeffrey epstein,government shutdown,immigration
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