FBI raids China for improperly-obtained classified documents
BEIJING—Weeks after the FBI removed 27 boxes of classified material from former President Donald Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, the FBI has launched an even larger raid to remove some 895 million improperly-obtained classified documents from the People’s Republic of China.
Several cruise ships full of FBI agents docked at Chinese ports this morning, and agents quickly fanned out across the Chinese countryside, raiding military bases, government and intelligence facilities, and President Xi Jinping’s residence.
The raids were authorized by U.S. District Judge Bruce Reinhart, who agreed that even though China is a sovereign nation, U.S. classified materials are the exclusive property of the U.S. government, allowing the FBI to conduct the unprecedented action.
Asked for comment, the U.S. State Department’s spokesman responded, “Wait– they did what?”
FBI agents have been photographed exiting Chinese facilities carrying boxes and boxes of what they described as “classified documents,” some of which date back to the Truman administration. Experts have estimated it will take about three months to properly load all the documents onto U.S. C-5 heavy transport aircraft and 30 years to read them all to determine what information may have been compromised.
Xi Jinping himself was briefly taken into FBI custody during the launch of 15 long-range missiles near the Taiwanese coast. The exercise was halted as the FBI deemed that several Dongfeng missiles may have been created using non-declassified U.S. technology and therefore could not be legally possessed by China.