Lipsman calls for investigation & Beyer’s removal from Congressional Committees
ARLINGTON, VA -- Following breaking news of significant ties to the Chinese Embassy in Rep. Don Beyer's office, Karina Lipsman today called for Beyer to be removed from Congressional committees and called for a Congressional investigation to determine the extent to which national security has been compromised.
"I have been part of investigations on sensitive national security subjects before, and it's very clear to me that, based on what we know, this matter must be thoroughly investigated by Congress. This is a similar situation as the one Rep. Eric Swalwell found himself in -- Swalwell should be removed from the House Intelligence Committee, and Don Beyer should be removed from the House Ways and Means Committee, which handles international trade and all free trade agreements, as well as the Joint Economic Committee. The extent of Beyer's office's ties to the Chinese government needs to be determined, so the level of national security risk can be determined. His office has clearly been compromised. Again, I've held top-level security clearances for years and this situation is well within my experience. It needs to be treated extremely seriously."
Lipsman, who is running against Beyer in Virginia's 8th Congressional District, served for 14 years in the U.S. defense and intelligence communities, where Lipsman held security clearances exceeding Top Secret.