John-

This week I pressed TikTok’s CEO for answers about the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on the app that is used by 150 million Americans and I laid out the national security risk TikTok poses to our country. I also continued to call for stronger action against the Mexican drug cartels, and debunked false narratives about my authorization for military force against the cartels.

As always, thank you for your support. Now let’s get started.
TIKTOK CEO TESTIFIES

TikTok’s CEO came to Capitol Hill this week for the first Congressional hearing into the app. The hearing was held at the Energy and Commerce Committee, where I serve. As you can see from my questioning, this hearing did not go well for TikTok. 

Here’s what you need to know about why TikTok presents serious security risks to the United States and everyone who uses the app: TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that is headquartered in China. Under a 2017 National Intelligence Law implemented by the CCP, every single organization inside of China must comply with and assist in Chinese intelligence operations and maintain the secrecy of those operations. In other words, ByteDance must cooperate with the CCP whenever they are called upon, and if they are called upon they are bound by law to keep such cooperation a secret.

What’s worse is that leaders at ByteDance are card-carrying members of the CCP. That includes ByteDance’s editor-in-chief, Zhang Fuping, who is a CCP Secretary. And in TikTok’s own “privacy policy,” it states that TikTok shares user data with other members of “our corporate group,” which TikTok’s CEO confirmed to me today includes their CCP-ridden parent company ByteDance. Translation: every single piece of data that is shared with TikTok is shared with ByteDance, which is under the control of the Chinese government just like every other business in China. 

We know that TikTok employs hundreds of people who have worked for China’s state-run media (propaganda) outlets. We know that TikTok has illegally surveilled American journalists on the app. And we know from leaked memos of internal TikTok meetings that there is a “Master Admin” stationed in Beijing who “has access to everything.” Of course, TikTok’s CEO tried to downplay or deny all of these accusations. But no one believed him as his entire testimony was blatantly misleading. 

If you personally love or use TikTok, or have kids who use it, and think we are blowing this out of proportion let me assure you that we are not. With data, there’s power. The CCP can choose what you see and how you see it. They can make you believe things that aren’t true, and encourage you to do things you shouldn’t. This is China’s goal—the demise of America, starting with our youth. That’s why lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have joined together on this. Our national security and safety depend on it.
WE HAVE TO TAKE ACTION NOW TO STOP THE CARTELS
Since I began my efforts to expose the threat of the Mexican drug cartels and introduce legislation to stop them, this issue has garnered national and international attention. And for good reason. 

At the national level, we’ve seen the cartel’s main product (fentanyl) rip our communities apart. Tens of thousands of Americans (a lot of young people) are deliberately poisoned every year when they take street drugs without knowing they’ve been laced with fentanyl. We’ve seen cartels capitalize on the chaos of our southern border and turn it into a human smuggling cash-cow that earns them billions of dollars. 

At the international level, we’ve finally gotten the attention of President AMLO of Mexico. President AMLO has done next to nothing to confront this threat. To make matters worse, AMLO denies that fentanyl is coming from his country, denies cartels are trafficking the drug into our country, and threatens to interfere in American elections against lawmakers like myself who introduce legislation to confront the cartels he protects. We’ve also put China on notice, as we’ve made clear that the precursors cartels use to make fentanyl are coming from one place: China, with the tacit permission of the Chinese Communist Party. 

I’ve introduced serious bills to confront the threat from the Mexican drug cartels, which you can read about in the story above. I will continue pushing for serious action against these narco-terrorists until the threat is neutralized.
DEBUNKING THE MYTHS ABOUT MY CARTEL AUMF
Critics — on the left and right, in the United States and Mexico — have made straw man arguments against the authorization for the use of military force I introduced targeting the cartels, feigning hysteria about “bombing” or “invading” Mexico. No one is arguing we do that.

Here’s what the cartel AUMF means in practice:

First off, an AUMF doesn’t mean a unilateral air strike in Mexico tomorrow. It gives the U.S. President the bare minimum legal authority to act with the force of the military against deadly drug cartels in Mexico.

It can take many forms, including non-kinetic action like intelligence collection and sharing. An AUMF is also the minimum authority needed to operate with the Mexican military (as we’ve done with other allies battling internal insurgencies).

No one is talking about an invasion or war with Mexico. We’re focused squarely on one mission: taking down the cartels. We’d expect our President to use the AUMF to work alongside Mexico’s military.

The bottom line is that narcoterrorists are killing tens of thousands of Americans. U.S. military capabilities must be brought to bear to stop this threat.
ON SOCIAL MEDIA
NEWS
That's it for this week's campaign brief. Our first big End of Quarter FEC deadline for 2023 is coming up. Please chip in $5, $10, $25 or any amount you can afford before the March 31st deadline to help me keep up the fight for the conservative movement.
In Service,
Dan Crenshaw
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