A U.S. State Department foreign service officer has been fired after being caught on hidden camera admitting to a secret romantic relationship with the daughter of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) affiliate—a connection he failed to disclose to U.S. security officials, according to statements.
“I defied my government for love,” Choi said in the secretly recorded video published by OMG, in which he discussed knowingly concealing the relationship from State Department officials despite being required to report any close personal contact with foreign nationals.
A State Department spokesperson told reporters that, to their knowledge, this is the first time an officer has been terminated under the authority granted by Executive Order 14211, which President Trump signed earlier this year to strengthen accountability within the diplomatic corps
In a statement announcing the dismissal, the department said: “The Foreign Service Officer admitted to concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national, whom he said on camera ‘could have been a spy. ’ He also said that her father was ‘straight-up Communist Party.
’ The officer was required to report this contact to Department security officials, but said, ‘I defied my government for love. ’ Accordingly, the Secretary recommended that the officer be separated for failing to faithfully implement the President’s foreign policy. ”
For years, counterintelligence experts have warned that Beijing uses romantic entanglements, financial incentives, and academic ties to collect sensitive information from U. S. personnel.
Advertisement “Romantic and social connections remain one of the most exploited vectors in Chinese espionage,” said a former senior intelligence official familiar with State Department security procedures. “An unreported relationship like this represents a massive vulnerability, no matter how innocent it may appear.
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