Liz Cheney Asks The DOJ To Investigate Whether China, Russia Are Infiltrating US Environmental Groups

Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming asked the Department of Justice in September to investigate whether Russia and China are working to infiltrate environmental groups to influence U.S. environmental policy, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned. Russia and China may be infiltrating non-governmental groups in an attempt to meddle in domestic energy and environmental policy, Cheney wrote in a Sept. 4 letter to Attorney General William Barr obtained by the DCNF. The Republican lawmaker said in the letter that Russia had in the past worked to spread anti-fracking propaganda inside the United States. Environmental groups’ willingness to “espouse views that align with those of our adversaries—makes it all the more critical that the Department is aware of any potential foreign influence within or targeting these groups,” Cheney wrote, noting that they are also “major contributors to U.S. political campaigns and have filed hundreds of lawsuits against the Trump Administration.” “Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Resources Defense Council, whose anti-fracking agendas align with the Kremlin’s, are low-hanging fruit for Russian influence,” Cheney wrote. “It’s crucial for the Department of Justice to determine whether these foreign adversaries are working to influence U.S. environmental and energy policies, including by infiltrating or targeting these environmental NGOs,” Cheney said in a statement to the DCNF. Cheney also expressed concern about Chinese influence. Republican members of the House Natural Resources Committee noted in 2018 that the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) often praises the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) environmental initiatives and promotes the idea of China as a global environmental leader, she wrote, citing comments from her House colleagues. “The NRDC maintains a presence in China and has long worked with CCP officials,” Cheney wrote...MORE