FBI Raid Exposes Republican Congresswoman’s Ties to Chinese Media Mogul Under Federal Investigation
A sitting Republican congresswoman accepted thousands of dollars from a Chinese-American media baron whose home and office were raided by federal agents investigating foreign influence operations on American soil.
Rep. Young Kim is now scrambling to distance herself from James Su, the Chinese-language media magnate whose empire registered as a foreign agent after investigators uncovered its backing by Chinese state-run organizations. The FBI executed search warrants at Su’s Southern California properties in late July as part of what sources describe as a probe into potential foreign influence schemes.
Kim’s campaign received $5,200 from Su across two separate donations—$2,700 in 2018 and $2,500 in 2021. Federal Election Commission records confirm the payments, which the congresswoman only decided to offload after media outlets began asking uncomfortable questions.
The Damage Control Begins
The Kim campaign announced it would donate the tainted funds to organizations supporting victims of human trafficking and prostitution. But the timing raises serious questions about the congresswoman’s judgment and vetting procedures.
“Given those reports, we are donating the funds to organizations that support victims of human trafficking and prostitution,” Chris Pack, a Kim campaign spokesperson, told the California Post. The statement conspicuously attempted to redirect attention toward her primary opponent, Rep. Ken Calvert, by referencing decades-old allegations about his personal life.
Pack insisted the campaign “had no knowledge of the allegations now being reported against him.” But critics point out that Su’s ties to Chinese state media were exposed by Reuters well before the FBI came knocking. The real question: Why didn’t Kim’s team catch this earlier?
Who Is James Su?
Su controls a major Chinese-language media operation in the United States. His company only registered as a foreign agent after investigative journalists at Reuters uncovered its financial backing from Chinese state-run radio organizations—entities directly controlled by the Communist Party apparatus in Beijing.
The FBI searches of Su’s Ontario-area home and office represent a significant escalation in federal scrutiny of foreign influence operations. While Su has not been charged with any crime, federal agents don’t execute search warrants without probable cause and judicial approval.
Photographs show Kim appearing alongside Su at a 2018 event, evidence of a relationship that extended beyond simple campaign finance transactions.
A Bitter Republican Civil War
This scandal erupts amid an increasingly nasty primary battle between Kim and Calvert, two Republican incumbents forced into direct competition after California Democrats redrew congressional district lines. The newly configured 40th Congressional District has become a political thunderdome where only one Republican will emerge victorious.
Calvert’s campaign immediately seized on Kim’s Su problem, delivering a pointed response that questions her claims of being tough on China.
“It is deeply concerning that Young Kim took thousands of dollars from a registered Chinese foreign agent who is running a Chinese Communist Party media outlet,” Calvert campaign spokesman Calvin Moore stated. “She didn’t return the money because it was the right thing to do but because she got caught and the media started asking questions about her ties to Su.”
Moore pressed harder: “Voters deserve an explanation as to why she turned a blind eye to foreign influence for years, and what other questionable cash she might be hiding.”
The Defense Falls Flat
Kim’s campaign mounted a spirited defense, claiming she has “established herself as one of the leading critics of the Chinese Communist Party” and has “even been targeted by the CCP and threatened with arrest.”
Pack dismissed Calvert’s concerns as coming from a “32-year, do-nothing incumbent,” but the counterattack doesn’t address the fundamental issue: Why did Kim accept money from someone whose media empire serves as a mouthpiece for Chinese state interests?
The congresswoman has raised more than $30 million from nearly 200,000 donors since 2018, according to her campaign. That makes the $5,200 from Su a tiny fraction of her war chest—but the source matters far more than the sum.
The Primary Numbers Tell The Story
Calvert dominated the June all-party primary, capturing 75,811 votes or 34.9% of the total. Kim finished second with 44,818 votes, or just 20.6%. Under California’s top-two primary system, both Republicans advance to the November general election regardless of party affiliation.
That 14-point gap represents a significant deficit for Kim to overcome, and her ties to a figure under federal investigation for foreign influence operations won’t help close it.
The redistricting scheme engineered by California Democrats has deliberately forced this Republican-on-Republican bloodbath. Democrats are betting that the internecine warfare will weaken whichever Republican emerges, making the seat more vulnerable in future elections.
A Broader Pattern of Chinese Money
The FBI raids on Su’s properties have illuminated a broader pattern of political donations to California politicians across party lines. Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat, received $25,800 from Su over the years, according to Los Angeles Times reporting.
Chu said she was “waiting for additional information from federal investigators” before deciding what to do with Su’s contributions—a convenient delay that allows her to avoid making a decision while the investigation remains active.
“These investigations must be taken with the utmost seriousness, because we cannot allow corruption and illegal foreign influence to infect the government and media,” Chu stated, apparently without irony given her acceptance of tens of thousands from the man under investigation.
What This Means For November
California’s congressional map represents crucial battleground territory as Republicans fight to maintain their House majority. Democrats designed their redistricting plan specifically to create opportunities for seat flips in November.
The Kim-Calvert race exemplifies the political carnage resulting from that strategy. Two sitting Republican members of Congress are burning through campaign resources attacking each other instead of focusing those resources on defeating Democrats.
Both campaigns have launched increasingly sharp attacks, with each seeking to portray the other as insufficiently conservative and disloyal to President Trump. The Chinese money controversy gives Calvert powerful ammunition to question Kim’s judgment and her claims of being tough on Beijing.
The Bottom Line
Federal agents don’t raid homes and offices on fishing expeditions. The FBI obtained search warrants for Su’s properties because investigators presented evidence to a federal judge demonstrating probable cause that crimes may have occurred.
Kim accepted thousands of dollars from a man whose media empire serves as a platform for Chinese state propaganda. She only decided to get rid of that money after reporters started asking questions. Her campaign’s protestations about not knowing about the allegations ring hollow when Su’s foreign agent registration was a matter of public record.
Republicans cannot afford to be soft on Chinese influence operations. The Chinese Communist Party represents the greatest long-term threat to American security and prosperity. Any elected official who failed to properly vet donations from sources tied to Chinese state media deserves intense scrutiny.
Kim now faces a choice: provide a full accounting of her relationship with Su and explain her vetting failures, or watch this scandal fuel Calvert’s already substantial lead in their primary contest.
The voters of California’s 40th Congressional District deserve representatives who exercise sound judgment about who they accept money from. Taking cash from someone under federal investigation for foreign influence operations doesn’t meet that standard—regardless of when you return it.
