Kash Patel: “China Attempted to Interfere in 2020 Election”

Washington D.C. – June 18, 2025

Kash Patel, a former senior official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has submitted a declassified internal intelligence report to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, alleging that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The report details a scheme involving thousands of counterfeit driver’s licenses intended for fraudulent mail-in voting, reigniting concerns over foreign election interference.

On June 17, Patel personally handed the document to Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley, emphasizing that “the 2020 election was a strategic target for the Chinese Communist Party.” The report claims that thousands of fake driver’s licenses were manufactured in China and smuggled into the United States to fabricate false identities and potentially cast mail-in ballots in favor of then-candidate Joe Biden.

CBP Confirms Seizure of Nearly 20,000 Counterfeit Licenses

According to an official statement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 19,888 counterfeit driver’s licenses in August 2020 at the Chicago O’Hare International Mail Facility. A significant portion of the licenses originated from China and Hong Kong. Many of them featured identical photos but different names, indicating a coordinated and systematic forgery operation.

More recently, in April and May 2025, CBP intercepted over 4,000 similar counterfeit ID shipments in both Chicago and Louisville. Although CBP noted that such fake IDs are often used for college enrollment, illegal employment, or banking fraud, it has not officially linked them to voter fraud.

FBI Document Recalled—Allegations of Internal Suppression

The report in question was initially filed in September 2020 and labeled as an “information report, not finally evaluated intelligence.” However, shortly afterward, the FBI issued a “substantive recall” for the document, removing it from internal databases and ordering the destruction of all copies. The source cited in the report was never re-interviewed.

Patel criticized the recall as a deliberate act of suppression, stating, “A document containing potential national security threats was buried without investigation. Congress must hold the FBI accountable for systematically dismissing this intelligence.” The Judiciary Committee is now reportedly reviewing internal FBI communications, including emails and messages, to determine the rationale behind the recall.

Diverging Intelligence Community Assessments

In a 2021 final assessment, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) concluded that while China may have intended to influence the 2020 election, there was no conclusive evidence that those intentions translated into action. However, Patel’s recent disclosure challenges that conclusion, alleging internal disagreement and deliberate obfuscation within intelligence agencies.

Chairman Grassley declared, “The intelligence community can no longer hide behind self-censorship. The American people deserve transparency.” He further announced plans to hold public hearings, with a focus on the original recall order under then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and the potential links to CBP’s findings.

“Suppression, Not Execution, Is the Greater Threat”

Patel concluded that “whether or not votes were ultimately manipulated is less important than the government’s failure to respond to credible threats.” He insisted that the report is not a conspiracy theory, but proof of bureaucratic unwillingness to confront foreign interference.

The case is rapidly becoming a political flashpoint, reviving debate over election security, intelligence reform, and Congressional oversight powers. With new hearings expected in the coming weeks, lawmakers from both parties are now under pressure to respond decisively to the allegations.