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Read this jaw-dropping investigation into Elaine Chao and Mitch McConnell by @PekingMike @EricLiptonNYT @keithbradsher and @suilee nyti.ms/2JRCBjK
@PekingMike @EricLiptonNYT @KeithBradsher @suilee "In China, the Chaos are no ordinary family. They run an American shipping company with deep ties to the economic and political elite in China, where most of the company’s business is centered." nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
@PekingMike @EricLiptonNYT @KeithBradsher @suilee "McConnell’s political campaigns have received more than $1 million in contributions from Ms. Chao’s extended family, including from her father and her sister Angela, now Foremost’s chief executive." nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“In a rarity for foreigners, Angela and James Chao have served on the board of the holding company for China State Shipbuilding, a state-owned enterprise that makes ships for the Chinese military” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“Ms. Chao’s father...has for decades cultivated a close relationship with Jiang Zemin...As the schoolmates crossed paths again in the 1980s, the Chaos reaped dividends from a radar company linked to Mr. Jiang that targeted sales to the Chinese military” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“The gift to Ms. Chao and Mr. McConnell from her father in 2008 helped make Mr. McConnell, the Republican majority leader, one of the richest members of the Senate.” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“And three decades worth of political donations have made [Chao’s] extended family a top contributor to the Republican Party of Kentucky, a wellspring of Mr. McConnell’s power.” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“With Mr. Trump’s election, Ms. Chao was asked to join the administration. During her confirmation hearing she did not discuss her family’s extensive ties to the Chinese maritime industry” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
Transportation Secretary Chao “broke with the standard practice for government employees and flew on a Chinese state airline instead of an American carrier. Ms. Chao’s economy-class round-trip ticket with Air China cost $6,784” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“It raises a question about whether those familial and financial ties affect Chao when she exercises judgment or gives advice on foreign and national security policy matters that involve China.” - Kathleen Clark, anti-corruption expert nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“Over the next 30 years, the extended Chao family would be an important source of political cash for Mr. McConnell...The extended Chao family is among the top donors to the Republican Party of Kentucky, giving a combined $525,000 over two decades.” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
"In all, from 1989 through 2018, 13 members of the extended Chao family gave a combined $1.66 million to Republican candidates and committees, including $1.1 million to Mr. McConnell and political action committees tied to him" nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
"In 2008, Ms. Chao’s father gave the couple a gift valued between $5 million and $25 million...Mr. McConnell, never a wealthy man, vaulted up the moneyed rankings in the Senate; as of 2018 he was the 10th wealthiest senator" nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
"Mr. McConnell has also participated in Chao family events and trips related to the family’s business and charitable giving. In 1993, he and Ms. Chao traveled with her father to Beijing at the invitation of China State Shipbuilding and met top officials." nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/…
“Mr. McConnell’s connection to the family was hard to miss when a reporter recently visited the Foremost headquarters in Manhattan. There, in the reception area, were two gray pillows emblazoned with the seal of the United States Senate.” nytimes.com/2019/06/02/us/… 
