Thread by @MatthewFoldi

SCOOP from me @TheSpectator:

Based directly on my reporting on the Chinese Communist Party and @WashWizards working together, lawmakers, along with hero @EnesFreedom wrote to @NBA commissioner Adam Silver demanding answers on their $$$ ties

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(1/xx)

https://twitter.com/MatthewFoldi/status/1618290753914155011

#TX22's @RepTroyNehls was the point guard, so to speak, along with @EnesFreedom on this letter to @NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

Joining him are:

#FLSEN @SenMarcoRubio and @SenRickScott
#MOSEN @Eric_Schmitt
#AKSEN @SenDanSullivan
#OK01 @repkevinhern
#FL19 @RepDonaldsPress… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Members of @HouseGOP and @SenateGOP, along with basketball star @EnesFreedom, are demanding answers from @NBA about its financial relationship with the Chinese Communist Party following an “in-your-face” display of CCP soft power in DC.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(3/xx)

Following reporting @TheSpectator, 8 congressmen and 4 senators wrote to @NBA commissioner Adam Silver to express “grave concerns about Chinese Communist Party propaganda being broadcasted and promoted at National Basketball Association games.”

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(4/xx)

The letter, led by #TX22 @RepTroyNehls and endorsed by NBA center-turned human rights activist @EnesFreedom, is an attempt to get to the bottom of how China was able to take over a @washwizards game and play a speech from its foreign minister.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(5/xx)

“I’m proud to have led a bicameral letter to the Commissioner of the NBA to address recently recorded messages of Communist Chinese propaganda inside an NBA arena in Washington, DC,” #TX22's @RepTroyNehls told me.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(6/xx)

The tough-talking former sheriff @RepTroyNehls had no kind words to say about @NBA. “By continuing to appease the CCP, it emboldens them to further profit off continued human rights abuse and gives them a platform to exert their influence in our nation’s thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The letter was prompted by my reporting @TheSpectator, which detailed how @AmbQinGang, gave his first ever public address in his new role as foreign minister @WashWizards, where he wished his captive audience a happy Chinese New Year in a video address subsequently blasted out by… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

In addition to Qin’s speech, the arena itself was transformed into a major soft power coup for China.

As I reported at the time @TheSpectator, “during the timeouts in the game, the Chinese Embassy boasted that ‘the staff tossed many Chinese zodiac rabbits to the audience and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The Republicans are indicating that this letter will actually have teeth to it, now that they are in a meaningful oversight role on the @HouseGOP side.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(10/xx)

#UT04's @RepBurgessOwens, a Super Bowl-winning former NFL player, told me that “Republicans will get to the bottom of this incident and root out the CCP’s malign and dangerous influence… why would prominent officials from the CCP be given a platform to thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

To that end, the Republicans in both chambers of Congress have three demands from Silver: they want to know how much the CCP paid to have its new foreign minister deliver a speech at Capital One Arena; whether the NBA “willingly broadcast CCP propaganda or was this a favor… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

The last question in particular likely resonates with @EnesFreedom, who many believe was blacklisted by the NBA following his frequent criticisms of the league’s cozy financial relationship with China.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(13/xx)

During @EnesFreedom's NBA career, he frequently took aim at China with his cleats, wearing messages like “Free Hong Kong,” “Hypocrite Nike,” “Free China” and “Made with slave labor” on them. In one instance, Kanter Freedom was playing against @KingJames, thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Qin’s January speech that the Republicans are focusing on was just the latest in a series of video addresses he’s given at Capital One Arena.

In one instance, @ChuckRossDC and I reported @FreeBeacon that Qin showed up on the arena’s jumbotron during a freebeacon.com/national-secur…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

#OK01's @RepKevinHern, who chairs @RepublicanStudy, signed on to @RepTroyNehls's letter but indicated to me that Chinese investment in any American entertainment is a red flag for him. “CCP propaganda has no place in American entertainment, least of all in thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

#MT01's @RepRyanZinke, a former Navy SEAL, also signed @RepTroyNehls's letter, and put this CCP soft power into a broader context that includes, you guessed it, the Chinese spy balloon that flew over his state, on its cross country joyride.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(17/xx)

“The Chinese have a deliberate plan to inject themselves in the inner workings of the U.S. whether it’s buying up farmland, taking advantage of our open borders, or floating a UFO across our skies.” #MT01's @RepRyanZinke–a potential #MTSEN thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

“But playing a PRC promo from their minister of foreign affairs at an NBA game is just about as in-your-face as it gets. Basketball fans deserve to know if they are signing up to be a theater audience for the CCP and the NBA should be transparent in their thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Given the frequency with which Qin appears on the court and on the jumbotron at Capital One Arena, it’s likely only a matter of time before he’s back. The next time, however, @HouseGOP and @SenateGOP will be watching.

thespectator.com/topic/gop-answ…

(20/xx)

NEW: @EnesFreedom shares @RepTroyNehls letter that he was a driving force behind

(21/xx)

https://twitter.com/EnesFreedom/status/1634282580093566976