An investigation found that Rep. Don Beyer’s scheduler was also working for China Embassy to organize meetings between Capitol Hill staffers, the embassy, and Capitol Hill staffers about bills they were interested in.
National Review reported the story Friday morning:
A source familiar with the matter said that the House sergeant (SAA) notified Beyer’s office Tuesday about Hamlett’s request for meetings with different congressional offices to represent the Chinese Embassy. After other staffers had reported that Hamlett had contacted them, the SAA’s office requested two meetings “in the context” meals.
Barbara Hamlett was the scheduler. She persevered in getting staff members to meet with Chinese Embassy staff
According to NR, a congressional aide claimed that Hamlett called his desk after ignoring numerous emails from Chinese embassy personnel requesting a meeting about one of his boss’s bills. The man then approached him personally and asked him to meet outside.
“So she enters my office and asks me to let her out onto the hallway. She claims that she is a friend of the Embassy and has been trying to contact me. Under the condition of anonymity, the congressional aide said that she wanted to arrange a lunch.
Hamlett wasn’t present at the June meeting. NR was told that Hamlett sat with a female embassy staffer at a separate table, and the aide talked one-on-one with a male embassy employee about “one of my bosses’ bills.” They don’t like it.
She organized meetings to harass and intimidate congressional staffers regarding bills China does not like.
Beyer was one of the most hawkish Dems within Congress about China. He didn’t realize this until Tuesday.
His deputy head of staff, Aaron Fritschner said in a statement that Congressman Beyer did not know anything about the activities. Congressman Beyer’s office has since fired the employee.
These directives said that the SAA should wait to contact federal counterintelligence officers. They began investigating Hamlett’s activities and found that she attempted to facilitate meetings between congressional staff members and Chinese Embassy staff at most two Republican Congressmen.
National Review was told by a spokesperson from Beyer that he was an outspoken critic of China’s human right record, including the crackdown on Hong Kong, their oppression, and persecution of the Muslim Uyghur population in Xinjiang, and as such, he would continue to support Tibet.
While Congressman Beyer was not aware of the actions taken by this staffer, he responded quickly to their inquiry. He promised his constituents that he would continue to be a strong critic and resist the CCP’s totalitarian oppression.
According to the National Review article, Hamlett is a Capitol Hill veteran of 34 years. A glance at Hamlett’s LinkedIn raises questions. All spellings and punctuation are correct.
Barbara Jenell Hamlett is my name. After thirty years of service, I retired from the U.S. Congress in 2008. As you can see, my experience includes working for many veterans of Congress, such as Senator Arlen Smith, recently retired Rep. Diane Watson, current Democratic National Committee Vice Chair, Rep. Mike Honda, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, Rep. Charles Rangel, and Rep. Charles Rangel, where I started my career on The Hill in 1978 shortly after graduating with a Bachelors in Political Science from George Mason University.
Hamlett was eligible to retire in 2008 and has not been paid since 2015. Hamlett took her retirement in 2008. She is no longer working for any payments until 2015. The $61,500/year wage could have been too much.
National Review reported that Hamlett, as the scheduler, didn’t have access to sensitive national security data. However, Hamlett knew the names of Beyer, the chair of the Joint Economic Committee, as well as of the Space Subcommittee of the Science, Space, Technology Committee. All that information could easily have been communicated to the Chinese government.
