FBI Cracks Major Chinese Spy Ring Targeting U.S. Troops, Bongino Confirms
In a stunning national security revelation, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced Thursday that federal agents have successfully dismantled a sophisticated Chinese espionage network operating inside the United States — one that was actively targeting American military personnel for recruitment.
Bongino, in a statement shared on X, detailed that the FBI executed eight search warrants and made two arrests in coordinated operations across San Francisco, Houston, Portland, and San Diego. He described the spy ring as “complex” and “directly connected to the Chinese government,” emphasizing the scale and depth of Beijing’s infiltration efforts.
“This is your FBI, and you deserve to know about the work we’re doing every day to keep our country and citizens safe,” Bongino said.
The bust comes on the heels of a series of espionage cases earlier this year in which U.S. Army soldiers were charged with leaking classified information to the People’s Republic of China. Bongino described these incidents as “treason-adjacent espionage,” underscoring the seriousness of the threat.
According to the FBI, the network’s mission was to steal U.S. defense secrets and cutting-edge military technologies, including missile and drone systems. Agents also uncovered evidence that the operatives were engaged in surveillance and intimidation campaigns against individuals on U.S. soil.
Since the start of 2025, the FBI has arrested 51 foreign intelligence operatives linked to adversarial nations including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The charges span a wide range of crimes — from economic espionage and sanctions evasion to the theft of classified materials and smuggling of biological agents.
Bongino revealed that the bureau currently has nearly 5,000 active counterintelligence cases, with over 800 new investigations launched just this year.
“We typically work behind the scenes in this space,” he said. “But we understand we need to rebuild your trust in the FBI and learn from past mistakes.”
He noted that, in a move toward transparency, the bureau has declassified thousands of pages of counterintelligence documents and shared them with Congress to restore public confidence.
“God bless America, and all those who defend Her,” Bongino concluded.
However, the announcement comes amid internal tension within the Justice Department. Bongino has recently been the focus of speculation about his future at the FBI following reports of frustration over how the Jeffrey Epstein investigation was handled.
According to The Post, Bongino returned to work Monday after considering resignation last week due to a heated disagreement with Attorney General Pam Bondi over the management of the Epstein case. Sources told CNN that Bongino, 50, took a personal day on Friday before resuming his duties, though uncertainty remains over his long-term role within the agency.
The FBI and the Department of Justice this week delivered a report summarizing their internal review of Epstein’s case, following the financier’s death in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019.
The release of the review has reignited divisions within former President Trump’s MAGA movement, with some supporters backing Bongino had he chosen to resign in protest over what they see as a continued lack of transparency in the Epstein investigation.
Bongino, who has long expressed skepticism about the completeness of the Epstein files, previously suggested that key details surrounding the case were deliberately obscured.
Meanwhile, Epstein’s former attorney, David Schoen, recently pushed back against speculation linking Trump to Epstein’s alleged client network. Schoen, who represented Epstein in the final weeks before his death, publicly stated in June that the disgraced financier had “no information whatsoever” implicating Trump.
“I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein’s defense nine days before he died,” Schoen said in a post on X. “He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!”
The FBI’s latest counterintelligence victory — coupled with the ongoing controversy surrounding its leadership — underscores the high-stakes tension between national security priorities and public trust in America’s top law enforcement agency.
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