Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden is calling for an investigation into any foreign donations and gifts listed as contributions to the Penn Biden Center.
Gooden is sending a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about the agency’s decision to exclude important data about foreign donations to universities from its online database. The Biden administration has failed to list donor names in a break from previous administrations.
American universities that receive federal grants are legally required to disclose foreign gifts of $250,000 or more to the Education Department under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, Gooden writes in the letter.
“This new policy of hiding the identities of foreign entities that financially influence American universities raises concerns of malign foreign influence and encourages a toxic web of dark money and corruption,” Gooden says in the letter.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“On day one, the Biden Administration broke its promise to run the most transparent government in history by conveniently withdrawing a policy of publishing the identities of foreign donors to American universities. Now it’s clear why, since the Penn Biden Center likely received financial contributions from Chinese entities while simultaneously storing classified documents,” Gooden told the Daily Caller.
“This administration continues to jeopardize our national security by disregarding crucial policies that protect the American people from malign foreign influence, and we must investigate the damage caused by President Biden’s negligence,” Gooden added.
Since President Biden took office, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), the home of Biden’s think tank, has received millions in anonymous Chinese donations, according to the Washington Free Beacon. (RELATED: Hunter Biden Said He Paid Nearly $50,000 A Month To Live At House Where Classified Docs Were Discovered, Document Shows)
UPenn has received a combined $51 million in foreign funding, which includes $14 million from unnamed donors from China and Hong Kong, the outlet reported. It has also received $2.4 million from Saudi Arabia and $1 million from the Cayman Islands since Biden took office.
Chinese donors provided $61 million in foreign funding to UPenn from 2017 – 2020, when Biden did not hold political office. UPenn says the Biden Center did not receive donations from foreign entities, the Free Beacon reported.
At least 10 classified documents were identified at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement’s offices in Washington, D.C., CBS News reported Jan. 10. A second set of classified documents were found at Biden’s Delaware home and the Justice Department has announced a Special Counsel to investigate the situation.