Longtime congressional staffer Barbara Jenell Hamlett was fired by her boss, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., after she allegedly began working with the Chinese embassy to set up meetings with other offices, the National Review reported.
On Tuesday, the House sergeant-at-arms informed Beyer's office of the alleged impropriety following an investigation. Upon being notified of the fact, Beyer fired Hamlett.
"Congressman Beyer was totally unaware of these activities prior to being contacted by the House sergeant-at-arms," Aaron Fritschner, Beyer's deputy chief of staff, said.
"As soon as he learned of them, he followed every directive he was given by security officials. The staffer in question is no longer employed by the office of Congressman Beyer."
Hamlett, according to her LinkedIn profile, has worked in congressional offices since the 1970s, including for the late Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; former Democrat Reps. Diane Watson of California and Charlie Rangel of New York; and Democrat Reps. Mike Honda of California and Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas.
The National Review reports that in recent months Hamlett had reportedly gone out of her way to email, call and show up at other congressional offices, inviting their staffers to meetings with Chinese embassy officials.
Two of the alleged meetings were reportedly scheduled "in the context of meals," according to National Review.
But apparently, the "meals" alarmed congressional office staffers enough that they contacted the House sergeant-at-arms to investigate. Upon learning of the matter, the sergeant-at-arms reportedly called federal counterintelligence authorities.
One congressional aide recounted to the National Review how Hamlett came to his office, asking him to "step out into the hallway," to inform him that she is "friends with the [Chinese] embassy and that they have been trying to get contact with me."
After agreeing to a meeting over coffee, the aide said Hamlett sat at a separate table with a female Chinese embassy official. At the same time, he had a "one-on-one discussion with a male embassy staffer," who reportedly didn't like a single piece of legislation introduced by his boss.
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