The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles told congressional investigators last week that China is “trying to influence our elections” — at the same time Golden State Gov. Gavin Newsom was traveling through the US adversary and marveling at its electric vehicle manufacturing.
US Attorney Martin Estrada was explaining in a transcribed interview with the House Judiciary Committee Oct. 24 why he didn’t meet with investigators looking into potential charges against first son Hunter Biden.
“We have the largest district in the country. We have a fentanyl epidemic which is one of the worst in the country. We’ve done more death-resulting cases than any other district in the country. We’re on pace to do more this year than we ever had before,” Estrada recited, according to a transcript seen by The Post.
“We’ve got a violent crime epidemic with firearms …We have a National Security Section, a division, unlike most other offices, because we’re the gateway to Asia,” he added. “And we have the People’s Republic of China trying to influence our elections, trying to target some of our individuals. We have a lot of high-profile cases. We have a Public Corruption Section which has indicted three City Council members in the past few years and including the sitting sheriff of Los Angeles County. There are a lot of high-profile cases, so I don’t meet with attorneys on every single high-profile case.”
Estrada, who also claimed he was too “resource-strapped” to pursue the case against the first son, did not elaborate on the election claim.
That same day, Newsom — seen by many as a potential contender for a future Democratic presidential nomination — visited the Chinese city of Shenzhen and touted the world’s first purported zero-emission bus fleet.
“The Greater Bay Area of China — a mega-region with millions of people — proves what can be done by moving from ambition to action: rapidly transitioning to an all-electric bus and taxi fleet with the infrastructure to support it,” the governor said in a statement. “We’re proud to have a partner like Guangdong [Province] in our efforts to make the tailpipe a thing of the past.”
When asked about Estrada’s comments Wednesday, Newsom’s team pointed The Post to a statement from Anthony York, an adviser to the governor.
“There were issues the Biden administration did want us to raise, and this was not one of them,” York said.
The trip earned Newsom blowback from conservatives and liberals alike, but the governor stood by his decision to make the journey.
“I don’t want to go to war with China!” he explained to Fox 11 Los Angeles Monday.
During his visit, Newsom spent roughly 45 minutes meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, eschewing the chance to discuss human rights issues in the Communist nation.
“I had the opportunity to talk about the most important issue in our lives!” Newsom told the station, referring to climate change.
Newsom also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng. He said the meeting with Wang was the “appropriate venue” to “communicate a more nuanced and detailed explanation of our points of view on the issues of human rights.”
The 56-year-old governor also found time to play some pickup basketball, during which he accidentally trucked a small child.
The trip was funded by the non-profit California State Protocol Foundation, according to Newsom’s office.
Xi is expected to travel to San Francisco later this month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, where he will likely meet with President Biden.
The trip will also mark the first time Xi has set foot on US soil since 2017, when he visited then-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
In recent months, top US officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo have embarked on diplomatic missions to China.
Last month, Biden met with Wang, China’s top diplomat.
Newsom has refrained from mounting a 2024 primary challenge against Biden and has publicly endorsed the incumbent president.
Meanwhile, he has continued to burnish his national profile by crashing the second 2024 Republican primary debate in late September and announcing plans to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30.