By Hayden Cunningham – The Postmillennial
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has fired a State Department Foreign Service officer who admitted in an undercover video from O’Keefe Media Group, that he had a romantic relationship with a woman linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
A statement from the State Department confirmed that Daniel Choi, a Foreign Service officer, was terminated following presidential approval from Donald Trump.
“Today, after Presidential review and approval, the Secretary of State has terminated a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) who concealed a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” the department said.
The statement noted that under an executive order, “all officers or employees charged with implementing the foreign policy of the United States must under Article II do so under the direction and authority of the president. Failure to faithfully implement the president’s policy is grounds for professional discipline, including separation.”
A State Department spokesperson told O’Keefe Media Group that this is the first time in US history a dismissal of this kind has occurred.
In the undercover recording, Choi admitted to knowingly violating security protocols by hiding his relationship with a senior Chinese Communist Party official’s daughter.
“I defied my government for love,” Choi said in the video.
“Her dad was, like, either a provincial or a federal minister of education,” he continued. “So he’s like, straight up Communist party.”
Choi admitted he never filed the required disclosure and acknowledged that his partner “could have been a spy.”
“She could have been a spy, even. I don’t know,” he told the OMG undercover journalist.