WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a startling development, FBI Director Kash Patel has declassified and delivered an internal intelligence report to Congress that alleges China orchestrated a covert operation in 2020 to influence the U.S. presidential election by flooding the voter system with fraudulent mail-in ballots.
According to Just the News, the FBI intelligence—originating in August 2020—was classified and circulated among federal agencies before quietly being recalled “before [it] could be fully investigated.” The report, now in the hands of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, outlines a plan by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to mass-produce counterfeit U.S. driver’s licenses and import them into the U.S. The objective: to establish illicit voter identities and submit ballots in favor of Joe Biden.
Director Patel stated in a message posted on X that the documents “detail alarming allegations related to the 2020 U.S. election,” and emphasized that he “immediately declassified the material and turned the documents over to Chairman Grassley for further review.”
Key takeaways from the Just the News report include:
A confidential FBI source in August 2020 disclosed that the CCP had begun producing fake U.S. driver’s licenses for the purpose of creating voter registrations and mail-in ballots.
Just the News notes that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted nearly 20,000 counterfeit driver’s licenses destined for the U.S. in mid-2020—potentially corroborating elements of the intelligence.
Officials familiar with the intelligence told Just the News that the report was recalled within weeks and never fully pursued, despite the CBP seizure.
The intelligence explicitly states that these forged documents were intended to supply mail-in ballots “to facilitate fraudulent mail‑in ballots”—allegations which, while substantiated, were abruptly recalled and never disclosed to the public.
Just the News's investigative coverage first surfaced the story, reporting that Senator Grassley “had first raised concerns to the bureau that the intelligence hadn’t been fully vetted… but was dismissed even though there was evidence of the fake licenses.”
In reaction, Patel applauded Grassley's vigilance, saying, “Thanks to the oversight work and partnership of Chairman Grassley, the FBI continues to provide unprecedented transparency at the people’s Bureau.” Grassley’s office confirmed receipt of the documents and indicated that further investigation is underway, with efforts focused on determining why the report was recalled and who made that decision.
Implications and Next Steps
The revelation of a potential CCP-backed scheme to manipulate U.S. mail-in ballots adds a new dimension to concerns about foreign interference, particularly at a time when global powers historically focused on cyber-espionage or propaganda.
Senator Grassley is reportedly pressing for the full intelligence file and additional documents to validate the claims and trace the decision to withdraw the report from circulation.
Critics of the FBI under Director Patel have seized upon the episode to call attention to past controversies, including handling of the Epstein files and questions around transparency. Supporters argue Patel is promoting an essential new era of openness.
