Daniel Choi, a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, was fired after he was caught on hidden camera admitting to having a secret romantic relationship with the daughter of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) affiliate, who he said “could have been a spy.”
“I defied my government for love,” Choi told one of James O’Keefe’s undercover journalists while on hidden camera. Choi’s admission was then made public by O’Keefe Media Group (OMG).
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded by recommending Choi’s termination to President Donald Trump, who approved the decision.
“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 Community Party,” the State Department said on Wednesday.
A Department spokesperson told OMG that to their knowledge, this firing marks the first time such an action was taken, citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14211 for making the termination possible.
Executive Order 14211 states that “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,” President Trump’s executive order adds.
In its announcement of Choi’s termination, the State Department added, “The FSO admitted to concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national, whom, he said on camera, ‘could have been a spy.’ He also said that her father was ‘straight up Communist Party.’”
“The FSO was required to report this contact to Department security officials, but said, ‘I defied my government for love,’” the Department added. “Accordingly, the Secretary recommended that the FSO be separated for failing to faithfully implement the President’s foreign policy.”
Notably, while on OMG’s hidden camera, Choi also told the undercover journalist, “Her dad was, like, either a provincial or a federal minister of education. So he’s, like, straight-up Communist Party,” adding, “She could have been a spy, even, I don’t even know.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
