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The FBI has held classified briefings warning a handful of U.S. lawmakers that the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] is working to create fake stories to portray them in a negative light because of their hawkish views of Beijing and support for Taiwan, two U.S. officials familiar with the briefing said.

The U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the briefings, said that one of the false stories being concocted by the CCP, cited by FBI briefers, is that these lawmakers are espousing pro-Taiwan views because they were taking “bribes” from Taiwan.

“The CCP is trying to undermine congressional support for Taiwan’s democracy, to paint it as corrupt and not in the American public interest,” one of the two U.S. officials told NBC News. “It will not work.”

The officials said the briefings occurred in the fall.

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Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the chairman of the select House committee on the CCP, had no comment about any specific plot by the CCP, but said it was no secret Beijing has been targeting U.S. officials and other Americans.

“The CCP will try to discredit our way of life, our freedoms and will use every means necessary,” Moolenaar told NBC News. “So you know, whether it’s hacking high-level officials’ communications, we can expect all these things.”

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