Matt Gaetz Cites ‘China’s Fox News’ in Push to Stop Ukraine Aid

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) brought literal Chinese propaganda to a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday in his push to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Florida Republican looked like he thought he was going in for the kill as he whipped out an “investigative report” by the Global Times to enter into the record. He cited the report to grill Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, on whether Ukraine’s Azov Battalion—the Kremlin’s favorite bogeyman—was getting access to U.S. weapons. But Wahl reacted calmly to the congressman’s spiel, asking: “‘Is this the Global Times from China?” “No, this is... ” Gaetz said, before admitting, ”Yeah, it might be. Yeah.” After Kahl told the congressman that he doesn’t “take Beijing’s propaganda at face value,” Gaetz conceded: “‘Fair enough.” The newspaper, popularly referred to as “China’s Fox News,” is a well-known government mouthpiece. Before speaking to Kahl, Gaetz spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to get Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch to admit that the Biden administration somehow lost track of funding sent to Ukraine.