Joe Lieberman Called Chinese Telecom Giant ZTE a National Security Threat. Now He's a Lobbyist for I

Joseph Lieberman, the former Connecticut senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate, is working for a company he once called a national security threat.

In November, Lieberman registered as a lobbyist for ZTE, a Chinese telecom giant with close links to the country’s government.

The ex-senator told Politico that, despite his registration, he wouldn’t actually be lobbying for the firm. Rather, he hoped to “raise the level of trust in ZTE.” Lieberman certainly should understand the trust deficit the company faces. In 2010, he signed a letter saying ZTE and another Chinese telecom company, Huawei, could threaten American national security.

“We are very concerned that these companies are being financed by the Chinese government and are potentially subject to significant influence by the Chinese military which may create an opportunity for manipulation of switches, routers, or software embedded in American telecommunications network so that communications can be disrupted, intercepted, tampered with, or purposely misrouted,” the letter said. “This would pose a real threat to our national security.”

The letter, sent to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, also raised concerns about ZTE’s close links to the Chinese military.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-lieberman-called-chinese-telecom-giant-zte-a-national-security-threat-now-hes-a-lobbyist-for-it