The University of Michigan is in the crosshairs of the Education Department over potential unreported foreign funding and influence that the Trump administration has linked to "agroterrorism."
The government has notified the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based university that it has opened a "foreign funding investigation" after a review of the university's financials, "revealed inaccurate and incomplete disclosures."
Education Department's chief investigative counsel, Paul Moore, said tens of millions of dollars "have been reported in an untimely manner," but further, "appear to erroneously identify some of UM's foreign funders as nongovernmental entities, even though the foreign funders seem to be directly affiliated with foreign governments."
The heightened scrutiny follows a Chinese national University of Michigan researcher and her boyfriend being charged with smuggling a dangerous fungus into the U.S., labeled by the Trump administration as a "potential agroterrorism weapon."
FBI Director Kash Patel posted about the case and said it is "a sobering reminder that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences ... putting American lives and our economy at serious risk."
The Education Department has given the University of Michigan 30 days to come up with the complete list of required documents to verify its funding and potential sources of influence.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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