Could this cast doubt on the integrity of Clyburn’s vote?
According to a report from The Washington Examiner, a charity tied to South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn accepted checks from ByteDance — the Chinese-owned parent company of social media app and privacy concern TikTok.
The Clyburn-tied charity to the checks before the House of Representatives voted on whether or not to pass a bill that would force ByteDance to divest from the popular app.
According to The Examiner, “The veteran House Democrat in March diverged from his ally President Joe Biden, who supports anti-TikTok legislation, in opposing the bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which may lead to TikTok being banned in the United States over national security concerns from lawmakers. Clyburn, who has personally received campaign donations from TikTok’s lobbying army, saw at least $40,000 in recent years flood into a nonprofit organization affiliated with him from ByteDance, according to congressional lobbying disclosures.”
Strong incentive to vote “No” on the bill.
“We can’t say for a fact that his position is due to the money, but it’s perfectly reasonable to be concerned about financial incentives leading to political incentives,” said Ryan Mauro, a national security analyst and investigative researcher for the conservative Capital Research Center think tank. “Generally, it’s concerning how politicians often take positions they otherwise might not at the expense of the country they’re supposed to represent.”
A TikTok spox declined to comment on the specifics of the relationship between Clyburn and ByteDance and if the financial incentive swayed the South Carolina Rep’s vote.
“This was a donation to a 501(c)(3) organization that provides need-based scholarships to students hoping to go to college,” TikTok spokeswoman Jodi Seth said.
Clyburn, 83, told the Washington Examiner last week that his opposition to the TikTok bill is due to concern about “singling out one company but ignoring the transgressions of others.”
I guess we’ll just have to take his word for it.
