Politics

JUST IN: Infamous Democrat Senator Embroiled In New Scandal

Published

3 days ago

March 27, 2025

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, already notorious for falsely claiming to have served in Vietnam, is now facing renewed scrutiny over his family’s troubling connections to Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked entities.

A Fox News Digital review has revealed that Blumenthal’s brother-in-law, Anthony “Tony” Malkin—CEO of Empire State Realty Trust and a key figure in a sprawling real estate empire—has a long and cozy history of hosting Chinese diplomats and recruiting CCP-tied businesses to lease space in the iconic Empire State Building.

Malkin, a Harvard graduate and the brother of Blumenthal’s wife Cynthia, has reportedly met with numerous Chinese consuls general over the past 15 years, while also striking leasing agreements with Chinese state-affiliated firms, including Air China, telecommunications giant PCCW-HKT, and even People’s Daily Online—an arm of the CCP’s propaganda machine.

In a 2011 China Daily profile, Malkin openly acknowledged traveling to China “to find tenants,” reportedly sealing leases with the aforementioned companies. The China Media Project noted that People’s Daily Online runs the Chinese Communist Party News Network and mandates its employees love the party.

Lviv, Ukraine – Februrary 23, 2024: US Senator Richard Blumenthal during a press conference in Lviv, Ukraine.

Though People’s Daily Online left the Empire State Building years ago, Air China and others remain, with one firm—Hong Kong-based Li & Fung Ltd—currently occupying more than 149,000 square feet and paying over $8.3 million annually in rent, according to a 2024 financial report reviewed by Fox News. Notably, Victor Fung, a leader within Li & Fung, served for years on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory group described as a central mechanism of CCP influence.

Malkin’s empire even launched a “China business desk” to handle growing demand from Chinese entities and worked with Chinese tour groups—a move his company now disputes.

An Empire State Realty Trust spokesperson claimed, “Mr. Malkin had never seen this 2011 article,” despite multiple quotes attributed to him at the time.

And the connections don’t stop at leases. Chinese consuls general have routinely praised Malkin, appearing at lighting ceremonies where the Empire State Building was bathed in “Chinese Red” to mark everything from the Lunar New Year to the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

CHEN Li, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in New York

In 2023, Chinese diplomat Huang Ping stood side-by-side with Malkin to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, just one of many photo ops over the years that tie Malkin to officials tasked with pushing Beijing’s narrative on U.S. soil. One of those officials, Huang Ping, has publicly denied China’s genocide of Uyghur Muslims.

His successor, Consul General Chen Li—who was recently photographed with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg—posted that he looked forward to “working with Tony to promote connections and friendship between our peoples!”

A spokesperson told Fox News, “Senator Blumenthal’s wife is one of literally thousands of shareholders in a publicly traded real estate company, and just like the rest of those shareholders, she doesn’t have control over anything this company does. Senator Blumenthal has absolutely nothing to do with any of this.”