House Democratic Counselor Barbara Hamlett was fired for allegedly collaborating with the Chinese embassy

A longtime congressional staffer has been fired by her boss, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), after it was revealed she was allegedly working with the Chinese embassy to set up meetings with other offices.

An investigation by the House Sergeant at Arms uncovered the employee’s alleged impropriety and informed Beyer’s office on Tuesday. The employee was subsequently fired, according to the National Review.

“Congressman Beyer was completely unaware of these activities until he was contacted by the House Sergeant At Arms,” ​​Aaron Fritschner, Beyer’s deputy chief of staff, told National Review.

“As soon as he found out about them, he followed every order given to him by security officials. The employee in question is no longer employed in Congressman Beyer’s office,” Fritschner added.

Beyer’s former assistant, identified as Barbara Hamlett, has worked in convention bureaus since the 1970s, according to her LinkedIn page.

She was a planner in Beyer’s office and has previously worked for lawmakers including the late Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), former Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and former MP Charlie Rangel (D-NY).

Hamlett has reportedly emailed, phoned and turned up at other congressional offices in recent months to invite staffers to meetings with Chinese embassy officials.

Two of the proposed meetings were reportedly “meal-related,” according to National Review, including one at Charlie Palmer Steak, a popular DC steakhouse.

The inquiries apparently alarmed staffers at the other congressional offices so much that they contacted the Sergeant at Arms’ office to investigate. The Sergeant at Arms reportedly contacted federal counterintelligence agencies on the matter.

A congressional aide told National Review that Hamlett walked into his office and asked him “to step out in the hallway,” where she told him she “is friends with him.” [Chinese] Embassy and that they tried to contact me.”

After agreeing to a coffee meeting, the aide said Hamlett was seated at another table with a female Chinese embassy official while he had a “one-on-one conversation with a male embassy employee” who didn’t like a law introduced by the chief of staff.

The Post has reached out to the House Sergeant at Arms for comment.