House Intel Chair Warns of Hidden Foreign Campaigns to Deepen U.S. Divisions Reclaiming Integrity in an Era of Invisible Influence Wars

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) has issued a sweeping warning about a new kind of national security threat — one where foreign governments and domestic actors overlap so seamlessly that it becomes difficult to tell where outside manipulation ends and homegrown division begins. According to Crawford, America’s intelligence community must undergo serious modernization if it hopes to confront this evolving landscape.

In an interview with Just the News, Crawford said that the United States is facing pressure from “a whole network” of both state and non-state operatives who exploit political tensions and ideological fractures across the country. “We’ve seen malign influence from China, Russia, Iran,” he explained. “But there are also non-state actors who work indirectly on behalf of nation-states. They’re manipulating divides within parties and within communities.”

Crawford described this threat as a “quiet battlefield” — a war waged not with soldiers, but with misinformation campaigns, cyber intrusions, covert funding streams, and emotional manipulation delivered through algorithms and online movements. “Imagine Russia bankrolling a wave of cyberattacks,” he said. “Or China activating networks of people in the U.S. who still feel a strong allegiance to the mother country. China is absolutely trying to exploit that vulnerability.”

Because the threat is so diffuse, Crawford argues that America needs what he calls a “whole-of-nation counterintelligence ethic.” Reacting to damage after it occurs is no longer enough. Institutions must learn to detect and intercept foreign influence before it takes root. He praised FBI Director Kash Patel for beginning a cultural shift inside the Bureau and urged the broader intelligence community to adopt reforms that match the complexity of modern threats.

Crawford pointed to recent cases involving Chinese nationals in Michigan and an attempted hack on U.N. phone systems — not as isolated incidents, but as examples of an increasingly interconnected web of foreign interference. He noted that even intelligence agencies without arrest authority still hold critical roles. “They can flip assets, map networks, and help us understand how foreign powers build influence here,” he said.

This call for reform coincides with intensified actions inside the Treasury Department, IRS, and FBI to trace foreign money flowing through American nonprofits — what some officials describe as a newer, softer kind of warfare. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently spoke about these efforts, comparing them to the determination that once drove the pursuit of the 9/11 masterminds. “We’re operationalizing Treasury to follow the sources of domestic destabilization,” Bessent said. “We’re tracing how much influence is funded from abroad and how much is being moved through U.S. nonprofits. This is mission-critical.”

FBI Director Patel reinforced that philosophy, emphasizing that financial trails often reveal what political rhetoric conceals. “We are following the money,” he said. He confirmed ongoing investigations into extremist movements, anarchist collectives, attacks on ICE agents, and foreign-funded antisemitic campaigns appearing on university campuses. Patel also highlighted a growing partnership between investigators, independent reporters, and local observers. These collaborations, he said, help document activities in places where federal agencies have limited visibility. “They’re helping us map the networks,” Patel added. “That information is invaluable.”

Yet behind all the warnings and intelligence reforms lies a deeper dilemma: How does a free society stay vigilant without falling into paranoia? Crawford believes the answer is not only technological but moral. He suggests that America must rebuild a culture rooted in integrity, clarity, and shared civic purpose. If truth becomes murky and outrage becomes currency, adversaries have an open door. But if the public values discernment over division, and unity over fear, foreign influence loses much of its power.

In Crawford’s view, the greatest reforms America needs aren’t solely institutional — they’re spiritual. Security begins with a nation refusing to be manipulated. It begins with rebuilding trust, reestablishing honesty as a civic expectation, and recognizing that the deepest strength of a democracy lies not in the walls it builds, but in the conscience it keeps.