When the Biden administration nominated Michael Sfraga to be special ambassador to the Arctic, he failed to disclose his deep history with Russia and China, Fox News wrote in a news story.
The Senate voted on Alaskan Michael Sfraga’s confirmation Tuesday, after Sen. Lisa Murkowski continued to push for his confirmation, but with the objection of many Republicans who are worried about his ties to China and Russia, where he has traveled and spoken extensively at conferences over the years.
Sfraga’s nomination by President Joe Biden had been pending for more than a year, while Sen. Murkowski worked hard to get it on the floor. The chairman of the Polar Institute and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Sfraga is now in charge of leading diplomatic relations between the eight Arctic nations of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Russia. Each of those countries also has its own U.S. ambassador, and Sfraga is an ambassador at large.
Ambassadors at Large to deal with specific foreign policy issues, rather than nation-to-nation relations.
But his ties to Russia and China led Sen. Jim Risch, Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, to write a letter in 2023 asking the FBI for help in vetting Sfraga, Fox News Digital wrote.
Sfraga “negotiated joint partnerships with Chinese academic institutions tied to defense and intelligence services and spoke glowingly about the two U.S. adversaries in interviews for different publications – all of which he failed to reveal until confronted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff.”
According to Fox, Sfraga had to update his disclosures three times, claiming he had forgotten to mention his record of trips and collaboration with Chinese and Russian leaders.
Risch had placed a hold on Sfraga’s nomination for months, which prompted Republican infighting, the news story said.
“Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R–Alaska, recommended Sfraga to the Biden administration, and she defended him to the committee. ‘If there is any challenge that you have as a committee, it’s that his expertise in the Arctic is so voluminous,’ she said. ‘It takes a while to wade through all of it.;”
Sfraga was also at the center of creating memorandums of understanding for partnerships between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Chinese universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which has been designated a “high threat” due to its high-level defense research and alleged ties to cyberattacks, Fox wrote.
That partnership included access to UAF’s computers, as well as policy and legal reviews on any Arctic region subject, in addition to research and exchange programs, the news story says.
Read the full report at this link.
Although Murkowski pushed hard for his confirmation by the Senate and was overjoyed at the result of Democrats voting for her choice of Arctic ambassador, Sen. Dan Sullivan was in New York City during the vote and thus did not cast a ballot, as he was serving as the Republican representative to the United Nations.
It’s uncertain that Sfraga will remain as ambassador under a Trump Administration, as Murkowski has no pull with her deep adversary, Donald Trump.
God forbid we would choose an ambassador who actually knows something about Russia and China. No, we should choose someone who is totally ignorant of Russian and Chinese culture, and most importantly, harbors total hatred for those countries. Why not just hire someone fron Raytheon or General Dynamics?
Better yet, the shareholders son ha
Why don’t we just hire Vladimir vladimirovich Putin?
Or Xi Jinpings number1son?
Both far too intelligent to work for the U.S. government.
Murkowski involvement is all we need to know that he is a bad idea
Mike Sfraga is the reason UAf continues to get federal military funding shut up
While foreign nation adversaries threaten American freedom from outside the United States (notably China), they’ve accomplished little when compared to leading communist influences acting within the United States. One important distinction between China and Russia is that China is communist, and Russia is no longer communist. Consider these points when grouping nations into similar categories. The United States should withdraw funding from the United Nations and move to dissolve the organization. The UN seeks to undermine U.S. liberty and threatens our allies. China is no longer a developing nation but greatly leverages UN benefits of that class to its advantage. Funding Ukraine accomplishes only one thing. It forces Russia into the hands of Xi.
In the 1980s the United States was winning the war against the globalization of communism. Today, communism with Chinese characteristics has infiltrated both our domestic and foreign policy, and is leveraging the United Nations and NATO to entrench itself around the globe. It is high time to end these ugly trends.
Of course and our proposed new representatives are plants. Our current elected servants are generally complete sell outs or hoping to sell out believing in error they will catch a break while the rest of us suffer. Tit doesn’t necessarily follow tat in other non-Alaskan cultures. We see you.
Nearly all our proposed elected “representatives” are selling outs to the Constitution or want to be thinking in error they will catch a break when the time comes for the rest of us to suffer. Tit does not necessarily follow tat in dissimilar forms of four-legged government and non-Alaskan cultures.
What does/did he have to hide that he was ‘forced’ to re-re-revise his creds?
Excellent choice for this post.
Why?
Imagine the nerve of some people nominating someone to an Arctic Council who actually has academic ties to one of the largest Arctic nations! It would make much more sense to appoint a real American like, I don’t know, maybe a Christian Zionist from Oklahoma? LMAO!
Hard to believe, but I am actually in agreement with FFF!
We could just do like we’ve done here in Alaska, hire a politically connected family member who is in bed with our opposition.. Yes, I mean you! Princess Lisa
Maybe this is what we get for Alaska becoming a Welfare beneficiary of the Federal Government and not spending our wealth (Permanent Fund) on developing our own self sufficient economy. We’ve become so dependent on the Federal monies that we now have a Narcistic population that wants to keep lining their pockets without regard to the societal costs.
Sfraga’s old pal, Tim Walz, both have China connections ……together. Dweedle Dee and Dweedle Dum.
Trump will show this clown the exit door.
Why do you say he is a clown? He seems super qualified.
Murkowski is not a supporter of Alaska unless she is putting money into her pockets. She needs to go!
UAF continues to get federal funding through NSF. They have been working on top secret projects for years concerning the ionosphere, rain, clouds, snow and other things? They are given money through grants from “The National Science Foundation” NSF and the Bill Gates foundation. To Foster sustainable agricultural Solutions around the World. However, I think their research in Alaska if affecting the crops we are growing here. Seed germination periods have been going steadily down the last three years. Maybe this is why Gates is buying farmland in the lower 48. Maybe he intends to have the only grain available that is still at high germination in the future which would ensure his crops were the best with the yields per acre/seed planted. Just thinking.