Blanche urged to investigate alleged foreign influence in fight against data centers

By Fox News · Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: L awmakers are calling on acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate alleged foreign influence in the nationwide campaign to block construction of data centers. A letter penned by Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and signed by multiple GOP lawmakers claims foreign-linked organizations and advocacy networks are trying to block the centers to give Chinq a leg up in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. "We believe that the Chinese and also the Russians are colluding and working to make sure that the United States of America is not the leader when it comes to AI policy and development," Gooden told Fox News Digital in an interview. "They are so sophisticated with respect to disinformation and manipulating our processes here in the United States against us." MARXIST ORGANIZER LEADS CAMPAIGN AGAINST VIRGINIA AI DATA CENTER AS FOREIGN INFLUENCE CONCERNS MOUNT "We know historically, that they have funded [nongovernmental organizations] and nonprofits that don't disclose donations," Gooden added. "And then, they use these foreign funds against us and against our policy in a way that benefits them." As AI demand accelerates, data centers have become essential to providing the computing power, electricity and infrastructure needed to process information and store massive amounts of data. However, proposed facilities often have faced opposition from critics who say they drive up utility costs and threaten the environment. This past January, a self-described "organizer" for the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Jack Tensley, testified before the Frederick County Planning Commission in Maryland against the construction of a data center in Virginia. TOP ENERGY GROUP WARNS WEALTHY FOREIGNERS ARE POTENTIALLY BANKROLLING ANTI-DATA CENTER CAMPAIGNS ACROSS US "My really big fear here is the security risk. We have infrastructure attacks and failures, cyberattacks that happen — I want to know if this puts a target on the back of Frederick County," Tensley sai…