(WatchDogReport.org) – A Never Trump Republican, Curtis Bashaw, has been exposed over his links to a Chinese-owned construction company that allegedly engaged in cyber espionage and corruption.
Bashaw is hoping to secure a Republican nomination in New Jersey against Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano-Glassner — a former official in former President George W. Bush’s administration — who former President Donald Trump backs. The presumptive nominee for November’s presidential election described the mayor as a “fantastic woman” who had his full endorsement, especially after hearing that Bashaw was a backer of Chris Christie, who dropped out of the presidential race in January.
Bashaw, together with a key ally of Christie, worked with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a Chinese state-owned firm with close links to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Bashaw co-managed Cape Advisors, which partnered with China Construction America’s investment arm in 2017. The deal involved an equity investment of $140 million in Manhattan’s Hudson Square neighborhood. Bashaw announced his Senate nomination bid in January 2024.
The 63-year-old moderate’s bid marks his first campaign for public office. Bashaw, who is described as a “job creator,” “hotel entrepreneur,” and “preservationist” on his campaign website, stated that the nation needs to be redirected back to essential values of prosperity, liberty, and the American Dream. He said to many in New Jersey that the ideals of the American Dream were out of reach and the White House was not working in the people’s best interests. Bashaw stressed that the border crisis is both a humanitarian and security issue and highlighted the damage inflation has been doing to families across the state. Unlike Serrano-Glassner, who seeks to advance Trump’s America First agenda if elected, Bashaw donates to the Democratic Party and considers Trump a supporter of the “forces of illiberalism.”
CSCEC has a controversial history; the Department of Defense discovered that it had close links to China’s PLA. Trump also accused the firm of cyber espionage. A Kenyan court filed a lawsuit against CSCEC in 2022 over corruption allegations, and the company bugged the African Union HQ it had constructed in Ethiopia.
The World Bank blacklisted the company that employed Bashaw in 2019 due to corruption and “collusive practices” in the Philippines. Trump banned American citizens from investing in 31 Chinese-owned companies with links to the PLA in 2020. Bashaw’s campaign spokeswoman claimed that the candidate did not profit from the New York City Project and blamed Serrano-Glassner for spreading conspiracy theories.
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