A 33-year-old Chinese national has been taken into custody in Italy at the request of U.S. authorities, who allege he played a key role in a cyber campaign targeting American COVID-19 research during the height of the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Xu Zewei is facing charges connected to an extensive hacking operation aimed at stealing scientific information believed to be valuable to the Chinese government.

The arrest comes at a time when tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high, particularly over the origins of COVID-19 and China’s role in the early months of the global outbreak. According to reporting from Newsweek, U.S. officials continue to scrutinize China’s actions related to the pandemic, even as diplomatic relations strain under multiple technology, security, and trade disputes.

In a public statement, the DOJ said the charges against Xu highlight what it describes as a long-running pattern of cyber espionage conducted on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The agency claimed that Chinese intelligence services have relied on a sprawling network of private companies and contractors to carry out cyberattacks designed to mask the government’s direct involvement.

Prosecutors allege that Xu targeted American universities, immunologists, and virologists who were working on COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostic tools, and therapeutic treatments. According to the DOJ, the attacks occurred between February 2020 and June 2021, a period in which global competition for vaccine breakthroughs was intense.

Xu and a second suspect, Zhang Yu, were both arrested in Italy on July 3. They are now facing a nine-count federal indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Texas, which outlines their alleged participation in cyber intrusions attributed to the Shanghai State Security Bureau, a branch of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). U.S. officials contend that Xu’s actions were carried out under the direction of this intelligence division, though the suspects have not yet responded publicly to the charges.

While this case unfolds, the Justice Department is reportedly pursuing a separate high-profile investigation involving former top U.S. intelligence officials. According to sources who spoke with Fox News Digital, both former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation related to their roles in the Trump–Russia probe. The allegations include possible false statements to Congress and other forms of misconduct tied to the early stages of the 2016 election interference investigation.

Unnamed DOJ sources told Fox News Digital that evidence concerning potential wrongdoing by Brennan was forwarded by then-CIA Director John Ratcliffe to senior FBI officials, including Director Kash Patel, for further review. The same sources also noted that an inquiry into Comey is underway, though investigators have not disclosed details about its focus. Two individuals familiar with the process described elements of the probe as being examined under a potential “conspiracy” framework, a label that could expand the scope of possible charges if wrongdoing is substantiated.

The renewed scrutiny of Brennan follows the recent declassification of a “lessons learned” review assessing the creation of the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA). That report concluded that Russia had attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election in favor of Donald Trump. However, the declassified review reportedly found that the ICA’s drafting process was rushed and did not adhere to established analytic standards. Fox News noted that career CIA officials acknowledged procedural irregularities, including decisions made by senior Obama-era appointees.

One of the most controversial aspects of the ICA was the inclusion of material from the Steele dossier—an opposition research document funded by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The dossier has since been widely discredited, and the review suggested that incorporating it into the assessment ran contrary to intelligence tradecraft and weakened the report’s credibility.

Declassified records cited by Fox News showed that Brennan advocated for the dossier’s inclusion in some form. However, during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in May 2023, Brennan claimed that he did not support incorporating the document. The DOJ’s false-statements investigation reportedly centers on reconciling his testimony with an internal CIA email from December 2016 in which a senior official warned him that using the dossier could undermine the assessment.

The Trump White House responded strongly to the developments. “President Trump was right — again,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital, adding that those involved in what the administration views as a political scandal “must be held accountable.”

Both investigations—one involving alleged foreign cyber espionage, the other involving former U.S. intelligence leaders—continue to unfold, and the full implications remain to be seen. For now, they reflect a broader climate of distrust and high stakes surrounding national security, political accountability, and the handling of sensitive information in a deeply polarized era.