GOP Congressman Says FBI Should Investigate Pasadena Congresswoman and CEO of Pasadena-Based Bank

[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said Congresswoman Judy Chu is not acquainted with East West Bank CEO Dominic Ng, but that was not correct. Chu is in fact acquainted with Ng and has defended him, according to multiple news reports. The story has been updated.]

Democrats are fighting back after a Republican congressman said last week that the FBI should investigate Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) for what he claims are ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Rep. Lance Gooden said  Chu “should be looked into” following reports in conservative media that she and Dominic Ng, the CEO of a Pasadena-based East West Bank, have connections to China’s ruling party.

The Texas congressman also said Chu should no longer have access to intelligence briefings and questioned her “loyalty or competence.”

Chu said she did not know she was listed as an honorary president for a youth group whose other leaders allegedly have ties to a Chinese intelligence service.

Chu chairs the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Democrats have rallied around Chu since the statements were made.

 The United Democratic Headquarters, a coalition of several Democratic clubs in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley, strongly condemned the comments.

“To even suggest the Representative Chu is disloyal to the United States because she is Chinese American is categorically wrong,” the group said in a statement.

“This type of targeting and profiling of Chinese Americans by right-wing extremists is not only xenophobic, it is incredibly dangerous. After centuries of being targeted for not being ‘American enough’ and viewed with suspicion based on looking ‘foreign,’ this type of insinuation and fear mongering only further endangers our communities.  We call on the Republican party leadership to condemn Representative Gooden’s remarks and all hate speech by its members.”