Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ administration knew a company in Jonesboro, Arkansas, was likely in compliance with state law, but she still attacked it on social media. The company, Risever Machinery, was accused of being linked to the Chinese Communist Party, but an investigation by the attorney general’s office found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Background

Risever Machinery is a family-owned business based in Hefei, China, and has been operating in Jonesboro since 2017. The company received a $1 million grant from the governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund and a $100,000 grant from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission for a job-training program.

Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward, an appointee of Gov. Sanders, told a staffer for the attorney general that he believed Risever Machinery was ‘in compliance’ with Arkansas law. However, Gov. Sanders still appeared in a video on social media, charging that two companies, including Risever, were ‘linked to the CCP’ and that ‘Communist China is America’s greatest threat.’

The attorney general’s office later issued a statement clearing Risever Machinery of any wrongdoing, stating that the company was not in violation of Arkansas law regarding foreign ownership of real property.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.