Government officials were amazed by the surprising surge in Chinese donations to UPenn after the Biden think tank opened.

The former chief investigator for the Department of Education said the agency noticed a “startling” spike in Chinese donations to the University of Pennsylvania after President Joe Biden opened his think tank at the school in 2017.

Paul Moore, who served as the agency’s chief investigative counsel during the Trump administration, revealed this information in congressional testimony on Thursday. According to the Washington Free Beacon, UPenn received over $100 million from China-based contributors between 2017 and 2022, a significant increase compared to the previous four years when the school received a total of $19 million.

Moore’s testimony has brought attention to UPenn and the Penn Biden Center, which have faced scrutiny over the surge in foreign donations, many of them anonymous, that coincided with the think tank’s opening and President Joe Biden’s election. Watchdog groups have raised concerns about potential foreign influence-buying.

While UPenn has stated that no foreign donations were specifically designated for the Penn Biden Center and that the think tank is supported by the school’s general budget, Moore suggested that foreign contributions to UPenn’s general fund could indirectly benefit the Penn Biden Center.

When asked if other universities experienced similar increases in Chinese funding, Moore responded that no other schools saw such a significant rise during that time frame. He emphasized that UPenn’s situation was particularly notable.

Despite calls from members of Congress to investigate the donations, Moore’s office declined to do so, as there was no evidence of UPenn violating any laws by accepting the funding. He deemed it inappropriate for the office of general counsel to engage in a politically motivated investigation.

It is worth noting that several high-profile Biden officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, previously worked at the Penn Biden Center before joining the administration.

The National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group, has expressed concerns about foreign influence-buying and has urged the Department of Education to disclose the names of anonymous funders.

“The Department of Education’s policy of hiding the identities of foreign entities showering our universities with billions of dollars is promoting a toxic brew of dark money and corruption,” said Tom Anderson, the director of the center’s Government Integrity Project.