A scene out of an 1980s spy movie played out last night in Houston. The Trump administration ordered the Chinese consulate in the city to close following allegations of hacking and IP theft by the DOJ. That’s when the bonfire started, which was noticed by a local news station.

The whole thing was caught on video.

A video captured by our crew outside the Consulate General of China in Houston shows people hosing down what appear to be flaming open containers in the courtyard of the property.
DETAILS: https://t.co/2cOeKoap96 pic.twitter.com/ToQitHjy2T

— KPRC2Tulsi (@KPRC2Tulsi) July 22, 2020

After the first few seconds of the video, the lighting gets better. You can see an Asian man in a suit standing ominously over the fire with a few others gathering around. The container itself is massive (3 to 4 feet by 6 to 8 feet) and appears to be full of documents, no doubt things that could prove useful to the DOJ’s case against those who had worked there.

Later, the video cuts to a large hose being used to put the fire out. Apparently, the news crew had called the fire department on the Chicoms, though those manning the hose in the video don’t appear to be firemen. Perhaps they were told to put it out themselves?

So what’s this really all about? According to Sen. Marco Rubio, this consulate was essentially a spy shop.

#China consulate was a spy shop pic.twitter.com/UdRlmh7kVc

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 22, 2020

I’m not sure of the specific legalities here in regards to burning the documents. Would these specific Chinese nationals have diplomatic immunity to destroy possible evidence in a criminal trial? I sort of doubt it. The DOJ should up the ante here and go hard after them for doing so.

There is no reason to baby China at this point. Trump is doing the right thing by dropping the hammer over the last six months. He’s cut them out of another possible trade deal, the DOJ has moved to prosecute numerous Chinese government proxies, and we are now closing their consulates that act as spy hubs. That’s all positive and needed.

Trump also has nothing to lose politically by doing this. More and more, polling is showing that Americans see China as a foreign adversary and not just an economic foe, which they clearly are. One of the bigger things I personally fear from a possible Joe Biden presidency is the coddling of the Chinese. The former VP’s history is full of moves to placate and prop up the Chicoms, never mind his son’s corrupt involvement in China.

The Trump administration, including the DOJ, should keep the pressure on here. Make it so that even if November doesn’t go the right way, that Biden can’t undo what’s been done. Our current conflict with China is too important to go back to the status quo of enriching our enemies while we offshore large portions of our economy.