In the “hmm, this sounds weird” category of stories today, multiple outlets are reporting that the death of Foremost Group CEO Angela Chao — the sister-in-law of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — is being treated as a possible criminal matter. 

A Texas county sheriff’s office is leading the investigation:

Chao, 50, was found dead shortly after midnight on Feb. 11 after being pulled out of a car that had gone into a pond on a private ranch in Johnson City, Texas, about 40 miles from Austin.

“This incident was not a typical accident," the Blanco County Sheriff's Office wrote in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday.

At first, authorities seemed to think this was a simple accident, but in their letter to Texas AG Ken Paxton, they now sound suspicious:

"Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriff's Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity," the letter said.

Angela Chao died after her car went into a pond in Blanca county TX about 2 weeks ago. There hasn’t been much info released to the public since. But this much we know.

Angela Chao was Sen. McConnell’s sister-in-law & CEO of Foremost, a shipping co. founded by her father James… pic.twitter.com/Z0JumeAMWG

— Xi Van Fleet (@XVanFleet) February 22, 2024

The above tweet, by Xi Van Fleet, a pundit and author who escaped Communist China and has gained prominence in the U.S. with her anti-CCP stance, continues:

Angela Chao was Sen. McConnell’s sister-in-law & CEO of Foremost, a shipping co. founded by her father James Chao, who has deep ties with the CCP and a personal friend of fmr Pres of China Jiang Zemin.

Angela Chao was a board member of CCP’s Bank of China & China Ship Building Co. which builds ships for CCP’s Navy.

Her husband Jim Breyer’s joint venture firm,p IDG Capital, was just added to the list of ‘Chinese military companies’ by the Pentagon on Feb 9th, a day before Angela’s death.

Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced in late February that he will step down from his leadership post in November, although he will remain in the Senate. 

See:

BREAKING: Mitch McConnell to Step Down As Senate GOP Leader

While McConnell said it was time to move on, he did also mention his late sister-in-law in his announcement:

McConnell gave no specific reason for the timing of his decision, which he has been contemplating for months, but he cited the recent death of his wife’s youngest sister as a moment that prompted introspection. “The end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer,” McConnell said. [emphasis mine]

Chao was married to venture capitalist Jim Breyer.

The ranch where Chao died is owned by a corporate entity connected to her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, who has an office in Austin.

Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the U.S. Labor and Transportation departments. Their father and mother founded the Foremost Group.

Authorities, meanwhile, are being tight-lipped and not releasing much information. 

Since Chao's death remains the subject of a criminal probe, the Blanco County Sheriff's public information officer told the attorney general that reports, 911 logs, audio and video evidence as well as other material should not yet be released to media outlets that requested them, including CNBC.

At this point, this story remains in the “mysterious” pile, and it’s impossible to know what, if any, part Mitch McConnell plays in it. We do know, however, that a woman lost her life, and we pray for her and her family.

RedState will update you when new information comes in.