Before Matt Pottinger joined the Marines he was a reporter for the WSJ in Beijing or Shanghai. He's fluent in Mandarin. His father is Stan Pottinger, a lawyer and author–the youngest attorney to plead and win a case in front of the Supreme Court. Stan has a long background in government and private practice
It's like the scene in the Godfather I when Tessio sets up Michael with the Barzini family for a hit. They knew he was doing it and they foiled it before it could happen.