In other words, yes. I avoided stating it this bluntly for it being almost a cartoon trope.

But... but one can't believe into any other explanation as any much credible.

Do hundreds of US political insiders lobby for China in one voice just for nothing?

You don't have closet communists, just a lot of very greedy, amoral, and easy to exploit power holders.

American legal system prohibits jailing people for anything but being caught red handed in cases of political corruption.

I have no idea what you can do about that without doing political persecution, but on other hand if you leave it be it will keep being exploited like hell.