Lawmakers Request FBI Briefing On Swalwell Ties To Alleged Spy As ‘Nation Faces Growing Security Threat’
House Republicans have requested that the FBI Director Christopher Wray to give a briefing on Rep. Eric Swalwell’s past ties to an alleged Chinese spy. The lawmakers want to be informed with the ‘full extent’ on the members of Congress who were targeted by the Chinese.
“As our nation faces a growing security threat from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to infiltrate and undermine the United States Government, we write to request a full briefing regarding counterintelligence threats to Members of Congress, including information related to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative,” says the letter from 14 House Republicans, including Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C. and Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member John Katko, R-N.Y.
The concerns with Swalwell started in December 2020 when a report from Axios, ‘Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians’ said an operative ‘developed extensive ties’ with a U.S. congressman and other local and national politicians. U.S. officials believed it was a political intelligence operation done by China’s main civilian spy agency sometime between 2011 and 2015.
One of the most significant targets was Rep. Eric Swalwell, where the alleged spy named Fang Fang or Christine Fang took part in fundraising for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign and it was reported she placed one intern in Swalwell’s office and interacted with him at many events over the years.
In a statement from Swalwell’s office by Axios said, “Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person-whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen nearly six years-to the FBI.”
Axios also found that investigators ended up alarmed by Fang’s behavior and activities that they had to alert Swalwell in 2015 of their concerns and presented him a ‘defensive briefing’ which then led Swalwell to cut all ties to Fang.
Below is the Republican letter to Wray requesting the briefing.
The Hill on Swalwell wrote, “Eric Swalwell has emerged as a useful icon of a major piece of the mosaic that makes up the complex intelligence-gathering strategy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Rep. Swalwell is just a snapshot, but now, a very public one. The PRC is actively targeting many of our politicians to ensure friendly representation of China’s aggressive interests during our democratic deliberations.”
According to NYMag, they asked Swalwell about the experience he’s had from the Axios report said, “or my family, the death threats have flooded in. Not just my wife and I, but it’s also been for my father, my brothers, their friends. And all for a story where — don’t take my word for it when I say there’s no wrongdoing. I can’t talk about the case, but there was no wrongdoing. The FBI multiple times issued statements saying that there’s no wrongdoing. All I can do is just do my job and not let it affect me.”
Swalwell was asked if he had a relationship with her but he said he did nothing wrong and no. He continued to answer ‘there’s no wrongdoing’ and he only talked about the case in a secured location with the FBI and would not talk about it unless it was declassified.