Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell refused to answer The Federalist’s questions about the extent of his relationship with a Chinese spy who monitored and gathered intelligence on U.S. Democratic politicians on behalf of communist China.
A recent report from Axios revealed that Chinese spy Christine Fang cultivated deep political connections in the Bay Area and across the U.S. for years, including with Russia hoaxer Swalwell, to gather political intelligence and personal information for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), one of the country’s primary spying agencies.
Between 2011 and 2015, Fang socialized, networked, campaigned, volunteered, fundraised, and developed romantic or sexual relationships with politicians to gain information and send it back to her handlers, who were believed to be stationed in mainland China. She also reportedly used her close ties to government officials and political operatives to place “subagents” as employees or interns in some political and congressional offices.
In addition to raising millions for Swalwell, a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee member, and placing at least one intern in Swalwell’s Washington, D.C. office, officials believe Fang may have been sexually and romantically involved with Swalwell.
Two sources directly familiar with the counterintelligence investigation of Fang told The Federalist that she and Swalwell had a sexual relationship. Federal officials were so concerned about the romantic relationship between a U.S. congressman and a suspected Chinese spy that they even investigated whether Swalwell may have tipped Fang off about the counterintelligence investigation after he was given a defensive briefing on the matter shortly before Fang disappeared from the U.S. in 2015. A senior U.S. intelligence official told The Federalist that investigators only uncovered limited circumstantial evidence that Swalwell may have tipped Fang off after he was warned of her connections to Chinese intelligence.
When asked by The Federalist about these allegations, as well as if the representative had any plans to resign from his positions on House intelligence committees or if he ever briefed the committees on his conflict of interest, Swalwell’s office refused to address them and instead pointed back to the generalized statement they gave Axios.
“Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story,” Swalwell’s office told Axios.
