House Republicans expressed disgust that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) would keep Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on the House Intelligence Committee despite a recent Axios story revealing that he had deep ties to a suspected Chinese spy for several years as he was elected to Congress and began serving on the committee.
Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-CA) tweeted after the new Congress was sworn in on Sunday: “Unbelievable. Looks like Nancy Pelosi is keeping Rep. Eric Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee in the new Congress — even after his ties to a Chinese spy were exposed. Why do Democrats refuse to stand up to China?”
Last month, Axios reported that a suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang or Fang Fang, had cultivated extensive ties with several American politicians, including Swalwell. The outlet reported that Fang got so close to Swalwell that she placed at least one intern in his congressional office and even fundraised for him as a campaign bundler.
Fang reportedly met Swalwell when he was a Dublin City, California, councilmember in 2011 and continued a relationship with him until mid-2015 when the FBI — who was investigating her — became alarmed at Fang’s activities and alerted Swalwell. Fang reportedly abruptly fled the U.S. back to China shortly after. The congressman has refused to answer whether his relationship with Fang was ever romantic, but sources have told the Federalist that the relationship was sexual.
The Federalist reported:
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.
Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) called Pelosi keeping Swalwell on the highly sensitive committee “outrageous.”
He tweeted, “It doesn’t matter if you had a relationship with a foreign agent for years… If you’re a Democrat, @SpeakerPelosi will forgive it — so long as you push her radical agenda. @RepSwalwell being allowed to remain on the Intel Committee after being compromised is outrageous!”
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), a China hawk and Navy reservist, tweeted, “A Chinese spy helped elect Eric Swalwell. And even after Axios revealed the relationship it looks like @SpeakerPelosi will reward him with reappointment to the highly secret Intel Committee. For Dems, getting ‘in bed’ with the Chinese Communist Party is a winning career move!”
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