Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) during a public hearing of the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 13, 2019. The hearing will vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump (R).
Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Okla.) filed a complaint Friday (Dec. 11) with the House Ethics Committee, urging it to “immediately investigate” allegations that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-N.Y.) was suspected of being infiltrated by Chinese Communist spies.
In response, Rep. Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, wrote, “I respectfully request that the House Ethics Committee immediately investigate the public allegations contained in a recent article published on the Axios website,” Foxnews reported. The article concerns the infiltration of Rep. Eric Swalwell (R-CA). He is also a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.”
Sensenbrenner was referring to a report that broke this week. The report alleges that a suspected Chinese Communist spy, Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, has close ties to several U.S. politicians, including California Democrat John Swalwell. The FBI intervened and interfered, even giving a “Defense Briefing” to Swalwell.
Swalwell himself has declined to comment on the bombshell for several days, except for a brief statement.
His office noted that Fox News quoted a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle from an FBI official who asked not to be named. The official said, “Swalwell was fully cooperative and not suspected of any wrongdoing …… This is a profile on a defense issue and it is our responsibility to warn him …… that he could be a target of a foreign government. “
Axios, a U.S. short news site, reported that Swalwell was one of Fang Fang’s targets, having left the United States in 2015 after entering California’s political scene. The report said she had romantic relationships with at least two unnamed mayors in the Midwest.
Sensenbrenner wrote, “The story suggests that the FBI was so concerned about his close relationship with Fang Fang that they had to warn Swalwell about his ties to a spy who became known in 2015, including Swalwell’s decision to take Fang Fang’s advice in placing interns in his own congressional office.” He noted that “2015 was also when then-leader (Nancy Pelosi) appointed Swalwell to the Intelligence Committee, which gave the then second-term congressman access to highly sensitive and classified information.”
Fang reportedly participated in fundraising events for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign – even though she did not contribute herself and there is no evidence she made illegal contributions.
Fang’s earliest contact with Swalwell was through the Chinese Student Association, and by 2014 she had established “close ties” with Swalwell’s office, according to Axios.com.
Fang has also reportedly placed at least one intern in Swalwell’s office and has interacted with him at several events over the past few years.
Sensenbrenner added: “Rep. Swalwell has repeatedly refused to answer any questions about these allegations, including whether he alerted then-leader Pelosi to the possibility that he had been infiltrated when she appointed him to the House Intelligence Committee.”
In requesting the investigation, Sensenbrenner wrote: “It is unclear how much private and/or classified information Fang Fang received as a result of her relationship with Rep. Swalwell, or whether Rep. Swalwell was infiltrated as a result of his relationship with her.”
He added, “Allowing an international spy to establish a close relationship with a member of Congress and then allowing a Chinese citizen to influence his personnel decisions is unseemly in the House of Representatives.”
Sensenbrenner said the reports “should be sufficient” for the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation under Rule 18(a) “because Congressman Swalwell’s actions violate the Code of Official Conduct and pose a threat to national security.” He also said it appears that “no investigation had been initiated until he made that request.”
Swalwell’s office declined to comment on the complaint.
FBI investigators were so wary of Fang Fang’s behavior and activities that they raised their concerns with Swalwell in 2015 and gave him a “protective briefing,” according to the Axios website. According to an official interviewed for the website, Swalwell subsequently severed all ties with Fang, who has not yet been charged with any wrongdoing.
In a statement sent to Axios this week, Swalwell’s office said he “provided information about this individual to the FBI a long time ago. He met this person more than eight years ago, and he had not seen her in nearly six years. To protect information that may be classified, he will not intervene in your story.”
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