Eric Swalwell Admitted to Sexual Relationship with Suspected Chinese Spy in 2015 FBI Interview
Eric Swalwell previously admitted to having “physical relations” with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang on a “handful of occasions,” according to newly released FBI files, providing confirmation of the public sphere’s longstanding suspicion that a sexual relationship had transpired.
Read more New York Magazine Turns Its Back on the City’s Jews
Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and ended his bid for California governor earlier this year after several sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against him, had not previously publicly admitted to having a romantic or physical relationship with the woman, who also goes by “Fang Fang.”
In 2020, Axios reported that Fang, who had raised money for Swalwell’s campaign, had targeted American politicians with the aim of gaining “proximity to political power” with “campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors.”
Files released by the White House Transparency Task Force on Monday include notes from a May 2015 interview that Swalwell did with the FBI in which he acknowledges the sexual nature of the relationship — something he has not previously done publicly.
He said that both of his intimate encounters with Fang took place at his apartment “probably before he was first elected to Congress in 2012.”
“One night FANG came over late in the evening and started banging on SWALWELL’s door,” the document states. “SWALWELL let her in and she and SWALWELL hooked up. FANG left after a couple hours.”
“SWALWELL barely remembers the event because he had taken an Ambien prior to FANG arriving,” the notes added.
Swalwell also told the FBI that he and Fang had “casual” relations and often communicated via text message. He said they did not date or have a romantic relationship.
The disgraced California Democrat has said he cut ties with Fang in 2015 after intelligence officials briefed him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate the legislative body. He was not accused of impropriety after a House ethics investigation into the situation. However, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) moved to oust him from the House Intelligence Committee over the relationship in January 2023.
Read more Examining RFK Jr.’s Role in the Measles Outbreak
Fang is believed to be an operative for the Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of State Security (MSS). Witnesses told the FBI she had a key role in Swalwell’s campaign, including in helping to organize fundraisers for the then-congressional candidate in Las Vegas and California.
An attorney for Swalwell told the New York Post that the information in the documents is old news.
“There is nothing new here,” Sara Azari told the paper. “The government’s own memorandum confirms what Congressman Swalwell has said for more than a decade: he did nothing wrong, and there was no basis to charge him with any offense.”
“What is new and deeply concerning is the apparent use of federal law enforcement information to punish or embarrass an outspoken critic of the current administration,” she added. “An investigation that produced no charges and no finding of wrongdoing should not be resurrected years later as a vehicle for political retaliation.”
“The facts have not changed. Only the political motive for publicizing them has. That should concern anyone who believes federal law enforcement must remain independent of political retribution.”
The FBI wrote in a 2017 case memorandum that investigators had “not found violations of federal corruption statutes perpetrated by Congressman Eric Swalwell.” The bureau later wrote that the investigation “did not reveal evidence of a quid pro quo exchange between Fang and the Congressman or his office.”
While the FBI apparently uncovered evidence that Fang may have violated campaign finance laws, prosecutors chose not to pursue a case against the suspect spy because of national security concerns.
Read more Jason Arday, Former Cambridge Professor Accused of Plagiarism, Found Dead
