Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is not yet free of suspicion over his former association with Chinese national Christine Fang, AKA Fang Fang – a suspected intelligence operative. Though the extent of the congressman’s relationship with Fang is unclear, the two collaborated – for want of a better term – over the course of about two years close to a decade ago. Fang also worked as a “bundler” for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election bid and had enough influence to get the California Democrat to hire an intern for his campaign who she recommended. Now, at least one top Republican is calling on the White House to release a classified report on the nature of Swalwell’s relationship with Fang.
The Fang connection was enough to get Swalwell kicked off the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) now that Republicans control the House of Representatives. Republican Jim Banks of Indiana applauded Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s removal of Swalwell from the committee but wants to know the details contained in a report on the Fang Fang matter. After living in the US for four years, Fang abruptly left the country in 2015. At the time, she was the subject of a US counterintelligence investigation.
It is only right to note that Swalwell claims to have cut ties with Fang Fang when the FBI alerted him to its concerns. There is no evidence that the Democrat had any knowledge of the woman’s suspected ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Nor is there evidence that Fang herself broke any US laws.
What Was Fang Fang Up To?
Fang Fang certainly kept herself busy during her time in America. She homed in on several California Bay-area politicians and had been photographed rubbing shoulders with a number of them. Intelligence gathering takes on many forms. It’s not always about secretly passing on nuclear launch codes or the locations of adversarial operatives. Simply getting to know influential people – penetrating their inner social and professional circles – and discovering their habits, their likes and dislikes, their travel and activity patterns, and so on could be valuable to a foreign power looking for leverage or an advantage in negotiations. If Fang Fang was, indeed, a Chinese spy, that may have been her mission in the US.
Rep. Banks wants to know more. He recently wrote a letter to Joe Biden – which was obtained exclusively by Breitbart News – in which the Republican defended McCarthy’s decision on Swalwell’s Intelligence Committee position:
“Speaker McCarthy and other Members of Congress have explained that in their view Rep. Swalwell’s past relationship with a Chinese spy, Fang Fang, presents a national security risk and disqualifies Rep. Swalwell from receiving access to the most highly classified information available to a Member of Congress and from overseeing our nation’s intelligence agencies.”
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In 2021, Breitbart News reported on the existence of a classified report of Swalwell’s association with the alleged spy. Intelligence officials who had seen the report said it “contained explicit details on the nature of Swalwell’s relationship with Fang Fang,” according to Breitbart. In his letter to Biden, Banks continued, “If the White House’s position is correct and Rep. Swalwell’s past association with a Chinese spy does not preclude him from serving on the House Intelligence Committee, then the White House should immediately declassify its report on Rep. Swalwell.”
He also added that, if the report showed that relationship to be “innocuous,” then he and other House Republicans would be agreeable to Swalwell’s reinstatement to the committee.
How Mr. Biden responds to the challenge might demonstrate a number of things; that Fang Fang and Swalwell had a connection that was not appropriate for a member of Congress – and possibly a national security risk – or that the White House is simply not interested in cooperating at all with House Republicans’ oversight commitments. On the other hand, perhaps Banks will have his wish granted and all will be well again – relatively speaking.
