Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell had a relationship with an alleged Chinese Spy (1 Viewer)

[SaintForLife]

The woman at the center of the operation, a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang, targeted up-and-coming local politicians in the Bay Area and across the country who had the potential to make it big on the national stage.

• Through campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, Fang was able to gain proximity to political power, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and one former elected official.
• Even though U.S. officials do not believe Fang received or passed on classified information, the case "was a big deal, because there were some really, really sensitive people that were caught up" in the intelligence network, a current senior U.S. intelligence official said.
• Private but unclassified information about government officials — such as their habits, preferences, schedules, social networks, and even rumors about them — is a form of political intelligence. Collecting such information is a key part of what foreign intelligence agencies do.

Among the most significant targets of Fang's efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

• • Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official. Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said. That same political operative, who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell's behalf, found no evidence of illegal contributions.
  • Federal Election Commission records don’t indicate Fang herself made donations, which are prohibited from foreign nationals.
  • Fang helped place at least one intern in Swalwell's office, according to those same two people, and interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years.

Exclusive: How a suspected Chinese spy gained access to California politics

Christine Fang built connections with up-and-coming California politicians including Eric Swalwell and Ro Khanna.

www.axios.com

It is quite ironic that Swalwell was one of the biggest purveyors of the Russia conspiracy theory while he knew that he had been cultivated by an alleged Chinese spy. Why did Swalwell and Feinstein receive defensive briefings from the FBI on China, but Trump didn't get a defensive briefing on Russia?

Axios reporter: Swalwell suggestion Trump behind China spy bombshell is 'risible'

The claim by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., that the Trump administration fed Axios a story about the House Intelligence Committee member's relationship with a suspected Chinese spy is "risible," reporter Jonathan Swan told "Special Report."

www.foxnews.com

 

[SystemShock]

Trump got a defensive briefing on Russia.

He also got defensive.

 

[MT15]

Saw this and thought it might bring a little perspective.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

Sen. Cotton calls on Swalwell to hold press conference, explain Chinese spy ties

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., needs to stop "hiding behind" the cloak of classified information amid backlash over his relationship with a Chinese spy, Sen. Tom Cotton said Wednesday.

www.foxnews.com

This'll would be amazing if Swalwell came out and had a press conference where his statement was something along the lines of "I was single at the time, going through an Asian chick phase, this seemingly hot Asian woman came on to me and I smashed....often...next question"

 

[MT15]

Tom Cotton is a truly terrible human being.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Tom Cotton is a truly terrible human being.

Until proven otherwise, aren't they all?

 

[TaylorB]

Having re-read the article, what China was doing here via Fang was rather similar to what Russia did via Maria Butina and her handler, Alexander Torshin, by gaining influence in political circles then using that favor post-election to ensure Trump installed Russia-approved folks in government, including the State Department. Russia exerted influence through other means, of course, but this particular Chinese operation looks a lot like the con with Butina that began in the NRA. And as someone else pointed out, China appears to have been doing this with the Mar-a-Lago crowd as well. It's a pretty big deal that China's operation got this far with Swalwell, and it leads you to wonder the extent to which it's happening elsewhere. The article says that Tulsi Gabbard was also involved with Fang, for example.

This matter should be (and has been, at least partially) investigated, and if Swalwell is compromised, he shouldn't hold government office. At a minimum, Swalwell owes an explanation, and I would hope he'd be willing to go under oath about his contacts if he hasn't already. Not because of calls by the likes of Tom Cotton and/or SFL -- who to this day defend Trump's circle for allowing Russia to retain influence even after being warned by the FBI, who would certainly dismiss and discredit this Axios article if it didn't fit their narrative, and who apparently have no problem with Trump's refusal to testify and other efforts to obstruct the investigation -- but because it's objectively dangerous to have foreign adversaries attempting to covertly influence government officials.

The reason the FBI briefed Swalwell (as it did Trump re: Russia's efforts) is because the effect of these operations can be countered if the official is truly not compromised, and takes appropriate steps upon learning of the foreign effort to actively root out any potential for lingering influence. For example, we know that Trump's people -- including Flynn, who was physically present for the defensive briefing -- *continued* covert contacts with the Russians *after* receiving a specific defensive briefing about what Russia was doing.

While this article doesn't establish whether Swalwell continued the relationship with Fang's contacts after his briefing, he claims to have cut ties (whether he's being truthful or not isn't established by the article). In my mind, the only reason for SFL to falsely claim Trump didn't receive such a defensive briefing is to create an artificial justification for Trump's behavior vis-a-vis Swalwell's. But there isn't one. If Swalwell didn't cut ties after the defensive briefing as he claims to, he's compromised by that very fact, just as Trump and his people were. What if Swalwell's campaign manager spent most of his/her career working for pro-China political parties around the South China Sea, and we learned he/she was offering private briefings on Swalwell's campaign to people close to Xi? What if there were overwhelming evidence that Swalwell and his inner circle took active steps to thwart the FBI's counter-intelligence investigation into what China was doing? What a big deal it would be if, say, nearly everyone in Swalwell's inner circle started lying to the FBI about the extent of their contacts with Fang and China? Would that just be "process crimes," or would it imply that they have motive to keep those contacts hidden?