China's state media defends 'compromised' Swalwell

Eric Swalwell and Christine Fang (Facebook)

The Communist Party-sponsored state media in China is defending U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., from reports that he was “compromised” by his still-undefined relationship with a woman identified as a Chinese spy.

The Global Times, described as “a bona fide mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party,” has published a defense of Swalwell, who has declined to explain his interaction with Christine Fang, who fled the U.S. several years ago when Swalwell was briefed by investigators about her activities.

The report said: “A tale cooked up by US news website Axios earlier this month which alleged that a suspected Chinese spy got access to California politicians and a congressman in a political intelligence operation run by China many years ago was complete fiction, and such fabrication shows that some US personnel deliberately use the Cold War mentality to poison China-US relations, a source told the Global Times on Monday.”

The Global Times continued, “The alleged Chinese woman was an international student, Axios claimed, and citing FBI agents and her acquaintances, it accused her of trying to gain access to and influence US political circles. One California politician Axios named was California Congressman Eric Swalwell, who denied the accusations and noted the report was political retaliation for his criticism and impeachment of the incumbent president.”

A report at PJMedia, which quoted from the Chinese publication, noted that the published statement is an “anonymously sourced article that Swalwell probably does not find helpful at all.”

“The Global Times story reads like a parody of a mainstream media story,” the report includes.

“Some House Republicans have called on Swalwell to step down from the House Intelligence Committee, given the fact that we have no idea what compromising information Fang may have spirited away back to China,” the report said. “Thus far [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi backs Swalwell’s presence on the committee and the access to some of the nation’s deepest secrets that comes with having a seat on it.”

The Global Times said a “source” insisted the Axios report “was completely fabricated to slander China.”

WND reported recently that GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy has given an FBI briefing on the situation involving Swalwell and Fang. Swalwell critics have described him as “compromised.”

McCarthy confirmed it was clear that Swalwell should not have access to the nation’s secrets, as he does as a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

“I just think there are definitely 200 other Democrats that I know could fill that place,” McCarthy said.

Pelosi was also briefed by the FBI about Swalwell’s knowledge of the suspected Chinese spy known as Fang Fang.

The American Center for Law and Justice, at the time, confirmed it has filed four Freedom of Information Act requests to try to get at the facts.

“A politician has a connection with a foreign female spy. It sounds like a political thriller. But it’s not fiction. Rep. Eric Swalwell may have placed our national security at risk,” the organization said.

The ACLJ pointed out that Fang “not only has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, she actually works for the Chinese Communist Party in their intelligence department.”

“Remember it was Rep. Swalwell who accused President Trump of betraying our country and of being a Russian agent, telling the mainstream media: ‘Donald Trump works on Russia’s behalf.’ Rep. Swalwell also accused the President’s son, Donald Trump, Jr., of meeting with a Russian spy. Now we see this was a pot-calling-the-kettle-black moment; except in this instance, there is direct evidence of Rep. Swalwell’s misdeeds, as opposed to the Special Counsel’s finding that there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia,” the organization explained.

And it gets worse: “Congressman Swalwell didn’t just meet with a Chinese agent once. He had a connection with the Chinese Communist spy at the center of this scandal – named Christine Fang, or Fang Fang. Fang was a fundraiser for Rep. Swalwell as well. She was actually a fundraising bundler for his campaigns – as a college student. How did that not raise suspicion? The hypocrisy is staggering. Rep. Swalwell was among the nastiest, most condescending participants during the whole impeachment process. He was very difficult on a whole host of issues, not the least of which was impeachment,” the ACLJ reported.

The FOIA requests have been filed with the FBI, State Department, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and National Security Agency.

Philip Wegmann explained at Real Clear Politics that Fang still keeps her Facebook account active, despite having a very low profile since she fled the U.S. more than five years ago.

“Swalwell won’t say whether his relationship with the spy included physical intimacy or disclose much about their shared past. The normally chatty congressman won’t say much of anything,” he reported.

Axios originally broke the Fang story on Dec. 8, and McCarthy labeled Swalwell, who eagerly sought the spotlight during the impeachment of President Trump, “a national security threat.”

Fang reportedly enrolled in early 2011 at California State University, East Bay, and quickly took an interest in Bay Area politicians. By 2014 Fang had developed close ties to Swalwell, then a little-known Dublin City Council member.

Swalwell was seen as a young rising star in Democratic politics and U.S. intelligence briefed him on the dangers posed by Fang.

“Swalwell reportedly cut off ties. Fang left the country, suddenly, in mid-2015. The same year, somewhat unexpectedly given his junior status, Pelosi named Swalwell to the House Intelligence Committee, a plum and important appointment given the committee’s role overseeing the nation’s intelligence community, including the CIA,” he reported.

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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

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