Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner Demands Investigation into Eric Swalwell’s Relationship with Alleged Chinese Spy

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) speaks at a House Judiciary
Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images
Amy Furr

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) filed a complaint Friday to the House Ethics Committee asking it to “immediately open an investigation” into allegations that suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang compromised Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

His complaint referred to an Axios report alleging that Fang became close to several politicians, including Swalwell, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stepped into the situation, according to Fox News.

“The story indicates that the FBI was so concerned with his close relationship with Fang that they had to warn Swalwell about his connections to a known spy in 2015, including Rep. Swalwell’s decision to place an intern in his Congressional office on Fang’s recommendations,” Sensenbrenner wrote.

He added that “2015 was also when then-Leader [Nancy] Pelosi appointed Rep. Swalwell to the Intelligence Committee, providing the then-second term congressmen [sic] with significant access to highly sensitive and classified information.”

Apart from a brief statement, Swalwell has refused to comment on the Axios story, according to Fox.

“It is unknown how much private and/or classified information Fang had access to as a result of her relationship with Rep. Swalwell and whether Rep. Swalwell was compromised as a relationship with her,” Sensenbrenner continued.

During an interview Thursday on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Swalwell should not be on the House Intelligence Committee because he has been “jeopardizing national security”:

What is being said in those meetings inside the SCIF that we don’t want other people to hear or listen? You cannot take in your watch. You cannot take in your phone, but here, we have an individual, who Nancy Pelosi — this is the real question — when did Nancy Pelosi know of this, and why did she maintain him on the committee?

In his complaint Friday, Sensenbrenner stated that “Allowing an international spy to forge a close relationship with a member of Congress and then allowing personnel decisions to be influenced by a Chinese national does not reflect creditably on the House.”

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