By Theodore Bunker(NEWSMAX)
A group of House Republicans are calling on FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide a briefing on any past ties that Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., had with an alleged Chinese spy, Fox News reports.
Axios reported last December that an alleged Chinese spy named either Fang Fang or Christine Fang targeted Swalwell and other up-and-coming politicians in California and helped to fundraise for the congressman’s 2014 reelection campaign, though she did not actually make a donation.
“As our nation faces a growing security threat from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts to infiltrate and undermine the United States Government, we write to request a full briefing regarding counterintelligence threats to Members of Congress, including information related to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative,” wrote the 14 GOP members of the House, which include Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C. and Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member John Katko, R-N.Y.
They note that Swalwell sits on the House Homeland Security Committee and receives classified information, including Top Secret information, “which by its very nature ‘could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security’ if subject to unauthorized disclosure.”
The group also point out that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both received a classified briefing in December that raises questions “including how Rep. Swalwell could be re-appointed to the Committee on Homeland Security one month after this briefing.”
Swalwell told Politico in December that “What it appears though that this person — as the story reports — was unsuccessful in whatever they were trying to do. But if intelligence officials are trying to weaponize someone’s cooperation, they are essentially seeking to do what this person was not able to do, which is to try and discredit someone.”
