Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸@JerryDunleavy
New Details on Swalwell & Fang Fang: Axios did a very good story on this in 2020, but much of the following is new. One thing that was actually not in the Axios story but which my source has confirmed — the FBI firmly believed based on the evidence they collected on Fang that there had been a sexual relationship between Swalwell & Fang. (Swalwell’s office had previously refused to answer my questions on what the specific nature of his relationship with Fang Fang had been.)
According to the former FBI official from the counterintelligence world, the FBI had FISA surveillance up & running on Fang (who was targeting numerous politicians in California & elsewhere, including Swalwell), according to the source, and so many of her actions & communications were being intercepted & monitored. The FISA related to suspicions that Fang was an agent of a foreign power (China). The FBI did not believe Fang was a Chinese intelligence officer herself, but rather a willing tool of Chinese intel services.
Fang was on the radar of the CIA and the NSA, as well as the bureau. The FBI believed MSS also knew members of Fang’s family.
The FBI further opened a parallel public corruption case directly related to all of this and made Swalwell a subject of the case, according to the source, including looking into the possibilities of illegal foreign donations from the Chinese government, possible quid pro quo, and possible bribery (important to note that Swalwell was never charged with any wrongdoing and that the House Ethics Committee ended its own investigation into this earlier this year).
Fang was involved in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign, and FBI agents believed that Fang facilitated a small ($100 or $200 range) illegal foreign donation to Swalwell, according to the source. The congressman’s D.C. office also provided an internship for Fang’s family friend, per the source, with the FBI believing the internship was provided as a favor to Fang.
Swalwell was soon named to the House Intelligence Committee by Nancy Pelosi, and this prompted the FBI’s top leadership (colloquially known as the FBI’s 7th Floor) to decide to provide Swalwell with a defensive briefing in 2015, which effectively shut down the dual investigations by the bureau.
According to the source, there was heated disagreement about this briefing decision from the FBI agents involved, many of whom had wanted to keep investigating. The public corruption side did not want to close its case and wanted to keep investigating, the source said, and many of the case agents on the counterintel side did not want to close their case either and wanted to keep going too, but they were all overruled by FBI higher-ups.
Fang quickly left the United States when word got back to her on what was happening. The Justice Department never publicly charged Fang with anything.
Swalwell’s office said in 2020: “Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story.”
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