Swalwell Admitted To Sex With Suspected Chinese Spy, Newly Declassified Documents Show

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Newly declassified FBI documents released by the White House on Monday reveal that former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell maintained a sexual relationship with a suspected Chinese spy for several years.

Swalwell was considered a frontrunner in the race to replace Gavin Newsom as California's next governor before sexual assault allegations upended his political career.

Swalwell was interviewed by the FBI with his attorney present on March 4, 2016, and admitted to sleeping with the suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang known as "Fang Fang," according to the documents.

Swalwell told the FBI that one night, "Fang Fang" went over to his home in the evening and started banging on his door.

"SWALWELL's (redacted) let her in and she and SWALWELL hooked up," the documents state. "FANG left after a couple hours. SWALWELL barely remembers the event because he had taken an Ambien prior to FANG arriving. SWALWELL takes Ambien to help him sleep."

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Swalwell's lawyer, Sara Azari, told the Chronicle that "nothing new" was revealed in the documents and suggested they were being used to "punish an outspoken critic of the current administration."

"An investigation that produced no charges and no finding of wrongdoing should not be resurrected years later as a vehicle for political retaliation," Azari said in a statement, according to the Chronicle.

Christine Fang is a Chinese national who was accused of targeting Swalwell and former Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison.

She was accused of infiltrating political circles in the Golden State and beyond through contributions, political organizing, personal relationships and more, but left the country in 2015, after the FBI began conducting surveillance on her and notifying her contacts of her suspected behavior.

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Swalwell was not married at the time, and according to the documents, he stopped sleeping with Fang after the FBI started their investigation into the congressman's relationship with the suspected spy.

The FBI said it didn't find any violations against Swalwell, but accused Fang of violating campaign finance statutes, according to the documents.

The House Ethics Committee also conducted a two-year investigation into Swalwell's relationship with Fang, but that case was closed in 2023, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The committee took no action against Swalwell in that case.

Polls showed Swalwell was the frontrunner for California governor before he was accused by several women of sexual assault. He's denied the claims, saying they were politically motivated.

Soon after, the seven-term lawmaker suspended his campaign for governor and resigned from Congress.

By dropping out of the race, Swalwell cleared the way for former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

The Chronicle suggests that had Swalwell won the primary, the White House would have used the newly released documents to boost a Republican opponent, such as Steve Hilton.

The White House said it released the documents "as part of a broader effort to unmask foreign threats to U.S. political and election systems."

It also said the "bombshell" memos expose "another threat to America’s political system from Beijing."

"The FBI developed evidence that a Chinese woman with direct ties to that country’s intelligence service had potentially compromised a Democratic congressman from California with sex, foreign interns and illicit donations while she was being recruited to become a bureau informant a decade ago."