FBI Investigations into Swalwell's Confidential Source Fang Fang: Contradictions Emerge
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In the second interview, Swalwell described multiple encounters, including one in which Fang Fang arrived at his apartment banging on his door and the two subsequently "hooked up" after Swalwell had taken a powerful sleep medication. The former congressman indicated he had little recollection of the event. The records indicated they "probably" occurred before Swalwell was elected to Congress.
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New York PostSwalwell, now 45, later copped to investigators that he had “hooked up” with Fang at least twice at his apartment — once when he let her in after having taken an Ambien to help him sleep, after which he said he “barely” recalled the tryst.
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Fang’s access to Swalwell extended beyond their personal relationship. According to the FBI files and previous reporting, she was involved in fundraising for his 2014 reelection campaign and helped place an intern in his congressional office. Intelligence officials believed Fang was cultivating relationships with politicians who could eventually rise to positions of national importance.
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BreitbartFiles declassified by President Donald Trump on former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and the Chinese spy known as Fang Fang reveal that the disgraced ex-congressman admitted to the FBI he had a sexual relationship with her — and that the bureau attempted at one point to recruit her without her knowledge.
The FederalistSwalwell also admitted to the FBI in 2015 that he had a sexual relationship with Fang, and said in a 2016 interview with the FBI that he thought anyone Fang suggested for an internship was from the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Associations, which represented a key demographic for Swalwell. “A significant portion of SWALWELL’s constituents are Chinese American and diversity is important,” the documents state.
Fox NewsThey also show Fang Fang referred prospective interns to Swalwell's political operation. During his 2016 FBI interview, Swalwell told agents he viewed anyone Fang Fang put forward for an internship as coming through the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association, or APAPA, an organization with which Fang was reportedly connected.
New York PostA May 2, 2017, memo on an FBI probe into Rep. Eric Swalwell determined suspected Chinese honeypot Fang Fang helped solicit illegal campaign donations. Department of Justice
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The declassified files revealed that the FBI had previously tried to cultivate Fang Fang as a confidential source under the codename "RUSTY THUMBS," as agents suspected she had ties to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), including her parents who were reportedly considered known Chinese intelligence officers.
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BreitbartThe newly-declassified documents revealed that the bureau had given Fang the codename “Rusty Thumbs,” and discovered that her parents were “known MSS intelligence officers.”
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However, the bureau’s conclusion on Fang was a different story. The FBI’s closing records stated that they did find evidence that she had violated several federal laws, after which the State Department prohibited her from coming back to the United States.
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The FederalistThe FBI closed the investigation in 2017, noting it had discovered evidence Fang had broken multiple laws and had engaged in international money smuggling, acted as an unregistered foreign agent, made prohibited contributions in the name of another, and more. Fang reportedly left the country sometime in 2015, and the State Department banned Fang from returning to the U.S.
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By the time of that 2016 interview, Swalwell told agents he had cut off contact with Fang Fang after first meeting with the FBI about the matter. Agents had given him a defensive briefing in late April 2015 about foreign-intelligence targeting and specifically discussed Fang Fang and her connections.
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The Daily WireThat timing is particularly notable because federal investigators were becoming increasingly concerned about Fang’s activities around the same period. U.S. intelligence officials later provided Swalwell with a defensive briefing warning him about Fang, after which he said he cut ties with her. Fang left the United States in 2015 amid the investigation.
7 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post An undercover operation targeted the California Democrat between May 2014 and May 2017 following a tip that “internships in Congressman Eric Swalwell’s offices were promised in exchange for campaign contributions,” according to a June 10, 2014, FBI memo.
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02 Breitbart The documents prove that the United States government was aware of the suspicious relationship between Swalwell and Fang since at least 2014, years before Axios broke the story in 2020.
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03 RealClearPolitics "So you're telling me it wasn't a Russian intelligence operation, but we now have direct evidence that a Chinese intelligence operation was involved in Trump's first Russiagate conspiracy? And running, by the way, the House Intel Committee?" he said about former House Intel member Rep. Eric Swalwell. "So my question isn't what was he passing to her... What receivables was Eric Swalwell asked to put in?"
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04 PBS NewsHour Live Results: California special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell With two Democrats competing on the ballot, the seat in California's 14th Congressional District is guaranteed to remain under Democratic control and further narrow an already fragile Republican majority in the chamber.
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05 Fox News "FANG left after a couple hours. Swalwell barely remembers the event because he had taken Ambien prior to FANG arriving," stated an interview summary from the FBI.
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06 The Federalist Fang reportedly asked contributors directly for donations and “promised” to reimburse them in some way, and the FBI noted that she “understood it was illegal” for her to contribute, but that she said she was “good at convincing other people to contribute.”
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07 The Daily Wire According to the May 2015 FBI files, released by the White House and reviewed by The Daily Wire, Swalwell told federal investigators that he had “physical relations” with Fang “on a handful of occasions” after meeting her in 2012.
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Sources (7)
- foxnews
- pbs
- breitbart
- dailywire
- nypost
- rcp
- federalist