Declassified FBI files confirm Rep. Eric Swalwell had sex with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. The bombshell records, released Monday after being declassified by President Donald Trump, paint a stunning picture of how a woman connected to Beijing's notorious Ministry of State Security allegedly wormed her way into the California Democrat's inner circle using romance, cash, and congressional intern placements, as reported here.
The woman at the center of this political firestorm is Chinese national Fang Fang, who went by Christine Fang in the United States. The FBI gave her an almost comically odd code name, Rusty Thumbs, and originally tried recruiting her as an informant. But here's where things got really spicy. Bureau officials knew from the jump that her parents were agents of China's Ministry of State Security, Beijing's top spy agency. They also believed she was funneling money to California Democrats and was fully prepared to use sexual relationships to climb the political ladder.
The recruitment plan fell apart when agents stumbled onto evidence of alleged criminal conduct, which triggered a formal investigation with far more aggressive tools at their disposal, including electronic surveillance.
Investigators initially explored whether they could build a bribery case involving Swalwell himself. The suspected scheme allegedly involved Fang directing donations his way while simultaneously getting her handpicked interns placed inside his congressional office. The probe eventually narrowed its focus to potential charges against Fang for allegedly routing illegal campaign contributions to Swalwell through American citizens acting as middlemen.
During FBI questioning, Swalwell confirmed the sexual relationship with Fang, according to the files. He also acknowledged that his staff had placed interns she recommended into congressional positions. Perhaps most damaging, he admitted his campaign's compliance systems might not have been robust enough to catch the suspected straw donations.
Fang bolted from the country after the FBI started interviewing her associates and searching her home. Despite what the files described as strong evidence of illegal contributions, the Justice Department chose not to prosecute. Adding another wild twist, the investigation's early stages were partially overseen by Jack Smith, the same prosecutor who would later bring federal criminal cases against Trump.
This entire saga first became public through an Axios investigation back in 2020. Officials believed Fang targeted local politicians in the San Francisco Bay Area using fundraising events, personal charm, and romantic entanglements. Swalwell was reportedly one of her highest priority targets.
The congressman has long maintained he cooperated fully with the bureau. His office previously stated he provided information about Fang to the FBI years ago and has not seen her in a long time.
But here's the kicker. Swalwell fought tooth and nail to keep these files buried. His attorneys, Norm Eisen and Sean Hecker, fired off a cease and desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel earlier this year, accusing the bureau of trying to smear him while he campaigns for Governor of California. They warned of "significant legal liability" if the documents saw daylight.
Well, the documents are out now. And Washington is absolutely buzzing.
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