California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell, one of the leading Democratic contenders, has finally addressed allegations regarding his relationship with a Chinese spy between 2011 and 2015. Despite the claims, Swalwell dismissed them as "lies and bulls**t," arguing that "defamation is the highest form of flattery."
🔥🚨JUST IN: California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell finally addressed the allegations on him sleeping with a Chinese spy and went on to claim he was defamed.
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 25, 2026
”Defamation is the highest form of flattery,” Swalwell said.
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"I would say that the air was cleared immediately by the FBI when there was even a suggestion of wrongdoing," Swalwell claimed on the Sources Say podcast. "The FBI put out two statements to The Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle saying, never any wrongdoing, all he did was help us when we identified somebody who might not be who they were presenting themselves as. Then the Washington Post fact checker looked at these allegations, said the same thing as the FBI."
"And then Kevin McCarthy, who wanted to create a thing and refers it to the Ethics Committee, his own Ethics Committee chair puts out a bipartisan, unanimous decision that they're not investigating, they didn't see any wrongdoing," he added. "So I think independent folks have said enough on this, and for me, defamation is the highest form of flattery."
Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, developed a connection with Swalwell while he served on the Dublin City Council in California, and continued into his congressional career. He ended contact in 2015 after an FBI briefing warned that the relationship was becoming too close, although Swalwell was never accused of wrongdoing or of sharing classified information. A 2023 House Ethics probe cleared him, though Republicans continued to criticize his role on the Intelligence Committee.
This comes amid a recent feud between Swalwell and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, where Swalwell's relationship with Fang Fang was fair game.
Stick to sports. You’re at least half-right there.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) March 1, 2026
Your whiny-ass ain’t going to an Iran battlefield anytime soon. It’ll be poor kids from where I grew up. Life must be pretty comfy in your suite. Stick to judging your favorite pizzas. The adults will sort out the wars. https://t.co/skTPqEeBal
"Call me crazy I like my politicians not to get tricked by foreign spies," Portnoy wrote earlier this month. “Hey Eric I’d never heard of you but quick Google search said you were literally removed from House Intelligence Committee for having your office infiltrated by a Chinese spy named Fang Fang. Can’t even make it up. Maybe sit out the National Security lectures. Politicians man.”
