Tipsheet

Why Eric Swalwell Sent a Cease and Desist Letter to the FBI

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  March 31, 2026 3:00 PM

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) isn’t very smart. He’s cringeworthy on social media, and he spouts outrageous Democratic talking points because he can; he represents a safe blue district. He acts as an attack dog, though one plagued with mental flaws. Yet, he’s concerned about something in these FBI files from ten years ago regarding his alleged connections to a supposed Chinese spy. He’s not charged with espionage, but he was close to this supposed agent, ‘Fang Fang,’ and appeared to have cooperated with the FBI to identify this person (via NY Post): 

California governor candidate Eric Swalwell is speaking out about the Chinese spy who infiltrated his office and sparked a congressional ethics probe — as revelations surface about $300,000 in legal payments from his campaign fund around the same time.

Swalwell insisted he was cleared of wrongdoing, dismissing the scandal as a political hit job in a new podcast interview shared with the California Post.

“The air was cleared immediately by the FBI when there was even a suggestion of wrongdoing,” Swalwell told the Sources Say podcast. 

“Independent folks have said enough on this, and for me, defamation is the highest form of flattery,” Swalwell insisted, waving away the scandal as “lies and bullshit.” 

“The FBI put out two statements … saying, ‘all he did was help us when we identified somebody who might not be who they are presenting themselves as.'” 

Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative also known as Fang Fang, developed “extensive” ties with Swalwell starting when he was a Dublin city council member, bundling donations for his 2014 reelection campaign and even recommending staff for his office, according to an Axios investigation. 

Fang, a former student at California State University East Bay was secretly working as an intelligence agent targeting political up-and-comers like Swalwell and cultivated sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, US officials told Axios. 

The irony here is that Swalwell is trying to block the bureau from releasing the files, even though he cut ties with Fang Fang in 2015 after being briefed on her suspected links to Chinese intelligence and a two-year probe from the House Ethics Committee that found nothing. Swalwell has nothing to hide, so what’s the issue? You’re all in on the Epstein circus but don’t want us to know what happened between you and a suspected Chinese spy? The reactions have been amusing, and if there are redactions—which are common—you really can’t stop the release. Sorry, we don’t set the rules. Look, it can’t be worse than Kristi Noem’s husband having a big boob fetish (via WaPo): 

Attorneys for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) demanded Monday in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that the bureau refrain from releasing decade-old investigative files involving the congressman’s purported ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.

The congressman called for the FBI to agree within three days not to release the files, adding that any further action to release them could prompt him to take legal action. The cease-and-desist letter followed a report from The Washington Post over the weekend that Patel had dispatched agents to review and redact the files in a potential move to ready them for a public release. 

Swalwell was not accused of any wrongdoing when the FBI investigated him and the suspected spy, Christine Fang, a decade ago. Swalwell’s congressional office said it had immediately cut ties with Fang when federal agents informed him in 2015 that they were concerned she might be an intelligence operative. More recently, the Republican-led House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation into the congressman in 2023 without taking any action.

Swalwell’s attorneys said in their letter that there was no justification for releasing the files, especially since the congressman had assisted the FBI in its investigation.

“The congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for governor of California,” the letter said. “Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability.” 

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In responding to The Post’s previous article, a spokesperson said the bureau “prepares documents for numerous different reasons, including for release to different agencies and departments to further review investigations that may have been opened under previous administrations.” 

Law professor Jonathan Turley commented that Swalwell has no case against disclosure if privacy protocols are followed, though he finds such disclosures disturbing when there's no criminal activity.