Newly declassified documents detail how a Chinese woman with links to China’s intelligence agency had potentially jeopardized former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
The files exposing the relationship between Swalwell and Fang Fang, also known as Christine Fang, were released by the White House Government Transparency Task Force, Just the News reports. According to the documents, the FBI initially wanted to probe Swalwell for a bribery operation, although they later narrowed the case and pivoted their focus to Fang. Authorities believed Fang made illegal donations to Swalwell.
Prior to discovering Fang’s criminal behavior, the FBI sought to recruit the Chinese national to be a confidential informant through an undercover agent and assigned her the codename Rusty Thumbs. The agency “planned to hire her through a cutout company,” the outlet said. During the recruitment process, the FBI learned Fang was linked to China’s intelligence arm, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
Last year, Swalwell threatened to take legal action against the FBI should it move to release records connected to his relationship with the suspected spy. The threat followed a report from The Washington Post that claimed FBI Director Kash Patel was weighing the documents’ release.
“Your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California,” Swalwell’s lawyers, Sean Hecker and Norm Eisen, wrote in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press. “Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability.”
