Several members of Congress, particularly those in "very sensitive positions," have been targeted by the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. Chris Stewart said Tuesday, while discussing the growing call for Rep. Eric Swalwell to be removed from the House Intelligence Committee after his reported link with an alleged Chinese spy.
"That's just a matter of course that we know that from our own experience," the Utah Republican said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "That shouldn't surprise anyone. We know the Chinese Communist Party is targeting businesses, academics, they're targeting members of Congress, members of the Senate, members of the administration. That shouldn't surprise anyone."
Stewart and several other Republicans are calling for Swalwell, D-Calif., to be removed from his committee seat after reports surfaced that the suspected spy, named Fang Fang, had helped him raise money for his 2014 election.
Swalwell cut ties with the young woman after he was briefed by the FBI in 2015, but she reportedly had built relationships with other politicians, including having sexual relations with two Midwestern mayors.
"This is where Mr. Swalwell failed so poorly in this," Stewart said. "She was a Chinese student. She had just barely come to the United States ... for heaven's sakes, how does a college student have the capacity to help a member of Congress raise money? (There are) all sorts of red flags on this."
He added that the FBI and others have warned members of Congress to be careful because they could be targeted by the Chinese and that Swalwell should be removed from the committee to determine if his contact with Fang could have caused any danger.
"He absolutely has questions to answer that he has refused to answer to this point," said Stewart. "He can't just remain silent."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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