Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose name was included in an Axios report that a Chinese spy had relationships with several powerful Democrats, said the story was leaked when he was working on President Donald Trump's impeachment and that he was surprised that his cooperation with the FBI had become part of the story.
"Just over six years ago, I was told about this individual," the California Democrat, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told "CNN Newsroom." "I offered to help, and I did help. I was thanked by the FBI for my help, and that person is no longer in the country ... there was never a suspicion of wrongdoing on my part, and all I did was cooperate."
According to Axios, a Chinese spy named either Christine or Fang Fang had developed ties with local and national politicians, including Swalwell, during an intelligence operation running between 2011 and 2015 through China's main civilian spy agency.
"The wrongdoing here is that at the same time this story was being leaked out is the time that I was working on impeachment on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees," Swalwell told CNN's Jim Sciutto. "I hope it is investigated as to who leaked this information ... they are not going to silence me, but what they are going to do is they are going to make others think twice when they are asked to sit down and provide defensive information about people like this.”
Swalwell, who has not been accused by the FBI of any wrongdoing, added that the news shows how persistent the Chinese are.
"We need to invest more in our intelligence resources so we don't have people who can successfully do this," Swalwell said. "Thankfully in this case, because of the FBI, nothing happened."
The Axios report has met with outcry from several prominent Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who on Tuesday argued on Twitter that Swalwell should not be allowed to remain on the House Intelligence Committee and called him a "national security liability."
“Rep. Swalwell has long been disqualified from serving on the Intel Committee," said McCarthy. "For years he peddled Russian disinformation for political gain. Now we find out he was involved in an effort by a reported spy to gather info for China. Swalwell is a national security liability."
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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