Cruz dunks on Swalwell's NFL playoff wager: 'How about we bet a Chinese dinner instead?'

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had an epic response to Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif, Tuesday after the House lawmaker offered a bet to the senator on the Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49ers game.

Swalwell wrote in a tweet he was going to propose an "open bet" to Cruz.

"If the @dallascowboys beat the @49ers I won’t tweet for the rest of January. If the @49ers win you can’t tweet for rest of January. How Texan are you, Ted? Deal?" he wrote.

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Ted Cruz, left, and Eric Swalwell  (Getty Images)

Cruz responded, "How about we bet a Chinese dinner instead?"

The "Chinese dinner" zinger was a reference to a controversy Swalwell got wrapped up in a few years ago with a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang. Intelligence officials told Axios at the time that Fang used campaign fundraising, networking, rallies and romantic relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors to gain proximity to political power.

Fang reportedly took part in fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 re-election campaign, although she did not make donations nor was there evidence of illegal contributions.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., listens during a hearing of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee about political influence on law enforcement activity June 24, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker/Pool via REUTERS)

According to Axios, investigators became so alarmed by Fang’s behavior and activities they alerted Swalwell in 2015 to their concerns and gave him a "defensive briefing." Swalwell then cut off all ties with Fang and has not been accused of any wrongdoing, according to an official who spoke to the outlet. 

Fang left the country in mid-2015.

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"Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI," Swalwell’s office told Axios in a statement in 2020. "To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy passes against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff game in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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The 49ers and Cowboys play in the NFC divisional round Sunday.

Fox News’ Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.