Rep. Swalwell under fire for connection with alleged Chinese spy, blames Trump for report
House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney weighs in on 'The Daily Briefing.'
A suspected Chinese spy whose goal was to get close to up-and-coming U.S. politicians is no longer Facebook friends with Rep. Eric Swalwell’s father and brother -- or a handful of other people following revelations that their accounts remained connected.
Earlier Wednesday they were still friended -- years after the FBI flagged her for suspicious activities and the congressman cut her off. Later in the day, following reporting on the connections, their accounts no longer appeared on her friends list.
Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, arrived in California as a college student in 2011 for an effort to befriend and spy on lawmakers in the Golden State and other parts of the U.S., Axios reported Tuesday. Both Eric Swalwell Sr. and Joshua Falwell were listed as friends on her Facebook account, raising questions about how close Fang was to the congressman.
Swalwell had been among her most high-profile targets – whom she first encountered back when he was a Dublin, Calif., city councilman -- as part of an effort to befriend rising political stars, according to the report.
FBI STEPPED IN AFTER SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY GOT CLSOE TO SWALWELL, OTHER POLITICIANS, REPORT FINDS
When asked for comment on his acquaintance with Fang, Swalwell’s office pointed to comments an anonymous FBI official made to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Swalwell was completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing,” the official told the newspaper. “It was a defensive briefing. Information was obtained where we do a duty to warn... that he may be targeted by a foreign government.”
Neither the congressman nor his father immediately responded to Fox News' requests for comment on the Facebook ties. The brother said he had no comment.
SWALWELL REFUSES TO EXPLAIN RELATIONSHIP WITH SUSPECTED CHIENSE SPY ACCUSED OF AFFAIRS WITH MAYORS
A 2019 Swalwell campaign video shows the congressman and his family members on screen, and they appear to be the same people in the Facebook photos of the accounts friended to Fang.
Fang's account, under the name Christine Fang, has made very few public posts and had only 88 friends Wednesday afternoon. A few hours later, the number had dropped to 83.
Mayors Alan Nagy and David Haubert, of the California cities of Newark and Dublin, respectively, also appeared on Fang’s friends list early Wednesday. Neither responded to Fox News requests for comment – but both no longer appear on her friends list.
Although Facebook access is technically blocked in China, there are still ways to use the site.
By 2012, Swalwell was on his way to Congress. In 2020, he ran in the Democratic presidential primary. The FBI reached out to him with its concerns over Fang’s activities in 2015. He is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Fang reportedly left the country in 2015 during the FBI probe into her activities.
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Fang’s methods are nothing new from China’s intelligence apparatus, according to U.S. intelligence officials. She arrived at California State University, East Bay, in 2011 and used student extracurricular events to network important players, according to the Axios report, then cultivated those ties over time. The accused spy also allegedly slept with at least two Midwestern mayors.
The university did not respond to a request for comment.
Fox News’ Peter Hasson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
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