U.S. Sen. Rick Scott sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., removal from the House Intelligence Committee following reports of his ties to a Chinese spy.
“Eric Swalwell has no place on the House Intelligence Committee. His reported ties to a Chinese spy backed by the Communist Party of China are shocking and show just how far President Xi is willing to go to gain access to critical U.S. intelligence. Swalwell spent years promoting Russian disinformation in an effort to take down the President, when in fact he was being used as a pawn by the Chinese government, which we know is doing everything in their power to expand their influence. Swalwell’s failure of judgement is astounding and he must put national security first and step down from his post immediately. Let this be a lesson to all Americans – we must open our eyes to the threat posed by Communist China,“ Scott said on Wednesday.
Scott wrote the following:
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
I write to you with grave concern about the recent reports of connections between Representative Eric Swalwell and a spy for the Chinese Communist Party.
According to reports, Christina Fang, a spy for Communist China’s Ministry of State Security, maintained regular contact with Representative Swalwell for several years and had a very close relationship with his office. She served as a liaison between political donors and Representative Swalwell, appeared at political rallies he hosted, and even helped place an intern in his office. She exploited her position within the community to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party and Representative Swalwell welcomed her support.
Representative Swalwell sits on the House Intelligence Committee, where he has access to our nation’s most sensitive information. He has spent years spreading Russian disinformation in an effort to take down the President, all the while being used as a pawn by the Chinese Communist Party. Representative Swalwell refuses to discuss the nature of his relationship with Christina Fang, and it’s unclear whether he was communicating with her while he was a member of a House Intelligence Community.
To protect national security, I urge you to immediately remove Representative Swalwell from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee. Nobody who has access to our nation’s most confidential intelligence should be allowed to maintain contact at any time with the Chinese Communist Party, especially considering that General Secretary Xi is actively working to undermine and harm American interests. And we must all view this as a lesson that Communist China will stop at nothing to unseat the United States as the world’s superpower.