Former US congressman Eric Swalwell told FBI investigators that he had a physical relationship with Christine Fang, the suspected Chinese operative at the centre of a yearslong counterintelligence investigation, according to newly declassified records released Monday.
The records, released by the White House Transparency Task Force, provide the most detailed public account to date of the relationship and the FBI’s investigation into Fang’s ties to California politics.
The release comes months after Swalwell resigned from Congress and ended his campaign for governor while facing multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, all of which he denies.
An Axios investigation in 2020 brought the case into the national spotlight, revealing how Fang developed relationships with local and national politicians while living in California.
Although much of the newly released material remains redacted, the files provide further details about Fang’s relationship with Swalwell and the FBI’s investigation.
Swalwell described encounters with Fang
According to FBI interview summaries, Swalwell told investigators in May 2015 that he had physical relations with Fang ‘on a handful of occasions’, but said they never dated or had a romantic relationship.
A subsequent FBI interview recorded Swalwell’s account that he and Fang ‘hooked up’ after she arrived unannounced at his apartment one evening.
The records said Swalwell ‘barely remembers the event because he had taken an Ambien prior to Fang arriving’.
The files also show that federal investigators suspected Fang of facilitating a scheme involving campaign donations and congressional internships.
An FBI opening memorandum said the investigation was based on information suggesting internships in Swalwell’s offices had been promised in exchange for campaign contributions, some of which investigators believed may have involved conduit donors or foreign nationals.
FBI investigation found no basis to charge Swalwell
Investigators pursued the case for years, with internal FBI documents outlining an undercover operation aimed at determining whether there was sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against Fang, Swalwell or others.
However, a post-operation review said investigators had failed to obtain evidence sufficient to indict Swalwell and Fang for campaign finance violations or a quid pro quo exchange.
A 2017 case memorandum stated that the FBI had ‘not found violations of federal corruption statutes perpetrated by Congressman Eric Swalwell’.
The bureau subsequently retitled the case to focus on Fang and alleged election-law violations.
A separate closing memorandum stated that the investigation ‘did not reveal evidence of a quid pro quo exchange between Fang and the Congressman or his office’.
The same documents said Fang left the United States and was later barred from re-entering the country.
The FBI said it found evidence that Fang may have violated various campaign finance and related laws, but prosecutors ultimately determined that prosecution was not viable because of national security concerns.
Swalwell’s lawyer says facts have not changed
Swalwell revisited the matter publicly in March while running for governor, accusing FBI Director Kash Patel of reviving the case for political reasons.
His attorney, Sara Azari, defended the former congressman and said the documents did not change the facts of the case.
‘There is nothing new here. The government’s own memorandum confirms what Congressman Swalwell has said for more than a decade: he did nothing wrong, and there was no basis to charge him with any offense,’ Azari said in a statement to ABC7.
‘The facts have not changed. Only the political motive for publicizing them has. That should concern anyone who believes federal law enforcement must remain independent of political retribution.’
Anthony Brass, a former federal prosecutor and current criminal defence attorney, said the files highlighted broader concerns about how foreign adversaries could seek access to influential public officials.
‘These are people with real power and real access. And so you need to know their focus on making sure that our country’s safe,’ Brass said.
He added that the case represented an intersection between the behaviour of a powerful individual and the security risks created when someone who had not been properly vetted was given access.
The sexual assault allegations that brought Swalwell’s political career to a halt are unrelated to the Fang investigation and remain under separate investigation.
Brass said the newly public FBI records were likely to renew debate over judgment, risk-taking and security vulnerabilities among elected officials as investigations related to Swalwell’s conduct continue.
