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Why is Eric Swalwell getting death threats? Internet wants him out of intel panel over links to Chinese spy

Chinese spy Fang Fang reportedly took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell's 2014 re-election campaign and helped place at least one intern in his office

US Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and his family have been receiving death threats over a report that revealed that his campaign and office were infiltrated by a Chinese spy in 2014. Fang Fang aka Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative was reported by Axios to have developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including Swalwell.

The report also stated that Fang engaged in sexual or romantic relationships with at least two mayors of Midwestern cities over a period of about three years, according to a US intelligence official and a former elected official. Swalwell's office provided a statement to the publication, stating, "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. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

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According to Axios, federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns in 2015 and he immediately cut off all ties to Fang, according to an intelligence official. The report also stated that Swalwell had not been accused of any wrongdoing. Fang left the country in mid-2015 amid the investigation.

Fang reportedly took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell's 2014 re-election campaign and helped place at least one intern in his office. She also reportedly interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years. Fox News' Tucker Carlson reported that when asked if Swalwell had a sexual relationship with Fang, his office declined to comment because the information might be "classified."

In an interview with New York Magazine, Swalwell revealed that he and his family had been receiving death threats, saying, "For my family, the death threats have flooded in. Not just my wife and I, but it’s also been for my father, my brothers, their friends. And all for a story where — don’t take my word for it when I say there’s no wrongdoing. I can’t talk about the case, but there was no wrongdoing. The FBI multiple times issued statements saying that there’s no wrongdoing. All I can do is just do my job and not let it affect me."

When asked if he had a relationship with her, Swalwell responded, "I did nothing wrong. No." He continued, "There’s no wrongdoing. I’ve only talked about this case in a secure location with the FBI, I told them I would not talk about it unless it was declassified. So I can’t say anything other than I did nothing wrong. There was nothing improper."

He also said, "If there was anything that was compromising, I wouldn’t be on the [intelligence] committee. And [ex-committee chairman Devin] Nunes and McConnell and company were all briefed on this well over five years ago. So to me, it’s maddening that it would be perverted to suggest I did anything wrong."

After Swalwell voted to remove freshman Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from House committees, many of Greene's supporters took to Twitter to voice their dissatisfaction with similar action not being taken against Swalwell. One user tweeted, "Wow thank God they’re voting @mtgreenee out for sleeping with a Chinese spy!... Wait... That was Eric Swalwell? And he’s still in committees? And what did was share statements when she was a private citizen and has now condemned those statements as a U.S. Rep? Interesting..."

Newsmax correspondent Emerald Robinson tweeted, "Republican politicians must learn to say to the media: 'I'm happy to talk about Marjorie Taylor Greene after I talk about Eric Swalwell & Fang Fang all day long.'" A user tweeted, "Not to mention Eric Swalwell. He should be off the intelligence committee until the issue of his alleged affair with a Chinese spy is resolved."