Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) made the curious assertion during CNN's “State of the Union” Sunday that his illicit relationship with a suspected Chinese intelligence asset didn't compromise national security.
CNN Host Dana Bash asked Swalwell, “What the speaker said about you is that, beginning in 2012, a suspected Chinese spy developed ties to you and to your office, even put an intern there, raised campaign funds for you.”
“You say very clearly you cut off ties with this person back in 2015 when you found out,” the host continued. “You cooperated with the FBI. But the bottom line question is this.”
“Did you put yourself in a vulnerable position in any way, so that this alleged Chinese spy could have benefited or even learned American secrets?” Bash asked the congressman.
Democrat Eric Swalwell says he did not compromise national security through his past relationship with a Chinese spy. pic.twitter.com/CvTVzsdtbi
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 29, 2023
Swalwell answered, “Absolutely not.”
He went on to claim, “But, Dana, don’t take my word for it. Take the FBI’s word for it. They never talk about ongoing investigations. And former Chairman Schiff knows this, as a member of the Gang of Eight. Three different times, they came out and said two things. All I did was help them and, also, I was never under any suspicion of wrongdoing,” according to CNN transcripts.
With the FBI and intelligence community now under investigation by the House Judiciary Committee's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Swalwell's argument, that the bureau's disinterest in investigating him is somehow exculpatory, falls short.
He continued to claim, “This is some Bakersfield B.S. It’s Kevin McCarthy weaponizing his ability to commit this political abuse, because he perceives me, just like Mr. Schiff and Ms. Omar, as an effective political opponent.”
The congressman even went on to point to his non-removal by former Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan as some sort of endorsement of his innocence, despite both becoming vocal opponents to the contemporary America First Republican party.
Swalwell complained, “But, more than that, Chairman — Speaker Boehner was briefed on this investigation. He could have removed me, just as Speaker McCarthy did. He didn’t. Devin Nunes was the chair of the Intelligence Committee, never made a public peep about this. Paul Ryan would have access to the same investigation, reappointed me to the committee.”
Wielding the names of two former speakers whose popularity within the GOP cratered after they set themselves against President Donald Trump and the populist movement within the Republican party is fairly ineffective as a shield.
Democrat Eric Swalwell says he did not compromise national security through his past relationship with a Chinese spy. pic.twitter.com/CvTVzsdtbi
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 29, 2023
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