Free Republic

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation. Axios broke the story on Fang, alleging she had sexual and romantic relationships with two unnamed Midwestern mayors, including one in Ohio. She also forged political connections with a host of local and national politicians, among them a U.S. congressman, according to Axios. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is refusing to say if he had sex with...

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, refuses to discuss his relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy and whom intelligence officials say had romantic relationships with two unnamed Midwestern city mayors.

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation. Why it matters: The alleged operation offers a rare window into how Beijing has tried to gain access to and influence U.S. political circles. While this suspected operative’s activities appear to have ended during the Obama administration, concerns about Beijing's influence operations have spanned President Trump’s time in office and will continue to be a core...

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) spent the entire (first?) Trump term screaming that the president was cozy with, even a puppet of, Russia and Vladimir Putin. Swalwell practically based his entire presidential run on the tale, even after the Mueller report cleared the president of any alleged collusion. But as my colleague Stacey Lennox reported earlier today, Rep. Swalwell has a compromising Chinese connection. Accused Chinese spy Christine Fang successfully targeted several Bay Area Democrats including Swalwell for several years. Her connection to him was deeper than most; according to Axios, which broke the story, Fang engaged in fundraising for Swalwell....

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell claimed his repeated criticism of President Trump could have played a role in why a recent report regarding his connection with a suspected Chinese spy was leaked. Swalwell, whose relationship with Christine Fang, a Chinese national believed to be working with China’s Ministry of State Security, lasted from 2011-2015, said he believes the "timing" of Axios's reporting should be considered during a subsequent interview with Politico on Tuesday. He was not the only target of Fang’s interest, although he was among her “most significant targets." Fang reportedly also had sexual relationships with two unnamed Midwestern mayors....

>> I want to talk about the Kremlin playbook. There are a number of ways a foreign adversary can influence a person. Do you agree with that? >> Yes. >> Financial? >> Yes, that can be one. >> Romance. >> Yes. >> Compromise. >> Correct. >> Setting up a compromise. >> Yes. >> How about inadvertently compromising? You stumble into that surveillance and they take that information and try to use to it coerce you. >> That’s part of the playbook. >> It’s part of the playbook. Part of the Kremlin playbook, Eric Swalwell says. What they do, these foreign...

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, to be “removed from Congress” following an explosive report this week about his connections to a suspected Chinese spy. “This is only the tip of the iceberg because remember what we’re hearing, these are Chinese spies that go down to the level of a mayor, they court and help a city councilmember become a congressman, this congressman now gets on the Intel Committee,” McCarthy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “They are only selected for the Intel Committee by the leaders...

SCOOP: A source tells me that another prominent Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee has gotten tied up with a suspected Chinese spy.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A retired FBI (news - web sites) intelligence expert linked to a spy scandal colored by sex and betrayal has resigned as the top security official at a nuclear research lab as officials there review his work for possible security breaches, an official said on Friday, The resignation follows the arrest on Wednesday of Chinese-American Katrina Leung, charged with serving as a double agent who passed classified national security information to China obtained during a secret 20-year love affair with her FBI handler, James Smith. Court papers refer to a third person, a former San Francisco-based...