Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) appears to have an affinity for the Chinese.
If you recall, he came under considerable scrutiny when Fang Fang had penetrated his campaign as well as other Democrat camps.
Now, a 2013 picture has surfaced with Swalwell being chummy with another Chinese official, in what was his first year in office.
The honey pot scandal is a favorite of the spy industry, as they embed an attractive woman to befriend a target, eventually leading to information being extracted during pillow talk.
Christine Fang, more commonly known as Fang Fang, had been collecting information about California officials from 2011 to 2015, including Swalwell.
She had embedded herself in campaigns, worked as a fundraiser, and even used sexual relationships to complete her mission.
Fang Fang started working with the Swalwell campaign in 2014, and federal officials eventually warned the California Democrat about her presence. Fang then unexpectedly left the country in 2015.
When the GOP took over the House, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Swalwell regarding the Fang Fang relationship.
If I am being honest, this was a headline grab by Republicans, as federal authorities had already investigated this and had never accused Swalwell of knowingly doing anything that would warrant charges.
As suspected, the House wrapped up its investigation without taking any action against Swalwell, allowing the Democrat to hit the GOP for abusing its power by even launching an investigation after the feds decided there was nothing notable there.
Swalwell responded, “The case and my assistance were briefed to Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, and two years later, Republican Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, re-appointed me to the House Intelligence Committee. Neither Speaker questioned my actions nor politicized my cooperation.”
Now, Swalwell may not have technically done anything illegal, but after another picture surfaced with Swalwell and Deputy Consul General at China's Bay Area consulate in San Francisco, Song Ru'an, it is not unreasonable to question the man’s judgment.
During that meeting, Swalwell had stated, "The United States and China have a lot in common and the two economies are highly complementary. There are great potential for the two countries to cooperate. I will work actively to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and I'm looking forward to visiting China in the near future."
The former Deputy Consul was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China after leaving that post, so I cannot help but wonder if that was a reward for his service in the United States, or perhaps a nod to his getting Fang Fang embedded in so many Democrat camps.
Either way, this is not a good look for someone who is running for governor, who also has hopes of higher office. Sadly, Democrats don’t care about corruption of any kind, so I doubt it will hurt Swalwell in his run for governor, but as far as anything higher, I don’t see him ever getting the nod, considering his inability to keep the Chinese out of his camp.
