WASHINGTON — An FBI investigation that ran for three years into then-Rep. Eric Swalwell concluded that suspected Chinese intelligence operative Fang Fang helped seek unlawful campaign contributions, but the case was ultimately shelved for “national security reasons,” according to bureau records declassified Monday by the White House.
The California Democrat became the focus of an undercover operation from May 2014 through May 2017 after authorities received a tip alleging that “internships in Congressman Eric Swalwell’s offices were promised in exchange for campaign contributions,” a June 10, 2014, FBI memo stated.
According to the memo, the alleged arrangement involved routing donations through intermediaries to conceal the real source of the money. In some instances, the document said, the contributions were made by foreign nationals, a potential violation of federal campaign finance law.
FBI agents interviewed Swalwell, unnamed campaign contributors and others connected to the congressman during the inquiry, but investigators did not establish evidence proving the alleged exchange of internships for donations.
Still, the probe found evidence that Fang — also known as Christine Fang — had violated the law by soliciting illegal straw donations from foreign nationals, destroying records, making false statements, smuggling cash and operating as an unregistered foreign agent, apparently on behalf of China, according to a May 2, 2017, FBI memo.
“Fang left the United States in [redacted] and has been barred from re-entry pursuant to Security and Advisory Opinions issued by the United States Department of State,” the memo said.
The same document added that, after consultations with leadership in the FBI’s San Francisco Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, officials determined that bringing charges was “non-viable due to national security reasons.”
The undercover inquiry, code-named “Freshman Fifteen,” was intended to develop enough evidence to charge and arrest both Swalwell and Fang over alleged campaign finance violations. In the end, neither was indicted.
Both Swalwell and other associates interviewed by bureau agents indicated that they viewed Fang as a potential spy for the Chinese Communist Party, given that she almost never attended classes at California State University, East Bay, or did coursework — despite being in the US on a F-1 student visa.
Fang’s parents were also “known intelligence officers” in China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), and she maintained ties to other affiliates of that agency, which Swalwell jokingly referred to as the “Chinese CIA” in an interview with the FBI.
“She was very private and would frequently be gone without any explanation,” one interview subject noted of Fang. “However, she also did things that [redacted] considered to be very obvious and not very smart.”
Swalwell, now 45, later copped to investigators that he had “hooked up” with Fang at least twice at his apartment — once when he let her in after having taken an Ambien to help him sleep, after which he said he “barely” recalled the tryst.
A former Swalwell campaign aide confirmed to FBI agents Fang was “very flirtatious” and had even boasted to the congressman “that she was not wearing any underwear,” when arriving at his doorstep unannounced for one of their liaisons.
Swalwell’s links to Fang, first reported by Axios in December 2020, led to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) booting the Democrat from his post on the chamber’s Intelligence Committee in January 2023, citing Fang’s relationship with the congressman as a national security threat.
Swalwell said he viewed Fang as his main point of contact with the local chapter of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Associations (APAPA) and assumed that anyone she recommended for a job came from the organization.
The congressman also told bureau agents that a significant portion of his Bay Area constituents were Chinese American and explained that “diversity is important,” when discussing Fang’s almost monthly visits to his office.
“The only difference between FANG and other organizational contacts, was that SWALWELL and FANG occasionally hooked up and ‘FANG had a thing’ for him,” a report of a March 4, 2016, interview described Swalwell saying.
But the congressman denied both in a 2015 interview and the 2016 sitdown that he was aware of any scheme involving Fang that would have funneled money to his campaign through an intermediary.
As part of the investigation, Fang was introduced in early 2015 to an undercover bureau employee, who expressed interest in hosting a Swalwell fundraiser and donating to his re-election campaign in exchange for an internship for themselves or someone connected to them.
By that point, the investigation had advanced far enough that the donation to be used as bait to ensnare Fang and Swalwell had been approved by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section — then run by future special counsel Jack Smith.
However, the sting was derailed when Fang “privately disclosed” suspicions that her contact was a “government agent” — and high-tailed it back to China weeks later, essentially ending the active FBI probe.
However, the bureau was able to conclude that Fang secured at least four “conduit campaign contributions” for Swalwell in 2013 and 2014.
Fang also asked one donor for a $5,000 contribution to Swalwell’s campaign in exchange for organizing a meeting with the congressman — and more than that for obtaining an internship slot.
The declassified FBI files were made available by the White House after Swalwell threatened to sue the bureau earlier this year over plans to release the information.
When the threats were made, the California Democrat was the frontrunner to the be the next governor of the Golden State — before allegations of sexual assault ended his campaign and forced his resignation from Congress in April.
Swalwell did not respond to a request for comment on the FBI disclosures.
