Tucker: How Chinese spies gained access to Washington elites
'Tucker Carlson Tonight' host looks at how China successfully subverted America's leadership class
Rep. Eric Swalwell became a television star during the Trump presidency as one of the prominent lawmakers who pushed the Russian collusion narrative, but the news networks largely avoided the explosive Axios report about Chinese espionage that directly involves the California Democrat.
Axios reported on Monday that a Chinese national named Fang Fang or Christine Fang targeted up-and-coming local politicians, including Swalwell, who she reportedly met when he was a councilman before he was elected to Congress.
Fang reportedly took part in fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 reelection campaign, although she did not make donations nor was there evidence of illegal contributions.
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According to Axios, investigators became so alarmed by Fang’s behavior and activities that they alerted Swalwell in 2015 to their concerns and gave him a “defensive briefing.” Swalwell then cut off all ties with Fang and has not been accused of any wrongdoing, according to an official who spoke to the outlet.
However, despite having been a loyal guest on MSNBC and CNN for three years to promote the Russia investigation -- including allegations about President Trump being an "agent" of the Kremlin -- the latest Swalwell news received almost no attention from the cable news outlets on Tuesday.
MSNBC spent roughly five minutes on Axios' reporting during the network's 5 a.m. program on Tuesday without mentioning it again for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, CNN completely avoided the story altogether, both on-air and online.
After CNN initially ignored the story, Swalwell joined the liberal network on Wednesday morning to respond to the report.
“I was shocked,” Swalwell told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. “Just over six years ago, I was told about this individual and then I offered to help, and I did help and I was thanked by the FBI for my help and that person is no longer in the country and I was a little surprised to read about my cooperation in that story, because the story says that there was never a suspicion of wrongdoing on my part.”
The unflattering portrayal of Swalwell was overlooked by the broadcast networks, as ABC, CBS and NBC all skipped the controversy on both their morning and evening news programs.
Additionally, The New York Times and The Washington Post, the revered newspapers who received a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the Russia investigation, appeared to not have touched Axios' China espionage report as well.
Since the release of Axios' bombshell, Swalwell has spoken out, hinting in an interview with Politico that Trump was behind the story.
“I’ve been a critic of the president. I’ve spoken out against him. I was on both committees that worked to impeach him. The timing feels like that should be looked at," Swalwell said Tuesday.
Swalwell revealed that Axios first approached him about his ties to Fang in July 2019, which was also when he ended his short-lived presidential campaign. But the Democratic lawmaker seemed to suggest that intelligence officials involved in Axios' reporting were trying to "weaponize" his cooperation with authorities.
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"What it appears though that this person — as the story reports — was unsuccessful in whatever they were trying to do. But if intelligence officials are trying to weaponize someone’s cooperation, they are essentially seeking to do what this person was not able to do, which is to try and discredit someone," Swalwell told Politico.
According to Politico, Swalwell "refused to discuss his relationship with Fang" after Axios reported that she had sexual relations with at least two other politicians.
He did, however, express confidence that he will maintain his seat on the House Intelligence Committee.
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“As the story referenced, this goes back to the beginning of the last decade, and it’s something that congressional leadership knew about it,” Swalwell told Politico.
Swalwell's office did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Fox News' Adam Shaw and Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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