Axios reporter: Swalwell suggestion Trump behind China spy bombshell is 'risible'

Axios reporter: Swalwell claim Trump behind China spy story 'risible'

Jonathan Swan, Byron York, and Jason Riley join 'Special Report' to discuss Chinese penetration of US politics

The claim by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., that the Trump administration fed Axios a story about the House Intelligence Committee member's relationship with a suspected Chinese spy is "risible," reporter Jonathan Swan told "Special Report."

The Axios story, co-authored by the outlet's China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Aspen Institute senior staff writer Zach Dorfman, reported that a Chinese national named Fang Fang, aka Christine Fang, targeted up-and-coming politicians, including Swalwell.

"It would be inappropriate for me to talk about my colleagues' sourcing, but just use your common sense," Swan told host Bret Baier Wednesday. "Even Swalwell acknowledges that he first found out Axios was on this in 2019. But ... his timeline's wrong ... she's [Allen-Ebrahimian has] been working on this for more than a year."

Fang reportedly took part in fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 reelection campaign, although she did not make donations and there is no evidence of illegal contributions.

SWALWELL SUGGESTS TRUMP IS BEHIND BLOCKBUSTER AXIOS REPORT

According to Axios, federal 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.

On Tuesday, Swalwell hinted that the White House was behind the report, telling Politico: "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."

That line of reasoning left Swan incredulous Wednesday.

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"Anyone who has any passing understanding of how Trump World works, do we really think that they put out some opposition research and then patiently wait[ed] a year -- beyond an election --- for the very well-respected China correspondent to report it out in a nuanced fashion?" he asked. "I mean, give me a break. It's completely absurd.

"The story is really important," Swan added. "It shows how the Chinese Communist Party operates inside this country. It shows how they infiltrate local politics, how they identify young, in some cases soft targets, people who don't have a lot of staff around them, who don't have experience, who don't actually understand the tactics of the Chinese Communist Party, and then they follow them up ... In Eric Swalwell's case, he has become a very, very powerful, important member of Congress with access to the nation's top secrets. So it's a very important story just to understand how China is operating ... right now in this country."

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.