Sen. Cotton calls on Swalwell to hold press conference, explain Chinese spy ties

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Sen. Cotton slams Swalwell for 'hiding behind' cloak of classified info on Chinese spy relationship

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., calls on Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., to come forward amid backlash over ties to a Chinese spy.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., needs to stop "hiding behind" the cloak of classified information amid backlash over his relationship with a Chinese spy, Sen. Tom Cotton said Wednesday.

A group of 17 Republican House members sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday urging her to "immediately remove" Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee in response to reports over his past ties to a spy from China, who posed as a college student, networked with up-and-coming American officials and allegedly slept with a pair of Midwestern mayors.

"Eric Swalwell says he's a victim in all of this. If that's the case what he should do is come forward and have a no-holds-barred press conference and explain exactly what his relationship with this Chinese spy was," Cotton, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told "Fox & Friends."

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"He keeps hiding behind the cloak of classified information, but there's nothing classified about his fundraising practices or his social life and the fact that he won't have," Cotton added. "The fact that he and Nancy Pelosi won't come clean and explain exactly what his relationship with this Chinese spy was suggests that there is some information there that they don't want to reveal."

Fang Fang, also known as Christine Fang, disguised as an exchange student, came to the U.S. to build relationships with up-and-coming politicians on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, Axios reported last week. One of her highest-profile targets was Swalwell, whom she met when he was still a city councilman in the East Bay city of Dublin almost a decade ago.

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"Any member of the House Intelligence or Senate Intelligence Committee has access to some of the government's most sensitive reporting and analysis. Obviously, any foreign adversary would love to have access to that information," Cotton explained.

Reacting to the New York Times failing to report the Swalwell spy story, Cotton questioned how deep in the pocket of China much of the mainstream media and entertainment industry is.

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"It makes you wonder how much the American media industry is in the pocket of Chinese interests if they won't cover these huge stories," Cotton said. 

Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.