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Former congressman Eric Swalwell admitted he “hooked up” with a Chinese national, who was later accused of being a spy for her country, during the early days of his political career, according to documents newly released by the White House.
The documents, many of which were redacted, were declassified by President Donald Trump’s administration and made public on Monday by the White House Government Transparency Task Force.
The Pleasanton Weekly reached out to Swalwell for comment but had not heard back as of publication time. The declassification occurred the day before the special election to succeed the now-disgraced former Tri-Valley congressman, a tense campaign between Democrats Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez.
While the documents went into detail about Swalwell’s relationship with campaign supporter Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, the FBI’s investigation into the matter also showed a lack of evidence to suggest any quid-pro-quo exchanges between the two, which was the main impetus for the probe in 2014.
Instead the case showed Fang being the one who allegedly violated several laws, including illicit contributions under someone else’s name; falsifying and destroying records; false statements scheme; false writing; international bulk cash smuggling; and acting as an unregistered foreign agent, according to a May 2, 2017 U.S. Department of Justice document.
“This case investigated whether Christine Fang made illegal campaign contributions in exchange for internships within the official and campaign offices of a sitting US Congressman,” the document states. “While investigation did not reveal evidence of a quid pro quo exchange between Fang and the Congressman or his office, it did reveal evidence that Fang violated criminal laws.”
News of the scandal first came out just after the 2020 election. At the time, much of the discourse had to do with Fang accused of being a spy who was targeting American politicians between 2011 and 2015. A Democrat from Dublin, Swalwell was elected to Congress in 2012.
The allegations specifically stated that Fang had raised funds on behalf of Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign and recommended at least one potential intern to serve in Swalwell’s congressional office.
“This investigation is predicated on information that internships in Congressman Eric Swalwell’s offices were promised in exchange for campaign contributions,” a June 10, 2014 letter from the US Department of Justice states. “As part of the scheme to purchase internships, campaign contributions were conduited through third parties to mask the true identity of the donor and in some cases made by foreign nationals in violation of federal criminal law.”
When news broke nationally that Fang was a suspected spy, reports stated that Swalwell was not accused of wrongdoing as he immediately cut ties with Fang in 2015 after being notified of the FBI’s concerns. After two years, a House Ethics Committee found no wrongdoing in 2023 and no further action was taken.
But now, after Swalwell resigned from office in April in the midst of a sex abuse scandal that also cratered his once-rising bid for governor of California, the White House’s declassified documents show the federal government had been investigating the Fang issue for a lot longer.
According to the documents, the San Francisco Division of the FBI, on March 17, 2014, opened an assessment, which later turned into a full investigation, regarding Swalwell’s potential involvement in a “scheme to collect illegal campaign contributions in exchange for official actions”.
The investigation revealed that Fang, a foreign national living in the U.S., was the “facilitator of a scheme to trade access to Swalwell and internships in his congressional office in return for campaign contributions”.
“Many of these contributions were made by foreign nationals and/or utilized conduits in violation of federal law,” one document stated. “In at least two cases, Fang used conduits to conceal herself as a prohibited Foreign National source.”
The documents state that an analysis of financial records show Fang “orchestrated conduit campaign contributions” to Swalwell’s campaign at least twice in 2013 and in 2014. In one instance, Fang told someone she could arrange a meeting with Swalwell in exchange for a $5,000 contribution to his campaign, according to the documents.
“She also stated that she could arrange for an internship within Swalwell’s office, but that the internship would cost more,” the document stated.
The main question, however, was if Swalwell knew about any quid-pro-quo exchange of internships for campaign contributions.
One interview in May 2015 with an individual whose name was redacted states that Fang never disclosed or implied that her friends should get internships because she had helped the campaign raise money.
Swalwell’s personal connection to Fang, whose parents were believed to be officials with China’s Ministry of State Security and who was believed to have connections with the foreign agency, was also investigated.
Another person interviewed by the FBI that same year, but whose name was redacted, said while they had no “first hand knowledge of any romantic or physical relationship between Fang and Swalwell”, they had heard second hand that Swalwell had “physical relations with Fang prior to Swalwell’s election to Congress”.
That same person said they heard about other instances of Fang showing up to Swalwell’s door unannounced. But they also said they had no knowledge of any conduit contributions and that they strongly believed Swalwell had no knowledge of those contributions related to his campaign at the time.
However, according to an interview with Swalwell on March 4, 2016, Fang did go to Swalwell’s apartment twice — both times most likely took place before he was elected to office. He said, in the document, that he does not remember certain details but that one night, after she banged on his door, they “hooked up”.
Swalwell told investigators he barely remembered the event because he had taken an Ambien to help him sleep before Fang arrived.
Despite what was presented as a casual relationship, the investigation at the time did reveal that Fang was the “facilitator of a scheme to trade internships in congressman Eric Swalwell’s Congressional office in return for campaign contributions”.
“Several of these contributions were made through conduits,” a March 9, 2015 document states. “In at least two cases, Fang used conduits to conceal herself as a prohibited Foreign National source.”
According to his interview from 2016, Swalwell cut off contact with Fang after meeting with the FBI regarding this matter and had not received any further communication from her.
Fang has since been barred from re-entering the U.S. and the case was closed in 2017. No further legal action was taken.
“In consultation with San Francisco Division Executive Management, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, SAC San Francisco has determined that prosecution is non-viable due to national security reasons,” according to the closing documents.
Accusations fly between Hernandez, Wahab campaigns in race for Congressional District 14August 14, 2026 9:51 pm
