Swalwell lawyers demand Patel halt any plan to release old investigative files

Attorneys for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) are warning the FBI against releasing files in a decade-old case related to an investigation into a Chinese spy.

The cease and desist letter comes amid reports FBI agents and other personnel in California have been directed to gather and redact sensitive information from documents in preparation for sharing with senior Trump administration officials

Swalwell was not accused of criminal wrongdoing and severed ties with Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, in 2015 after being briefed by U.S. intelligence officials on their suspicions of her. 

“The Congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California,” attorneys Sean Hecker and Norm Eisen wrote in the letter to FBI Director Kash Patel.

“Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability,” they added. “Indeed, disclosure of the investigative file would violate federal law in several respects.” 

Swalwell, who is running for governor in the Golden State, has said the renewed interest in the case is purely political.

The files stem from a decade-old counterintelligence probe into Fang, who reportedly helped Swalwell with fundraising and placing an intern in his office during the 2014 campaign cycle.

A two-year House Ethics probe into the Democrat’s dealings with Fang concluded in 2023 without taking any further action.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the FBI was also considering trying to get Fang a visa to come to the U.S. to speak with the bureau about Swalwell.

It’s highly unusual to release documents in a case that never resulted in charges and more so to seek a visa for someone accused of being a spy for a foreign adversary.

The lawmaker’s attorneys said any release would not only violate the Privacy Act of 1974 but also his First Amendment rights.

“Your effort to release material from a long-closed investigation in which the Congressman provided valuable assistance to the FBI and was never accused of wrongdoing serves no valid law enforcement purpose,” they wrote, adding the disclosure “risk[s] compromising critical law enforcement sources and methods.”

The lawyers added, “Your effort to release this information is, instead, a nakedly partisan attempt to target Congressman Swalwell based on his political views—in clear violation of the First Amendment.”

The move would also run afoul of the Justice Department’s guidelines, Hecker and Eisen noted, which prohibits taking action close to an election. California’s primary is scheduled for June 2.

The FBI did not immediately respond to request for comment on the letter, which asks for confirmation in three days that it will comply with the demand.

Swalwell on Monday said during an appearance on CNN that any release of the files would amount to “corruption.”

“You can either enable Kash Patel and Donald Trump’s corruption and rot, and have the FBI go back to looking like the days under [former FBI] Director [J. Edgar] Hoover, or you can say, ‘That’s not who we are, that’s not what we do,’ and you will be protected,” he told host Brianna Keilar. 

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