REPORT: FBI Seeks Documents On Eric Swalwell’s Relationship With Chinese Spy

FBI Director Kash Patel has instructed agents in the San Francisco field office to gather and prepare documents from a closed counterintelligence investigation involving Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang.

According to a report from the New York Times, FBI personnel were directed over the weekend to review the files, apply light redactions, and forward them to senior Trump administration officials. The work is targeted for a completion date of sometime next week.

Some internal discussions reportedly included the possibility of arranging a U.S. visa for Fang to facilitate an interview, though no further details on that idea have been confirmed in public reporting. An FBI spokesperson stated that the bureau “prepares documents for numerous different reasons, including for release to different agencies and departments to further review investigations that may have been opened under previous administrations.”

Swalwell — who is currently running for governor of California — responded by accusing the Trump Administration of political targeting. “Through great reporting, we now know the outrageous ends the White House will go to target political opponents. As was Trump’s mortgage case against me, this decade-old story is, of course, nonsense,” he said.

Release the Fang Fang files and Eric Swalwells political career is over!

Tick tock Eric! pic.twitter.com/G1BlsyBPTh

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 28, 2026

Christine Fang, a Chinese national, was active in U.S. political circles, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, from approximately 2011 to 2015. U.S. officials believed she was engaged in a political intelligence operation linked to China’s civilian spy agency.

She built relationships with several rising local politicians through networking, campaign events, and fundraising support. In some cases involving other politicians, her interactions included personal or romantic elements.

Fang’s contact with Swalwell began when he was a city council member in Dublin, California. She participated in fundraising for his 2014 reelection campaign and helped facilitate the placement of an intern in his congressional office.

The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into Fang’s activities around 2011. Agents provided Swalwell with a defensive briefing around 2015, during which they informed him of concerns about Fang. The probe concluded without charges against Swalwell or Fang, and officials have stated that he was not accused of any impropriety.

Following the public disclosure of the matter in a December 2020 investigation from Axios, the House Ethics Committee opened a review in April 2021 to determine whether Swalwell had violated House rules in his interactions with Fang. The committee closed the matter in May 2023, stating it would take no further action.

Swalwell has maintained that he acted appropriately once alerted by the FBI.

The news comes as Swalwell remains locked in a tight gubernatorial race. While Swalwell is polling as the top Democrat in a crowded field, he currently finds himself sandwiched between two Republican candidates in the state’s open primary format.

Should the Democrat field fail to consolidate and polling holds, a Democratic Party candidate could be left off the ballot.

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