Fang Fang 'honey trap spy' scandal involving Eric Swalwell 'surprised' GOP House members who ask 'did Pelosi know?'

THE alleged Fang Fang honey trap spy scandal involving Eric Swalwell has "surprised" Republican House members who asked "did Pelosi know?"

The Democratic rep has been tied to an expose about Chinese national Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, that was published by Axios on Tuesday morning.

Fang allegedly targeted aspiring politicians from 2011 to 2015, with a reported focus on Swalwell.

Swalwell, who is married, is one of the youngest members of the House and someone who Fang reportedly helped with funding.

He has not been accused of having a sexual relationship with Fang, nor any wrongdoing.

His office told The Sun: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

Speaking to Politico on Tuesday, Swalwell refused to discuss his relationship with Fang, but did say his colleagues knew about the story.

"As the story referenced, this goes back to the beginning of the last decade, and it’s something that congressional leadership knew about it," he said.

However, a congressional Republican source told the New York Post that Intelligence Committee Republicans had not been informed of Swalwell's relationship with Fang.

Since the report, some Republicans have been left asking questions about who was informed of the details.

"Did Schiff and [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi know? Why did no one take any steps to keep sensitive intel, at least as it relates to China, far away from a member who is at best potentially compromised?" a Republican close to the White House told the Post.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy posed a similar question during a Tuesday night interview with Fox News.

"Did Nancy Pelosi know this had transpired when she put him on the committee?" McCarthy asked.

Speaking to the Post, a spokesperson for Pelosi, Drew Hammill, declined to comment on when the House Speaker learned of the relationship.

"We cannot further comment on or confirm or deny any such briefings or notifications," he said.

The comments come as McCarthy called for Swalwell to be "removed from Congress" following the explosive report.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg because remember what we’re hearing, these are Chinese spies that go down to the level of a mayor, they court and help a city councilmember become a congressman, this congressman now gets on the Intel Committee," McCarthy told Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham.

He went on to determine: "Not only should he be removed from the Intel, he should be removed from Congress as well."

Republican Texas Representative Lance Gooden has also called on Congress to ban Chinese nationals from serving as Congressional interns, according to reporter Chad Pergram.

Fang reportedly enrolled as a student at Cal State East Bay in 2011 and, according to friends and acquaintances, was in her late 20s or early 30s, according to Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian.

During this time, Fang is believed to have had regular contact with a suspected Chinese Ministry of State Security officer who was under diplomatic cover in the San Francisco consulate.

However, US intelligence officials believe her main handlers were based in China.

She also served as the president of the Chinese Student Association and the campus chapter of APAPA, a group that promotes civic affairs for Asian Pacific Islanders.

Fang reportedly used her position to get a foot in the door of local off-campus politics, leading her to become a regular at fundraisers and other events.

Swalwell was one of Fang's first known political contacts when the pair were acquainted during his time as a councilmember for Dublin City, California.

Their earliest known interaction was facilitated through the Chinese Student Association.

A source told Axios that Fang was a "bundler" during Swalwell's 2014 Congress re-election campaign and encouraged people to donate to his operations.

She also reportedly facilitated potential intern assignments for his offices, including one in Washington, DC.

However, Swalwell reportedly halted any contact with Fang when he received a defense briefing from the FBI about her.

Fang left the United States in mid-2015 as she was being investigated by authorities.

She was expected to attend an event in DC in June 2015, but said she couldn't make it as she had to return to China.

"When she left kind of abruptly, we all kind of scratched our heads," former Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison told Axios.

Following Fang's probe, the FBI has heightened the importance of investigations into Chinese intelligence and influence operations.

In May 2019, the agency even created a unit dedicated to countering Beijing's operations at state and local levels.

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