Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has denied claims that now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi alerted the California gubernatorial candidate to an FBI investigation into a relationship with an alleged Chinese spy a decade ago.
“The attorney general did not tip us off. No one in her orbit tipped us off,” Swallwell told MS NOW’s Antonia Hylton on Thursday evening. “It was FBI agents who tipped off The Washington Post because they saw this effort by Kash Patel and Donald Trump to try and interfere in a California governor’s race that I have been leading.”
Last week, The Washington Post reported that Patel pushed agents to gather information about the congressman’s relationship with Christina Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, who reportedly helped him fundraise for his 2014 re-election campaign. Swalwell was never accused of any wrongdoing and, according to the report, when federal agents conveyed their concerns about Fang to him in 2015, he reportedly cut ties with her.
“What this shows, though, and what is quite concerning, is that Donald Trump is seeing ghosts,” the California Democrat said. “He’s certainly gunning for us.”
According to Swalwell, it’s clear the president “wants an attorney general who is willing to break the law and weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.”
“That is what has to be intolerable, not just for Pam Bondi — and I don’t know the reasons why she was let go — but it has to be intolerable for anybody who sits in that chair and carries out what we hope to be the rule of law and a system of justice,” he added.
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The seven-term congressman cautioned members of his party against viewing Bondi’s ouster as a victory for the rule of law and justice.
“This is not something to celebrate, because we know Donald Trump’s instincts here seem to be that he wants somebody to exercise maximum corruption against his political enemies,” he told MS NOW.
Swalwell then delivered a message to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who will serve as the interim head of the Justice Department. The congressman warned the Trump loyalist that “Democrats are going to win the Congress this coming Fall,” and with that comes the subpoena power.
“It’s all coming out,” Swallwell said. “The stakes are high, and the consequences, though, for abuses of power come this time next year will be even higher.”
You can watch Swallwell’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”