Rep. Jamie Raskin slammed FBI Director Kash Patel over reports that the bureau is preparing to release documents tied to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s past contact with a suspected Chinese spy.
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, accused the FBI of targeting a political opponent instead of focusing on law enforcement.
“The FBI is attempting to smear a sitting U.S. Congressman, candidate for governor, and vocal opponent of the president,” Raskin said.
“What the hell does that have to do with law enforcement? This is plain weaponization of the FBI for partisan political purposes.”
🚨 BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel is pushing to release investigative files related to Eric Swalwell banging a Chinese spy, per WaPo
Fang Fang’s coming back to haunt Swalwell 🤣🔥
RELEASE IT ALL! pic.twitter.com/PXglOn0XFO
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 28, 2026
Reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post said Patel directed agents to gather materials related to Swalwell’s past relationship with Christina Fang, also known as Fang Fang.
Fang assisted Swalwell with fundraising during his 2014 reelection campaign and helped place an intern in his congressional office, placing her in proximity to a sitting member of Congress.
Swalwell ended contact with Fang in 2015 after U.S. intelligence officials warned him about concerns tied to her activities, a decision that came after federal authorities raised alarms about her potential ties to Chinese intelligence efforts.
A Republican-led House Ethics Committee investigation that wrapped in 2023 found Swalwell “may have violated House Rules, law, or other standards of conduct,” but the panel did not pursue further action or impose penalties.
Raskin argued that revisiting the matter serves no legitimate investigative purpose and instead reflects political intent.
He said Patel is “wasting the resources of the FBI and perhaps violating the Hatch Act by ordering agents to spend hours preparing a political smear file.”
Raskin also pointed to reports that agents inside the bureau have raised concerns about the effort, suggesting internal resistance to the directive.
“These exploitations of public office and DOJ files to attack political opponents are in service of Donald Trump’s desperate effort to distract from the disastrous policy failures of this Administration, which is covering up for pedophiles, dragging the country and the world into a disastrous regional war in the Middle East, and inflicting skyrocketing gas and grocery prices on the American people,” Raskin said.
Swalwell responded by accusing the president directly and tying the issue to his own political campaign.
“Donald Trump is targeting me. He’s trying to influence the election. There is only one reason why: he’s scared,” Swalwell posted.
Donald Trump is targeting me. He’s trying to influence the election.
There is only one reason why: he’s scared.https://t.co/met9zdT5S1
— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) March 28, 2026
The California Democrat, who is running for governor, said he plans to formally challenge the FBI’s actions and escalate the issue.
He said he is sending a letter to the bureau outlining what he described as illegal conduct and calling on whistleblowers to come forward with information about the situation.
“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 Director Hoover, or you can say, ‘That’s not who we are, that’s not what we do,’ and you will be protected,” Swalwell said.
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He tied the renewed focus on the investigation to his position in the California governor’s race and suggested political timing was intentional.
The primary is scheduled for June 2, with the top two candidates advancing regardless of party affiliation under California’s election system.
“The president wants a Western White House,” Swalwell said. “The way to do that is to knock out the leading candidate and try to get two Republicans through in our top-two primary.”
He repeated that argument in a public statement, expanding on his claims about political targeting.
“Through great reporting, we now know the outrageous ends the White House will go to target political opponents,” Swalwell said. “As was Trump’s mortgage case against me, this decade-old story is, of course, nonsense.”
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, referred Swalwell to the Department of Justice in November, for alleged mortgage and tax fraud over his home in Washington.
Swalwell filed a lawsuit against Pulte in November, but dropped it in March.
“The reason Trump is so desperately trying to stop me is not because I’m running for governor of California, but because now I’m the favorite,” he added.
“What Trump wants the most is to have a Western White House. An enabler on the opposite coast.”
Swalwell has consistently denied wrongdoing and accused Republicans of inflating the controversy in an effort to damage his political standing.
He revisited the issue during a recent appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” where host Charlamagne tha God raised the spy allegations directly.
“Did the Chinese spy scandal hurt your credibility, or did Republicans just weaponize a nothing-burger, so to speak?” Charlamagne asked.
Swalwell dismissed the premise and pointed to prior findings.
“You know, the fact that the FBI and the House Ethics Committee said it was bulls**t. Like, I would hope that would be enough, but, like, in a disinformation society, like, I recognize that it’s everyone on the right’s favorite meme,” Swalwell responded.
He framed the continued attacks as evidence of his political effectiveness and visibility.
“I wear it as a badge of honor that these guys would want to lie about me all the time because I think it means that I’m landing punches politically on them that sting,” he said.
He went further, suggesting that some Republicans take his criticism personally based on his background.
“I think a lot of Republicans look at me as like, oh, that’s a straight, white, Christian male, son of a cop,” Swalwell said. “So when he comes at me, it’s more of a betrayal to them.”
“Oh, wow,” Charlamagne responded.
Swalwell said he has heard similar reactions from political opponents.
“That’s why they take it so personally,” he added.
An FBI spokesperson pushed back on claims of political motivation and defended the agency’s actions.
“This FBI, being the most transparent in history, 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,” the spokesperson said.
Swalwell’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist demand to Patel on Monday.
“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,” the letter stated.
“Your actions threat to expose you, others at the FBI and the FBI itself to significant legal liability. Indeed, disclosure of the investigative file would violate federal law in several respects.”
The controversy has expanded beyond the original allegations involving Fang.
A report from NOTUS detailed how Swalwell and a former staffer, Yardena Wolf, promoted a startup called Findraiser to fellow lawmakers and political operatives.
The outreach included texts, emails, and in-person pitches, raising concerns among some Democrats about whether official positions were used to advance the project.
Swalwell and Wolf repeatedly contacted congressional colleagues to promote the venture, prompting questions about ethics and boundaries.
Swalwell’s campaign has also drawn scrutiny over funding tied to Keliang “Clay” Zhu.
Zhu donated $25,000 to Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign earlier this month after previous contributions totaling thousands of dollars to both his gubernatorial and congressional campaigns.
He is a partner at DeHeng Law Offices, a Beijing-based firm with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
