Swalwell accuses Trump of trying to influence California governor’s race with old FBI files

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for governor of California, has accused President Trump of trying to sway the election following reports that FBI Director Kash Patel may release documents from a decade-old investigation into the congressman’s ties to a suspected Chinese spy.

Patel directed agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to redact the case files for public release, according to a report by the Washington Post, a highly unusual move by the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that did not result in criminal charges.

The investigation centered on Swalwell’s ties to a suspected intelligence operative, Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, who worked as a volunteer raising money for his congressional campaign. Swalwell cut off ties to Fang in 2015, after intelligence officials briefed him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate the legislative body.

Swalwell, among the frontrunners in the sprawling field of candidates for California governor, was not accused of impropriety.

The White House referred questions to the FBI and the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are at war. Gas prices are soaring. And threats against the homeland are on the rise. But instead of concentrating on the issues most important to this country, Donald Trump and Kash Patel have decided to continue their revenge tour and to interfere in the California Governor’s election,” Swalwell told The Times on Sunday. “They believe they will get a servant in Sacramento.”

Swalwell said he has not been contacted by the FBI, but “considering how they have selectively released or not released files recently, I don’t trust them one bit. This case is closed.”

Swalwell accused Trump of “desperately trying” to stop him, because he’s now the favored candidate for California governor. Swalwell and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter were tied for top Democrat candidate, according to a poll released earlier this month by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.

“What Trump wants the most is to have a Western White House. An enabler on the opposite coast,” he said. “A lot of people have bent the knee to this administration. But I will not. And neither will the people of California.”

It’s not the first time Swalwell has accused the administration of targeting Trump’s political opponents.

Last year, Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, accusing him of criminally misusing government databases to target Trump’s political opponents. Pulte had accused Swalwell of mortgage fraud and referred him to the Justice Department for a potential federal criminal probe. Swalwell dropped that suit this month.

Swalwell, a former prosecutor who ran for president in 2020, announced his bid for California governor in November. Swalwell said his decision was driven by the serious problems facing California and the threats posed to the state and nation with Trump in the White House.

On Sunday, Swalwell secured the endorsement of the California Teachers Assn., a powerful force in state democratic politics.

U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has endorsed Swalwell for governor, shared the Washington Post story on X Saturday, saying, “This abuse of the FBI is as dangerous as it is unlawful.” Schiff served with Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee, where they riled Republicans by investigating President Trump during his first term.

Schiff served as the lead manager of Trump’s first impeachment and Swalwell as a manager of Trump’s second impeachment.

“Time and again, the President and his appointees have weaponized the Department of Justice against those who dare stand up to Trump,” Schiff wrote. He added that there was no doubt that Trump and Patel “will stop at nothing to try to tell Californians who their next governor should be.”

The Post story unleashed a flood of critiques from California politicians, including Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. On X, Gomez accused Patel of “wasting resources” on a “closed, decade-old case where Swalwell cooperated with the FBI and was found innocent of any wrongdoing.”

“Reopening it now, right as he leads in the polls and ballots are about to drop, is a political hit-job!” Gomez said. “Trump and Kash Patel are weaponizing the FBI against people they deem political enemies.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, released a statement accusing Patel of working at “the behest of the White House” and “wasting the resources of the FBI and perhaps violating the Hatch Act by ordering agents to spend hours preparing a political smear file for a [personal] vendetta.”

Fang came into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012. She also participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign and helped place an intern in his office. Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns — and briefed Congress — about Fang in 2015, at which point the California Democrat says he cut off contact with her.

In 2023, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked Swalwell from continuing to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence due to the past connection with an alleged spy. That same year, the House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation into the allegations of Swalwell’s ties to Fang.

In closing the probe, the ethics committee wrote in a letter to Swalwell that it had “previously reviewed allegations of improper influence by foreign agents and in doing so, cautioned that Members should be conscious of the possibility that foreign governments may attempt to secure improper influence through gifts and other interactions.”

Swalwell released a statement after the investigation was closed, stating that he’d assisted the FBI in its counterintelligence investigation of Fang.

“Despite the FBI repeatedly saying I was nothing but helpful and never accused of wrongdoing, this complaint was filed by a House Republican,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”

“If the intent in bringing this complaint and leveling false smears was to silence me, that is not going to happen,” he added.

In an interview with The Times in November, the day before he announced he was running for governor, Swalwell said the FBI and the House Ethics Committee had previously cleared him.

“The FBI said, ‘By the way, like he did nothing wrong, he was always cooperative.’ And also the House Ethics Committee that McCarthy led said, ‘He did nothing wrong.’ So, you know, I can’t say anything better than, like, what Kevin McCarthy’s ethics committee said. But I get why they see me as a villain. And go after me, and that’s fine.”

On Saturday, Swalwell’s campaign team sent out an email referencing the “explosive new reporting,” and asking for donations to help “fight back.”

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.