House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) said Tuesday that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.) should be removed from Congress for his ties to a suspected Chinese spy.
"He accused the president of everything that he did, by lying to the American public and sitting on the Intel Committee," McCarthy said of Swalwell on Fox News’s Ingraham Angle. "Not only should he be removed from the intel, he should be removed from Congress as well."
An Axios report this week revealed Swalwell’s association with suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang. The Chinese national worked to ingratiate herself with several Bay Area Democrats as they ran for national office, including Swalwell.
Swalwell, who suggested the story was leaked by allies of President Donald Trump, sits on the House Intelligence Committee and was the top Democrat on a CIA subcommittee when he was in contact with Fang. McCarthy slammed Swalwell for deflecting criticism over the story and called for Democratic House leadership to be held accountable for granting Swalwell his position on the Intelligence Committee.
"Did Nancy Pelosi know this had transpired when she put [Swalwell] on the committee?" McCarthy said. "Why is [Swalwell] still on the Intel Committee.... Did Adam Schiff know, as chairman of that committee, that he had this problem?"
Fang's ties to Swalwell proved strong enough to allow her to place an intern in Swalwell’s office and connect with Swalwell’s family members on social media. When the FBI investigated Fang in 2015, she abruptly left California and returned to China.