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Kash Patel's push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI

The FBI director seeks to post documents on Rep. Eric Swalwell despite no public evidence of wrongdoing, officials said.

March 28, 2026 at 11:57 a.m. EDT


Director Kash Patel after a news conference in October in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

By Perry Stein

FBI Director Kash Patel is pressing to release a decade-old investigative file involving Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, recently dispatching agents in the bureau's San Francisco office to quickly redact the files before they are released publicly despite no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell, according to three people familiar with the effort.

{snip}

https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/perry-stein/

I thought this might already have been posted, but I can't find it.

Reminder, Joe.My.God.

https://www.joemygod.com/2026/03/fbi-revives-2015-spy-investigation-into-swalwell/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/us/politics/trump-fbi-patel-eric-swalwell.html?unlocked_article_code1.WlA.HADO.k8F4722xBQKT

Trump administration officials have ordered F.B.I. agents to gather documents about a decade-old investigation into a Democratic congressman and his ties to a suspected Chinese spy, according to people familiar with the matter. The effort has alarmed law enforcement officials who said they feared the material could be released publicly to smear the lawmaker, Representative Eric Swalwell, a prominent critic of President Trump who is now running for governor of California.

The investigation dates from more than a decade ago, when F.B.I. counterintelligence agents looked into a Chinese woman, Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, who assisted Mr. Swalwell with fund-raising. The F.B.I. concluded the investigation, and the DOJ did not bring any criminal charges. In recent days, scores of F.B.I. agents and other personnel in California were instructed to gather the documents on Mr. Swalwell and Ms. Fang, with the goal of working through the weekend to finish a review by early next week.

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Kash Patel's push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/28/fbi-patel-eric-swalwell/

FBI leaders have recently suggested in internal discussions that the government could try to arrange for Fang to get a U.S. visa in exchange for speaking with FBI agents about the Democrat, according to the three people with knowledge of Patel's efforts. It would be highly unorthodox to grant a visa to a person suspected of being an intelligence agent for a foreign superpower.

The lengths that Patel's circle is going to in the bid to pursue a political foe of the president has raised alarms within the bureau, where some officials fear that releasing the files -- even with redactions -- could compromise law enforcement sources and investigatory methods, making it harder for the FBI to gain trust with potential witnesses.

They also said they feared the repercussions of sending agents to the territory of an adversarial nation to dig up information on a sitting congressman. Such an interview, legal experts said, would be impossible without Chinese interference, and Fang would be considered an unreliable witness.