Seventeen top GOP lawmakers in the House sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Tuesday urging her to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from the House Intelligence Committee following revelation of his alleged longtime dalliance with a Chinese spy.
“We write to you today out of concern with Congressman Eric Swalwell’s reported, close contacts with a Chinese Communist Party spy recently reported by Axios,” the letter began, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Wire. “Because of Rep. Swalwell’s position on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, his close interactions with Chinese intelligence services, however unintentional they may be, are an unacceptable national security risk.”
An alleged Chinese Ministry of State Security operative named Christine Fang, also known as Fang Fang, had a relationship with Swalwell that U.S. intelligence officials believe was sexual, as reported by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The letter went on to reference when Pelosi described former Attorney General Jeff Sessions as “not fit to serve” and called for his resignation after the Washington Post reported he had two meetings with the Russian ambassador.
“By your own standards, Congressman Swalwell is unfit to serve on the Intelligence Committee,” they added.
“Obviously, Rep. Swalwell’s interactions with a Chinese spy were more dangerous and unusual than AG Sessions’ meetings with a Russian diplomat,” the letter continued. “But to make matters worse, Rep. Swalwell kept this information to himself while repeatedly using his position on [the Intelligence Committee] to peddle damaging and baseless conspiracies about President Donald Trump’s unproven ties to Russia for years and still refuses to comment fully on the extent and nature of his relationship with the Chinese Communist Party spy exposed in Axios’ bombshell report.”
The signatories went on to urge Pelosi “to immediately remove Rep. Swalwell from his position on the House Intelligence Committee.”
“I don’t have any concern about Mr. Swalwell,” Pelosi told reporters last week.
Reps. Jim Banks (R-IN) and Chip Roy (R-TX) signed their names at the top of the letter, followed by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Rep. Ron Wright (R-TX), Rep. Ted Budd (R-TN), Rep Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Rep. Fred Keller (R-PA) and Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK).
“Speaker Pelosi spent four years yelling about President Trump being compromised by Russia, despite never having evidence to support her claim,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Well, now we have proof our foremost adversary compromised a lawmaker who regularly handles highly classified intelligence. Speaker Pelosi needs to step up, put country over party and call on Rep. Swalwell to resign from the House Intelligence Committee.”
Related: Rep. Eric Swalwell Accuses Donald Trump Of Leaking Report Connecting Him To Chinese Spy