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\u2019s ties to a suspected Chinese spy.<\/p>\n
Patel directed agents in the bureau\u2019s San Francisco office to redact the case files for public release, according to a report by the Washington Post, <\/a> a highly unusual move by the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that did not result in criminal charges.<\/p>\n The investigation centered on Swalwell\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n Swalwell, among the frontrunners in the sprawling field of candidates for California governor, was not accused of impropriety. <\/p>\n The White House referred questions to the FBI and the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n \u201cWe 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\u2019s election,\u201d Swalwell told The Times on Sunday. \u201cThey believe they will get a servant in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n Swalwell said he has not been contacted by the FBI, but \u201cconsidering how they have selectively released or not released files recently, I don\u2019t trust them one bit. This case is closed.\u201d<\/p>\n Swalwell accused Trump of \u201cdesperately trying\u201d to stop him, because he\u2019s 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\u2019s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat Trump wants the most is to have a Western White House. An enabler on the opposite coast,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of people have bent the knee to this administration. But I will not. And neither will the people of California.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time Swalwell has accused the administration of targeting Trump\u2019s political opponents.<\/p>\n Last year, Swalwell sued<\/a> Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, accusing him of criminally misusing government databases to target Trump\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Swalwell secured the endorsement of the California Teachers Assn., a powerful force in state democratic politics.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has endorsed Swalwell<\/a> for governor, shared the Washington Post story on X Saturday, saying, \u201cThis abuse of the FBI is as dangerous as it is unlawful.\u201d Schiff served with Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee<\/a>, where they riled Republicans by investigating President Trump during his first term.<\/p>\n Schiff served as the lead manager of Trump\u2019s first impeachment and Swalwell as a manager of Trump\u2019s second impeachment.<\/p>\n \u201cTime and again, the President and his appointees have weaponized the Department of Justice against those who dare stand up to Trump,\u201d Schiff wrote. He added that there was no doubt that Trump and Patel \u201cwill stop at nothing to try to tell Californians who their next governor should be.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, Gomez accused Patel of \u201cwasting resources\u201d on a \u201cclosed, decade-old case where Swalwell cooperated with the FBI and was found innocent of any wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReopening it now, right as he leads in the polls and ballots are about to drop, is a political hit-job!\u201d Gomez said. \u201cTrump and Kash Patel are weaponizing the FBI against people they deem political enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, released a statement accusing Patel of working at \u201cthe behest of the White House\u201d and \u201cwasting the resources of the FBI and perhaps violating the Hatch Act by ordering agents to spend hours preparing a political smear file for a personnel vendetta.\u201d<\/p>\n Fang came into contact with Swalwell\u2019s 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 \u2014 and briefed Congress \u2014 about Fang in 2015, at which point the California Democrat says he cut off contact with her.<\/a> <\/p>\n