Nancy Pelosi defends colleague Eric Swalwell amid report linking him to suspected Chinese spy

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday defended a member of her Democratic caucus who had links to a suspected Chinese spy, arguing that Republicans were notified about the suspected espionage effort at the same time as the lawmaker at the centre of the scandal, and that he cut connections as soon as all parties were informed.

Pelosi characterised herself as a long-time China hawk in pushing back against attempts to shame her for supporting Representative Eric Swalwell’s seat on the House Intelligence Committee. The controversy started with revelations by US news website Axios this week that the suspected spy, known alternatively as Fang Fang and Christine Fang, did fundraising work for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign.

Swalwell cut ties to Fang after the FBI alerted him in 2015 about their suspicions that she was an operative dispatched by China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) to influence US politicians, according to the Axios report, which added that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the matter.

“I don’t have any concern about Mr Swalwell,” Pelosi said, explaining that Swalwell, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – who is demanding that the lawmaker be removed from the intelligence committee – and the rest of the House leadership from both parties were warned about Fang at the same time in 2015.

“I’ve been fighting [the Chinese government] as you know for over 30 years in terms of their undue influence at universities, in our country, and the overtures they tried to make to members of Congress,” Pelosi added.

Calling Swalwell “a national security threat”, McCarthy said on Thursday that he learned of Fang’s alleged activities only when Axios reported the details, and that he has asked the FBI for a briefing.

US sanctions Chinese legislators for national security law on Hong Kong

Fang returned to China “abruptly” in mid-2015, as the FBI was investigating her, Axios reported, citing Bill Harrison, a former mayor of Fremont, California, one of many politicians the suspected spy tried to influence.

Fang appeared in fundraising materials for, and photos with, other California Democrats including US Representatives Judy Chu and Ro Khanna, who are sitting House members, and Mike Honda, who lost his seat to Khanna in 2017, according to Axios.

McCarthy’s efforts to portray Swalwell as a national security threat, and to implicate other Democrats, come as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issues frequent warnings about attempts by MSS agents to infiltrate the US government and engage in espionage that undermines American national security and commercial interests. Pompeo has also moved to sever ties by issuing sanctions against Chinese officials and cutting joint programmes.

Last week, Pompeo announced visa restrictions on Chinese government officials affiliated with the United Front Work Department, a Chinese Communist Party organ that works to strengthen adherence to the party both within and outside China.

Also last week, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal that “the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom worldwide since World War II”.