A congressman who ran for president was compromised by a Chinese espionage operation. And yet, Eric Swalwell remains on the House Intelligence Committee without offering any real explanation of what happened, because … well, it’s good to be a Democrat!
Swalwell had been close enough with a Chinese intelligence officer that she was able to place an intern in his office. Christine Fang (or Fang Fang) had been in contact with Swalwell as early as his days as a Dublin city councilman in 2012 and had fundraised for his reelection to Congress as late as 2014.
Swalwell has refused to discuss his relationship with Fang, who was also reported to have been in sexual relationships with two unnamed Midwestern mayors. Instead, he claimed the story was a hit job by the Axios, which isn’t exactly known for being the home of Trump sycophants. He was joined in this deflection by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who instead attacked Republicans over the QAnon conspiracy theory that most people haven’t even heard of.
Swalwell thinks he can simply weather the storm, and he probably can. The same liberal media outlets that had him on their airwaves or in the papers to rant about Russian collusion won’t be bothered to press him on his relationship with a Chinese spy. The New York Times, recently considered the national “newspaper of record,” has plenty of pieces warning of how much the Russians liked former GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, but it still hasn’t even acknowledged the Swalwell story.
Swalwell is not even particularly important to the Democratic Party. He’s a mediocre politician afflicted for a time with egotistical delusions that he could become president. Any Democrat could sit on the Intelligence Committee in his place, or even take his place in a solidly Democratic congressional district.
But Swalwell had the right team, so he can try and ride it out. He also didn’t run afoul of a Democratic hobby horse, like Al Franken did with the #MeToo movement. Democrats don’t care as much about the threat China poses as they do about bothering Donald Trump, which Swalwell made his day job in countless television appearances.
If Pelosi or Swalwell seem smug in their deflections, it’s because they can afford to be so. The public has a much lower opinion of establishment media for this very reason. As with Joe Biden’s campaign trail disappearing act, or the litany of hateful, anti-Semitic statements put out by Rep. Ilhan Omar, the establishment media is content to let Swalwell off the hook for his exploits so long as there is a D next to his name.
