Lawyers representing Representative Eric Swalwell have issued a cease-and-desist letter to FBI Director Kash Patel, demanding an immediate halt to any attempts to release records from a decade-old investigation.
The inquiry, which involved the California Democrat and a suspected Chinese operative, concluded without any criminal charges being filed against Swalwell.
The letter, sent Monday, warns Patel that proceeding with the release of these investigative files would contravene both federal law and long-standing Justice Department policy. Swalwell’s attorneys are seeking a response within three days, confirming compliance with their demand, and have threatened legal action should efforts to publicize the files continue.
“The Congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California,” stated the letter from Swalwell’s attorneys, Sean Hecker and Norm Eisen. They added, “Your actions threat to expose you, others at the FBI and the FBI itself to significant legal liability. Indeed, disclosure of the investigative file would violate federal law in several respects.”
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The Washington Post first reported that Patel had directed agents to review and redact files from the investigation in preparation for their release even though it is extraordinarily unusual for the Justice Department to publicly disclose records from criminal inquiries that do not result in charges. An FBI spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday but earlier told the Post that the FBI “prepares documents for numerous different reasons.”
The investigation concerned interactions that Swalwell was reported to have had with the suspected operative, Christine Fang, who came into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012 and participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign.
Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and briefed Congress about Fang in 2015, at which point Swalwell says he cut off contact with her. He was not accused of wrongdoing and a House Ethics Committee investigation that was opened in 2021 closed two years later without any action.
Swalwell is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and served as one of the House managers in the second of two impeachments of Trump during the Republican’s first term. He has also openly clashed with Patel, who named Swalwell and dozens of other perceived adversaries of Trump in a 2023 book he wrote called “Government Gangsters.”
