Rep. Swalwell’s Legal Team Urges FBI Director to Withhold Release of Past Investigation File

WASHINGTON – Attorneys representing Representative Eric Swalwell have issued a firm demand to FBI Director Kash Patel, calling for an immediate halt to any attempts to release records from a decade-old FBI investigation. This inquiry involved the California Democrat and a suspected Chinese operative but concluded with no criminal charges.

In a cease-and-desist letter, Swalwell’s legal team cautioned Patel against releasing files from the FBI’s investigative dossier, warning that doing so would contravene federal law and established Justice Department protocols. The letter insists on a prompt response from Patel within three days, confirming his adherence to this demand, and cautions that any further actions to publicize these records could lead to legal proceedings.

“The Congressman has never faced accusations of misconduct in this matter, and your efforts to release the file appear to be a blatant attempt to tarnish his reputation and disrupt his gubernatorial campaign in California,” stated the letter from Swalwell’s lawyers, Sean Hecker and Norm Eisen. “Such actions threaten to expose you and others within the FBI to substantial legal liability. In fact, disclosing this investigative file would breach federal law on several fronts.”

The Washington Post initially revealed that Patel had instructed agents to scrutinize and redact these files in anticipation of their release. This move is highly unusual, as the Justice Department typically refrains from making public any records from investigations that do not culminate in charges. While an FBI spokesperson has not yet responded to inquiries on Monday, they previously informed the Post that the FBI “prepares documents for numerous different reasons.”

The investigation in question involved interactions between Swalwell and Christine Fang, a suspected operative. Fang had connections with Swalwell’s campaign during his initial congressional run in 2012 and was involved in fundraising efforts 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.”