Recently, the lawyer of Californian Congressman Eric Swalwell has written a letter to the FBI director requesting the halt of publicizing investigation documents related to his relationship with a Chinese woman named Fang Fang (suspected of being a spy). As multiple media outlets have reported on this, a segment of a video from historian and scholar Victor Davis Hanson commenting on this matter last year is currently circulating on social media.
Victor Davis Hanson, a prominent American historian, military commentator, and conservative public intellectual, holds significant sway in discussions on American politics and culture. In the video, Hanson recalls that Fang Fang once visited his office at the Hoover Institution but he quickly saw through her tactics and did not allow her any opportunity to be alone with him.
According to Hanson, “I have written some critical articles about the Chinese Communist Party, and Fang Fang came to me posing as a Bay Area consulate official. I believe she wanted to inform me that she was a political intermediary responsible for monitoring American politics.”
“When she walked into my office at the Hoover Institution, I kept the door open, and one of my researchers was with me the whole time. She changed accents, attire, unless you were a stupid, narcissistic idiot, no one would fall for it. I’m serious.” Hanson then shared his thoughts on Swalwell.
Hanson remarked, “For me, he (Swalwell) would say it’s because I’m older, so I’m more susceptible. But the point is, that (incident) was ten or twelve years ago. He fell for it. When he was still serving on the House Intelligence Committee, he got involved with her. So, as far as that guy goes, the story ends here… “Honey trap” is just a joke. Anyone can see through it.”
Fang Fang, also known as Christine Fang, was remarkably active in California’s political circles from 2011 to 2015, focusing on recruiting promising political newcomers in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the US. On December 8, 2020, the US media Axios published an investigative report on Fang Fang.
The Axios report unveiled intricate details of this scandal: Chinese female spy Fang Fang swiftly infiltrated the sensitive American political realm through long-term financial inducements (political fundraising) and sexual bribes. Fang Fang maintained unusually close ties with the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. US counterintelligence officials believe that her superiors were from the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The report revealed that Fang Fang kept ambiguous relationships with multiple American politicians, especially considering Swalwell as a key “target for cultivation.” They began their association when Swalwell was still a city councilor and appeared in several public interactions and photos together.
Fang Fang assisted Swalwell by fundraising for his political campaigns, rapidly propelling his career. In 2013, Swalwell entered the US Congress, subsequently appointed as a member of the House Intelligence Committee and serving as the Chief Democrat on the CIA Oversight Subcommittee, gaining access to highly classified US information.
In 2015, after warnings from US intelligence agencies, Swalwell severed contact with Fang Fang. The House Ethics Committee conducted a two-year investigation into Swalwell’s and Fang Fang’s affair starting in 2021, ultimately taking no further action. However, there have been ongoing external doubts about whether he may have “potentially revealed any sensitive information.”