包括佩洛西、希夫和纳德勒在内的资深民主党人曾将有关方芳的担忧斥为“无稽之谈”和“政治报复”
2026年8月21日 美国东部时间早上6:00 / 福克斯新闻
作者：亚历克·舍梅尔
FBI在机场查获斯瓦威尔电子设备，搜查其华盛顿住所
福克斯新闻资深全国通讯员凯文·科克在《杰西·沃特斯黄金时段》节目中报道了FBI在旧金山国际机场查获前加利福尼亚州民主党众议员埃里克·斯瓦威尔的电子设备，并于次日搜查了他在华盛顿特区的住所。
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“毫无顾虑”“恶毒的无稽之谈”“毫无根据的指控”。一场“轻浮的政治闹剧”。
这些是资深民主党人为前众议员埃里克·斯瓦威尔辩护时使用的言辞，当时前共和党众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡以斯瓦威尔与涉嫌中国情报特工克里斯汀·“方芳”·方的关系为由，试图将这位加州民主党人从权力极大的众议院情报委员会赶下台。
如今，最新解密的FBI文件和对其住所的突袭搜查，让民主党此前否认的、并辩称不足以成为麦卡锡行动理由的斯瓦威尔与方芳的关系，重新浮出水面。
周一由白宫政府透明度特别工作组发布的最新解密文件，详细记录了两次对斯瓦威尔的FBI面谈，均作为更广泛调查的一部分，该调查旨在审查方芳涉及非法竞选捐款、向斯瓦威尔办公室输送实习生及其他活动的情况。
解密FBI文件显示：斯瓦威尔曾多次与“方芳”发生性关系
凯文·麦卡锡（左）与埃里克·斯瓦威尔（右）。（盖蒂图片社）
与此同时，FBI探员于周六晚间在旧金山国际机场查获了斯瓦威尔的电子设备，其华盛顿特区住所于次日遭到搜查，这是针对其性行为不端调查的一部分。
“我旁听了那次简报会。当凯文·麦卡锡歪曲事实、损害美国人民利益时，这是可耻的，”2023年1月，时任众议员亚当·希夫（加州民主党）在麦卡锡阻止斯瓦威尔重返情报委员会时如此说道。曾任众议院情报委员会主席的希夫补充称，斯瓦威尔在该委员会“履职光荣”，“从未被指控有任何不当行为”，并将麦卡锡的批评称为“明显不公的抹黑”。
“议长先生，我很少听到像少数党领袖几分钟前所说的那种恶毒的无稽之谈。他指责斯瓦威尔的竞选团队中藏有中国间谍或中国特工。我知道他已经提出了一项决议，要以此为由将斯瓦威尔从委员会中除名，”纽约州民主党众议员杰里·纳德勒在众议院发言时表示，“这太荒谬了。我认为麦卡锡先生应该感到羞耻，因为他是一位经验丰富的竞选活动人士——他清楚这一点——提出这些毫无根据的指控。”
斯瓦威尔辞职之际恰逢涉华丑闻爆发，批评者要求公布文件
时任美国众议员亚当·希夫（加州民主党，右）与时任美国众议员埃里克·斯瓦威尔（加州民主党，左）在国会山新闻发布会上。（摄影：凯文·迪奇/盖蒂图片社）
此次首次公开解密的文件显示，FBI对斯瓦威尔的担忧不止于他与方芳的恋爱关系——斯瓦威尔在文件披露的面谈中已承认这段关系。解密文件还显示，探员已就方芳展开全面调查，涉及可能的贿赂、外国竞选捐款，以及用接近斯瓦威尔的机会和国会实习职位换取政治捐款的行为。
文件还显示，FBI将方芳视为重大反情报威胁，怀疑其与中国国家安全部（MSS）有关联，并曾试图将她招募为FBI线人。
佩洛西及加州民主党议员就重磅性侵犯指控抨击斯瓦威尔：“不可原谅”
调查人员最终未发现证据表明斯瓦威尔参与了权钱交易计划或犯下联邦腐败违规行为，他在2017年被从调查对象名单中移除。另外，两党众议院道德委员会于2023年5月结束了对斯瓦威尔与方芳互动的调查，未对其采取进一步行动。
2020年12月风波首次爆发时，时任众议院议长南希·佩洛西也曾公开为斯瓦威尔辩护，当被问及是否应将加强安全措施与国会影响力职位挂钩时，她表示：“我对斯瓦威尔先生没有任何顾虑”。她的办公室随后还表示，佩洛西“完全信任斯瓦威尔议员在国会及情报委员会的履职表现”。
佩洛西在性不端指控风波中与盟友斯瓦威尔划清界限
佩洛西和麦卡锡后来于2020年12月就此事听取了机密FBI简报。麦卡锡会后表示，斯瓦威尔“不应留在情报委员会”，而佩洛西仍支持这位加州民主党人，后者于2021年3月重新获任情报委员会委员。
“我了解所发生的一切，以及他的所作所为和行为举止，尤其是在他出访其他国家时，我会对他担任任何能接触敏感信息的职位非常谨慎，”麦卡锡今年早些时候告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“他生活中的鲁莽行事，以及传回的报告，我认为他甚至永远都不应被考虑担任州长候选人，仅此而已。”
前众议院议长南希·佩洛西否认知晓针对加利福尼亚州民主党众议员埃里克·斯瓦威尔的性不端指控。（摄影：内森·波斯纳/阿纳多卢通讯社 via 盖蒂图片社；摄影：德米特里厄斯·弗里曼/《华盛顿邮报》 via 盖蒂图片社）
时任众议院多数党领袖斯坦尼·霍耶同样驳斥麦卡锡将斯瓦威尔除名的努力是一场“轻浮的政治闹剧”，旨在“攻击一位优秀国会议员的声誉”。霍耶还将共和党此举描述为“毫无根据的企图”。
参议员加列戈称与斯瓦威尔的长期友谊“影响了我的判断”，华盛顿谣言四起
2023年1月，亚利桑那州民主党众议员鲁本·加列戈在为斯瓦威尔辩护时更进一步，他在CNN上表示：“FBI已经明确表示，斯瓦威尔……已被洗清嫌疑”。加列戈称斯瓦威尔和希夫“没有任何不当行为”，并驳斥了他们构成国家安全威胁的说法。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用
福克斯新闻数字频道联系了本文提及的几位资深民主党人，但未在截稿前收到回复。
亚历克·舍梅尔是福克斯新闻数字频道的政治记者，原籍北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市，现居住在华盛顿特区-巴尔的摩都会区。
Top Dems go silent after McCarthy vindicated for booting Swalwell off intel committee
Senior Dems including Pelosi, Schiff and Nadler had dismissed concerns about Fang Fang as ‘nonsense,’ political vengeance
August 21, 2026 6:00am EDT / Fox News
By Alec Schemmel
FBI seizes Swalwell’s devices at airport, searches his DC home
Fox News senior national correspondent Kevin Corke reports on the FBI seizing former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, D-Calif., electronic devices at San Francisco International Airport and searching his Washington, D.C., home on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
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“No concern.” “Pernicious nonsense.” “Spurious allegations.” A “frivolous, political exercise.”
Those were among the defenses senior Democrats mounted on former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s behalf as former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to force the California Democrat off the powerful House Intelligence Committee over his relationship with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine “Fang Fang” Fang.
Now, newly declassified FBI records and a raid on his home are casting fresh light on Swalwell’s relationship with Fang that Democrats denied and previously argued did not justify McCarthy’s actions.
The newly declassified records, released by the White House Government Transparency Task Force Monday, detail two FBI interviews with Swalwell, both conducted as part of a broader investigation examining Fang’s involvement with illicit campaign contributions, funneling interns to Swalwell’s office and other activity.
DECLASSIFIED FBI DOCS REVEAL SWALWELL HAD SEX WITH ‘FANG FANG’ MULTIPLE TIMES
Kevin McCarthy (left) and Eric Swalwell (right).(Getty Images)
Meanwhile, FBI agents seized Swalwell’s electronic devices at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday night, while his Washington, D.C., residence was subsequently searched the following day, as part of a probe into sexual misconduct.
“I sat in on that briefing. And when Kevin McCarthy misrepresents it and does that disservice to the American people, it’s shameful,” then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in January 2023 as McCarthy blocked Swalwell from returning to the Intelligence Committee. Schiff, who had chaired the House Intelligence Committee, added that Swalwell had “served honorably” on the panel, had “never been accused of any kind of wrongdoing” and called McCarthy’s criticism a “patently unfair smear.”
“Mr. Speaker, I have rarely heard such pernicious nonsense as we heard from the minority leader a few minutes ago. He accused Mr. Swalwell of having a Chinese spy or Chinese agent in his campaign. I understand he has introduced a resolution to remove Mr. Swalwell from his committee for that purpose,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said during remarks from the House floor. “That is absurd. And I think Mr. McCarthy ought to be ashamed because he is an experienced campaigner — he knows this — for raising these spurious allegations.”
SWALWELL RESIGNATION COLLIDES WITH CHINA-LINKED SCANDAL AS CRITICS DEMAND FILE RELEASE
Then-U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., (right) and then-U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., (left) at a press conference on Capitol Hill.(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The newly declassified files show for the first time publicly that the FBI’s concerns about Swalwell went beyond just the fact he had a romantic relationship with Fang, which Swalwell admitted to in the interviews uncovered in the file. The declassified documents also showed agents had launched a full investigation tied to Fang examining possible bribery, foreign campaign contributions and efforts to trade access to Swalwell and congressional internships for political donations.
The records also show how the FBI viewed Fang as a significant counterintelligence concern, suspecting ties to China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) and at one point attempting to recruit her as an FBI confidential source.
PELOSI, CALIFORNIA DEMS SLAM SWALWELL OVER BOMBSHELL SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: ‘INDEFENSIBLE’
Investigators ultimately did not find evidence that Swalwell participated in a quid-pro-quo scheme or committed federal corruption violations, and he was removed as a subject of the investigation in 2017. Separately, the bipartisan House Ethics Committee closed its investigation into Swalwell’s interactions with Fang in May 2023 without taking further action against him.
Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also publicly defended Swalwell as the controversy first erupted in December 2020, saying, “I don’t have any concern about Mr. Swalwell” when asked about whether increased security should be tied to positions of influence in Congress. Her office separately said Pelosi had “full confidence in Congressman Swalwell’s service in the Congress and on the Intelligence Committee.”
PELOSI DISTANCES HERSELF FROM ALLY SWALWELL AMID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
Pelosi and McCarthy later received a classified FBI briefing on the matter in December 2020. McCarthy emerged from the briefing saying Swalwell “should not be on Intel,” while Pelosi continued to back the California Democrat, who was later reappointed to the Intelligence Committee in March 2021.
“The knowledge that I have of what transpired and the actions that he has done and the behavior, especially when he’s gone to other countries, I would be very leery of him in any position of that can have sensitive information,” McCarthy previously told Fox News Digital earlier this year. “The recklessness in which he lived his life, the reports that have come back, I think it would be hard for him to ever even be considered as a governor candidate, period.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has denied having any knowledge of the sexual misconduct allegations facing Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.(Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Then-House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer likewise dismissed McCarthy’s effort to remove Swalwell as a “frivolous, political exercise” intended to “attack the reputation of an outstanding Member of Congress.” Hoyer also described the Republican push as a “spurious attempt.”
SENATOR GALLEGO SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH SWALWELL ‘CLOUDED MY JUDGMENT’ AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC
And in January 2023, then-Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., went further in defending Swalwell, saying on CNN that “the FBI has clearly stated that Swalwell … has been cleared.” Gallego said Swalwell and Schiff “have not done anything incorrectly” and rejected the suggestion that they posed a national-security threat.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the top Democrats mentioned in this article, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Alec Schemmel is a Politics Reporter for Fox News Digital who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but now resides in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area.