FBI grabs Swalwell’s devices at airport, searches DC home as scandal explodes

BS BULLETIN

FBI agents seized former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s electronic devices at San Francisco International Airport Saturday and searched his Washington home Sunday.
ABC News reports the seizures are part of a federal criminal investigation; state and local investigations are also underway.
The bombshell comes days after newly released FBI files detailed Swalwell’s past relationship with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine Fang.

Things have gone from disastrous to potentially much worse for former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell.

ABC News reported Thursday that FBI agents seized Swalwell’s phone and other electronic devices at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, then served another federal search warrant at his Washington, D.C., residence on Sunday. Sources told ABC that the searches are part of a criminal investigation.

That is a significant escalation. Search warrants require investigators to convince a federal judge that probable cause exists to believe evidence of a federal crime will be found in the place or property being searched.

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, hardly a member of the MAGA fan club, called the development “huge” during CNN’s coverage and noted the obvious question: Why has the FBI entered a case that had largely involved allegations of sexual misconduct normally investigated by state and local authorities?

Swalwell has denied the sexual misconduct allegations against him. Those accusations previously detonated what had once been a promising run for California governor and led to his resignation from Congress earlier this year. The latest federal action comes on top of investigations reportedly involving the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles County authorities.

Just days ago, newly declassified FBI records blew open the long-running controversy surrounding Swalwell and suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine “Fang Fang” Fang. The records say Swalwell acknowledged during a 2015 FBI interview that he had “physical relations” with Fang on a “handful of occasions.”

The documents also revived questions about Fang’s political activities. Reporting on the files says investigators found evidence that Fang helped solicit campaign contributions involving foreign nationals for Swalwell’s political operation. The earlier investigation was eventually closed without criminal charges against Swalwell, and the House Ethics Committee ended its own investigation in 2023 without taking action.

Swalwell’s attorneys have portrayed the release of those old FBI materials as politically motivated retaliation. But Thursday’s news involves something altogether different: newly executed federal search warrants and the seizure of the former congressman’s electronics.

No federal charges stemming from the new investigation have been announced, and the existence of a search warrant does not establish guilt. But FBI agents taking your devices at the airport and searching your home the following day is a long way from an unpleasant cable-news cycle.

MY QUICK TAKE

For years, this was one of the loudest Democrats in Washington lecturing America about Donald Trump, Russia, national security, foreign influence and the sacred majesty of federal investigations.

Now the FBI is waiting for him at the airport.

You couldn’t get Rush to stop laughing long enough to get through the first commercial break.

And what a week. First America learns what those old Fang Fang files actually said. Then, before Swalwell can presumably locate the world’s largest couch to hide behind, federal agents reportedly take his electronics and show up at his house with a warrant.

Suddenly the man who spent years telling everybody else to respect federal investigations may be developing a whole new appreciation for the phrase “ongoing investigation.”

And somewhere, Fang Fang has picked a truly spectacular week to turn off notifications.

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