BS BULLETIN:
- The FBI asked federal air marshals to covertly monitor former Rep. Eric Swalwell during a nine-hour international flight and watch him use his electronic devices in hopes of visually obtaining his passcodes, according to a new report.
- The unusual surveillance occurred Aug. 8, just one week before FBI agents confronted Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport and seized his iPhone and laptop under a search warrant.
- Swalwell, who resigned from Congress in April amid sexual misconduct allegations he has denied, has not been charged with a crime. His attorney called the air-marshal operation an “extraordinary escalation.”
The FBI reportedly went to extraordinary lengths to get a look at former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s electronic passcodes — putting federal air marshals on his trail during a transatlantic flight.
Swalwell boarded a United Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington, D.C., on Aug. 8, unaware that federal agents were quietly watching him throughout the nine-hour trip, according to a report by The Atlantic’s Shane Harris.
The FBI had asked the Federal Air Marshal Service to monitor Swalwell and watch closely as he used his electronic devices, hoping agents could visually determine the passcodes he entered.
It is unclear whether the operation succeeded.
The mission was reportedly designated “Special Mission Coverage,” which The Atlantic described as a category used for ad hoc law-enforcement or intelligence requests involving people who are not on security watch lists.
Current and former officials told the outlet the operation was highly unusual, particularly the attempt to use air marshals to obtain device passcodes. Former officials also questioned why the FBI did not simply assign its own agents to conduct the surveillance.
A week later, Swalwell stepped off a plane at San Francisco International Airport and encountered FBI agents waiting with a search warrant.
Surveillance footage subsequently made public showed plainclothes agents surrounding Swalwell before escorting him to a restricted area. Court records show authorities seized an iPhone and MacBook Pro. Agents also searched Swalwell’s Washington, D.C., home the following day.
The searches are connected to a federal investigation involving sexual-assault allegations against Swalwell, according to The Washington Post and CBS News. Multiple women have accused the former congressman of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and sending unsolicited explicit messages.
Swalwell has denied the assault allegations and has not been charged with a crime. He resigned his House seat and ended his campaign for California governor in April after the allegations became public.
The episode comes amid additional scrutiny of Swalwell. The Trump administration recently released declassified FBI records concerning Swalwell’s past relationship with Christine Fang, a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of working on behalf of Chinese intelligence. Swalwell cooperated with the FBI during that investigation and was never charged in connection with Fang.
Swalwell’s attorney, Sara Azari, told The Atlantic that her client had cooperated with the Justice Department and said authorities had never previously asked him to surrender his devices. She characterized the decision to secretly monitor him aboard the flight as an “extraordinary escalation.”
The FBI declined to comment to The Atlantic. The Transportation Security Administration, which oversees the Federal Air Marshal Service, did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- The Atlantic — The Air Marshals Keeping Watch on Eric Swalwell
- Mediaite — FBI reportedly had air marshals spy on Eric Swalwell to try to obtain passcodes
