China

McCarthy files resolution to remove Swalwell from intel committee

Published

3 years ago

March 18, 2021

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy filed a resolution Thursday to remove Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee over his ties to a suspected Chinese spy, Axios has reported.

According to documents obtained by Fox News, Swalwell “has not denied public reporting that a suspected Chinese intelligence operative helped raise money for Representative Swalwell’s political campaigns” and “other troublesome elements of public reporting.”

The document is calling for Swalwell to be removed from his committee assignment “in light of conduct he has exhibited.”

#FoxNews has obtained this Resolution seeking Congressman Eric Swalwell’s removal from the House Intelligence Committee. TBD on timing in terms of when Leader McCarthy will seek to force a vote on the House Floor. pic.twitter.com/FpX7vd9Nz5
— Mike Emanuel 🇺🇸 (@MikeEmanuelFox) March 18, 2021

“Meet the New McCarthyism,” Swalwell tweeted in response to the resolution.

“Multiple sentences in resolution state “Swalwell has not denied…” Yet fails to include multiple FBI statements of “no wrongdoing” and did nothing but “cooperate.” All of this to deflect from @GOPLeader’s support for QAnon.”

Meet the New McCarthyism. Multiple sentences in resolution state “Swalwell has not denied…” Yet fails to include multiple FBI statements of “no wrongdoing” and did nothing but “cooperate.” All of this to deflect from @GOPLeader’s support for QAnon. https://t.co/2bsU72ev8H
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) March 18, 2021

McCarthy and other Republicans have been calling for Swalwell’s removal for months and argue that he is a national security threat due to his former ties with an alleged Chinese spy.

“Based upon the information I was given and the speaker was given by the FBI, there is no way he should be on that committee at all,” McCarthy told Punchbowl News.

Swalwell’s connection with Fang Fang, an alleged Chinese spy, was revealed in December by Axios. It was reported that Fang Fang helped raise money for Swalwell’s campaign and placed one or more interns in Swalwell’s office.

Despite the controversy, Swalwell was named one of the House impeachment managers for the second Senate trial of former President Donald Trump and was recently reappointed to the intel panel by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Swalwell said his interactions with Fang Fang were “something that congressional leadership knew about it” and that he is no longer in contact with Fang Fang. Swalwell has yet to be accused of any wrongdoing by federal investigators.

Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy

China

Biden to lift sanctions on China in exchange for third promise to combat fentanyl

Published

3 weeks ago

November 15, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Reportedly President Joe Biden is making deals with Chinese President Xi Jinping to help improve anti-drug trafficking measures. China is one of the top fentanyl producers and distributors, culminating in a pandemic of fentanyl overdoses and deaths in the United States.

The Biden administration will be lifting sanctions on a Chinese government ministry, in exchange for bolstering anti-drug trafficking measures, Bloomberg reported. “We’re hoping to see some progress on that issue this coming week,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday, according to the New York Post. “That could then open the door to further cooperation on other issues where we aren’t just managing things, but we’re actually delivering tangible results.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation noted that should a deal materialize, it will be at least the third time that China has promised to get tough on fentanyl. In 2016, China agreed to increase counter-narcotics operations, and Xi again agreed to launch a crackdown in 2018. Nonetheless, China and Mexico are “the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States,” according to a 2020 DEA intelligence report.

“China remains the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.”

President Joe Biden and Xi are meeting for the first time in over a year during this week’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. Sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will crack down on Chinese companies manufacturing chemical precursors for fentanyl in exchange for the U.S. lifting sanctions on the Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science, which the Commerce Department added to the Entity List in 2020 for “engaging in human rights violations and abuses” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.