House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reportedly plans to introduce a resolution on Thursday calling on Democrats to remove Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from the House Intelligence Committee over Swalwell’s former ties to an alleged Chinese spy.
McCarthy told Punchbowl that “if an individual could not get a clearance in the private sector, they shouldn’t be on Intel.”
“I don’t think it’s that difficult,” he added.
McCarthy has been calling for Swalwell to be removed from the Intelligence Committee for months over the Democrat’s previous relationship with Christine Fang. Axios reported that Fang helped fundraise for Swalwell during his 2014 reelection campaign and place an intern inside his office before leaving the country in 2015 amid a federal investigation into her actions. Fang also allegedly targeted a number of other high-profile Democrats in California.
“These are Chinese spies that go down to the level of a mayor, they court and help a city council member become a congressman, this congressman now gets on the Intel Committee, they are only selected from the Intel Committee by the leaders of their party, meaning Nancy Pelosi,” McCarthy said on Fox News in December.
Swalwell told Punchbowl that McCarthy “is a 14 carat liar.”
“Meet the New McCarthyism,” Swalwell tweeted early Thursday in response to a Fox News report on McCarthy’s 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,” he added.
Punchbowl noted McCarthy previously had a classified meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but Democrats do not seem to have any plans to remove Swalwell from the Intelligence Committee.
Federal investigators have not accused Swalwell of any wrongdoing, and the lawmaker has said he no longer has any contact with Fang.
The Hill has reached out to Swalwell and McCarthy for comment.
Updated at 9 a.m.