Lawyers for Rep. Swalwell demand that FBI director halt any plan to release old investigative file

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Rep. Eric Swalwell demanded Monday that FBI Director Kash Patel immediately end any effort to release records from a decade-old investigation involving the California Democrat and a suspected Chinese operative that resulted in no criminal charges.

The cease-and-desist letter from the attorneys advises Patel that he would run afoul of both federal law and longstanding Justice Department policy if he moves forward with releasing records from the FBI’s investigative file. It seeks a response from Patel within three days confirming that he will comply with the demand, and warns that any further effort to publicize the files will result in legal action.

“The Congressman has never been accused of wrongdoing in that matter and your attempt to release the file is a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California,” said the cease-and-desist letter from Swalwell’s attorneys, Sean Hecker and Norm Eisen. “Your actions threaten to expose you, others at the FBI, and the FBI itself to significant legal liability. Indeed, disclosure of the investigative file would violate federal law in several respects.”

The Washington Post first reported that Patel had directed agents to review and redact files from the investigation in preparation for their release even though it is extraordinarily unusual for the Justice Department to publicly disclose records from criminal inquiries that do not result in charges. An FBI spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday from The Associated Press but earlier told the Post that the FBI “prepares documents for numerous different reasons.”

The investigation concerned interactions that Swalwell had with Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who was reported to have cultivated ties with U.S. come into contact with Swalwell’s campaign as he was first running for Congress in 2012 and participated in fundraising for his 2014 campaign.

Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and briefed Congress about Fang in 2015, at which point Swalwell says he cut off contact with her. He was not accused of wrongdoing and a House Ethics Committee investigation that was opened in 2021 closed two years later without any action.

Swalwell, who is running for governor in California, is a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and served as one of the House managers in the second of two impeachments of Trump during the Republican’s first term. He has also openly clashed with Patel, who named Swalwell and dozens of other perceived adversaries of Trump in a 2023 book he wrote called “Government Gangsters.”