House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should not have kept Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell on the Intelligence Committee because she was present at the same intelligence briefing as McCarthy.
WATCH:
“What’s happening here is, I got a classified briefing from the FBI along with Speaker Pelosi, she knows what I know, and she knows he doesn’t deserve or shouldn’t belong on this committee,” McCarthy told “Fox & Friends.”
The California congressman said the the Intelligence Committee should not be politicized because it’s “different from any other committee we have, you get all the secrets of our nation.” (RELATED: Ric Grenell: Eric Swalwell ‘The Tip Of The Iceberg’ In Chinese Campaign To Compromise American Leaders)
“If Eric Swalwell could not get a security clearance with a company, he should not be on a security clearance with a country. That’s exactly what we just gave him,” McCarthy said.
The House minority leader introduced a resolution in the House on Thursday calling for the removal of Swalwell from the committee because of his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. After McCarthy received that FBI briefing, McCarthy suggested the entire intelligence committee should receive it.
He said the information that the public already knows about Swalwell from media reports is damning enough: “meeting this Chinese spy as a city council member, raising money for him to run for Congress, putting interns into his office, the close relationship he had … ” (RELATED: Tucker Carlson: ‘Eric Swalwell … Used His Office To Promote Beijing’s Talking Points’ While Sitting On The House Intelligence Committee)
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) attends a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on at the Capitol Building June 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. Democrats are highlighting what they say is the improper politicization of Attorney General Bill Barr’s Justice Department. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)
McCarthy suggested there must be “200 other Democrats” that would be better suited than Swalwell to sit on the committee.
U.S. intelligence officials say alleged Chinese spy Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, infiltrated the offices of multiple politicians in the San Francisco area — including Swalwell, Axios reported in December. Swalwell has refused to discuss whether his relationship with Fang was purely professional or not.
Swalwell said there was no “wrongdoing” committed during his relationship with Fang and insisted the connection was released because of his opposition to former President Donald Trump and his support for impeaching him.
