One Republican legislator dared Old Uncle Joe to fully declassify the alleged report which supposedly details the odd relationship that took place between suspected Chinese spy Fang Fang and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
In the wake of announcing this past month that he is planning to run for Senate, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) put out a challenge to Biden in response to White House officials defending Swalwell due to the recent actions from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that removed Swalwell from his position on the House Intelligence Committee.
As part of a letter that ended up being reported by Breitbart, Banks stated that for “unknown reasons” the White House staunchly disagrees with the choice from McCarthy and various other members of Congress that Swalwell’s past relationship with Fang marks a massive national security risk and fully disqualifies Swalwell from being able to access any information that is marked as highly classified.
He highlighted a recent press conference in which White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed for an answer regarding Swalwell and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) being removed from their roles on the intelligence panel. As part of her response, Jean-Pierre explained that Schiff and Swalwell, along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), “bring a lot to the table when it comes to foreign policy and national security.” The press secretary did not speak much more on the subject beyond “it should be independent” before dropping the topic and ignoring further questions.
To deal with the ongoing uncertainty, Banks put forth the idea that the disclosure of the alleged report highlighted by Breitbary back in July 2021 would be needed. The news outlet stated that the intelligence community for the U.S. held a classified report which held “intricate and intimate details” of the relationship Swalwell held with Fang, which included “certain sexual acts they allegedly engaged in together.”
“If the White House’s position is correct and Rep. Swalwell’s past association with a Chinese spy does not preclude him from serving on the House Intelligence Committee, then the White House should immediately declassify its report on Rep. Swalwell,” explained Banks. “If the report proves that, as the White House is suggesting, Rep. Swalwell’s relations with Fang Fang were innocuous and do not threaten our national security, then many House Republicans, including me, would support allowing Rep. Swalwell to serve on the House Intelligence Committee.”
The White House has not yet returned any requests made for additional comments about the letter, but such disclosure is most likely going to be a massive longshot considering the current level of secrecy attached to the situation.