Schiff Defends Swalwell Amid Attacks From McCarthy

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is defending Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) amid an effort to remove him from the panel by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

In a statement on Thursday, Schiff called Swalwell a “trusted member” of the committee and said he was “given a counterintelligence briefing in 2015 and acted fully in accordance with his responsibilities.”

Schiff noted an FBI official familiar with the investigation into Swalwell’s previous relationship with an alleged Chinese spy said he was “completely cooperative and under no suspicion of wrongdoing.”

He characterized Swalwell as a “hard-working and diligent member.”

Schiff continued, “Mr. Swalwell will continue to make great contributions to our national security. It’s disturbing that 👤Kevin McCarthy is attempting to weaponize classified counterintelligence briefings as a political cudgel, and use them to smear a House colleague in the process. Members face real counterintelligence risks from sophisticated actors, and bad faith political attacks on Members will only make it more difficult to respond.”

McCarthy’s resolution argues Swalwell “has not denied public reporting that a suspected Chinese intelligence operative helped raise money for Representative Swalwell’s political campaigns and facilitated the potential assignment of interns into Representative Swalwell’s offices.”