Deputy Eric Swalwell’s job as the House’s impeachment manager is to convince at least two-thirds of the Senate to convict former President Trump for inciting an insurrection, but several of the leading Republicans are not convinced that he belongs on the House’s intelligence committees and Homeland Security.
“This is an interesting choice … someone who is part of a Chinese spy network effectively, so it is a provocative choice,” Senator Josh Hawley told a pool reporter during a pause in the process about choosing Swalwell as manager impeachment.
In this image from the video, the House’s impeachment manager, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Speaks during ex-President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial at the US Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, 10 February 2021. (Senate Television via AP)
Swalwell posted on Twitter after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill to criticize Sens. Hawley and Ted Cruz as the “Klux Klan Blow”. They were among a group of Republicans who protested the validation of President-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory in a joint session of Congress that was interrupted by chaos.
And other prominent Republicans have also scoffed at Swalwell’s role in the process, including Senator Rand Paul, who has indicated that he does not even believe the impeachment trial has been constitutional since the president stepped down.
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“This afternoon we received a talk from Eric Swalwell, a guy accused of associating with a Chinese spy,” tweeted the Kentucky Republican. “How appropriate!”
Swalwell, a former prosecutor, exposed part of the case on Wednesday.
“What our commander-in-chief did was totally different than what anyone here in this room did to raise electoral issues,” said Swalwell, speaking before the camera. “This was a deliberate and premeditated incitement to your base to attack our Capitol while the count was going on.”
And he argued that the insurrection charges were not simply about Trump’s speech at a rally just before the riot broke out.
“He built this mob over many months, with repeated messages, until they believed that their vote had been stolen and would do anything to prevent certification. He made them believe that their victory was stolen and incited them so that he could use to steal the election for yourself. “
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The congressman has yet to discuss in depth his previous relationship with a suspected Chinese spy – who remained close to his relatives and other lawmakers for years, even after the congressman learned of the charges against her and broke off contact.
Current and former intelligence officials said he should have used the revelation to expose Chinese espionage and alert the public to the operation.
As a result, several Republican and current members of the House have demanded that Swalwell resign or be removed from the House Intelligence Committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also a California Democrat, refused to remove the congressman from his delicate post. She even added it to the Homeland Security Committee after China’s history emerged.
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Swalwell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
He allegedly met the spy after she arrived in disguise as an exchange student in 2011. He severed relations with her in 2015 after the FBI informed him about his alleged activities. But his father and brother appeared on her Facebook friends list until December 2020. The same was true of at least two California mayors and other officials. In addition, she was accused of having sex with two mayors in the Midwest.