Former Congressman Trey Gowdy blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her handling of the controversy surrounding Rep. Eric Swalwell and his entanglement with a suspected Chinese spy.

The former House Oversight Committee chairman fumed at the fact that Swalwell has not been removed from the House Intelligence Committee where he is privy to classified materials. Gowdy called out Pelosi for defending the California Democrat during an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum.

Gowdy knocked Swalwell who was “not smart enough” to know that he was “being played by a Chinese spy,” as he recounted how the lawmaker was aware of the problems with his association even as he lashed out at President Donald Trump and members of his administration for years.

“The only person who put him on the committee is Nancy Pelosi. She picked the members of the intelligence committee,” the former U.S. Representative for South Carolina said on The Story with Martha MacCallum on Thursday, noting that the Democratic leader is the only one authorized to remove Swalwell from his committee assignment.

(Source: Fox News)

“There are 230 [House] Democrats, and you mean to tell me she cannot find a single one that didn’t date a Chinese spy?” Gowdy, now a Fox News contributor, asked, adding that Republicans are “frustrated” by Pelosi’s lack of action because “we listened to him for years.”

“He berated Jared Kushner and Donald Trump, Jr. for meeting with a Russian lawyer — not dating one, meeting with one,” Gowdy said. “And then he berates Devin Nunes for a phone call with Lev Parnas, and he calls the president an agent of Russia.

“Meanwhile, for four years, the guy is not smart enough to know he’s being played by a Chinese spy,” he wondered. “And that’s the best Nancy Pelosi could do? Out of 230 members, the best you can come up with is a former city councilman in California who’s not smart enough to know when a woman is expressing interest in you.”

Swalwell came under scrutiny after reports of his entanglement with the suspected spy, Christine Fang, who targeted local politicians including the California lawmaker and at least two Midwestern mayors. Swalwell cut ties with Fang after federal investigators alerted him about concerns in a defensive briefing in 2015, and he has since denied doing anything wrong.

While he has not officially been accused of any wrongdoing related to Fang, Democrats and the liberal media have shielded the lawmaker, ignoring concerns about his ability to serve on the Intelligence Committee, which handles classified material.

FBI reportedly cancels briefing on Rep. Eric Swalwell and his Chinese spy friend for 2nd time in one week https://t.co/GrLwxR2rcZ pic.twitter.com/ZAJYkTwCZA

— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) December 16, 2020

“Unfortunately I know him. This is the same guy that ran for president so he’s not known for his self-awareness,” Gowdy told MacCallum after she asked about Swalwell’s claim to innocence.

“I need to hear from the FBI and the director of national intelligence. What did you all have? I mean, you went to a sitting member of Congress, and said, ‘Look, you probably should not be having any new faces in your life.’ What did they tell him?” Gowdy continued.

“And I don’t think Swalwell has denied having a relationship. He said it was classified. I’ll be damned if I know what that means. All you’ve got to say is ‘I didn’t sleep with her’, Eric. That’s all you got to say,” Gowdy added.

He explained what he would like to see addressed and that he would like Swalwell to go through the timeline of his relationship with the alleged spy.

“I mean, she placed an intern in his office, she helped him get elected to Congress. What did they talk about? How often were you are around her, Eric? What kinds of questions was she asking you?” he said.  “And my last question to you, Eric, is out of the other 230 members…are you really the best we could come up with to be on the committee with access to the most sensitive information of any committee in Congress? That’s the best we can come up with is a guy who dated a Chinese spy?”

MacCallum asked if any FBI conversations with Pelosi about the scandal should be a matter of public record.

“I would love for her to be asked. Why did you pick him? What did the FBI tell you? When did they tell you that? Did you really put him on the House Intel committee investigating President Trump for having contact with Russia when you knew that he had a relationship with a Chinese spy?” Gowdy responded.

“I don’t think she has been asked those questions and I haven’t heard him answer. It is not the FBI’s job to pick her members of the Intel Committee. That’s her job, that’s not the bureau’s job,” he noted, recalling that the agency had briefed Swalwell on Fang years ago.

“I want to know what they said in that defensive briefing. You asked if I trust the FBI,” he told MacCallum. “I used to, but I saw the defensive briefing they gave Donald Trump and it wasn’t much. I want to know what they said to Eric Swalwell.”

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Frieda Powers

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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