California and China

Again, my surprised face - some excellent reporting from Axios:

Exclusive: Suspected Chinese spy targeted California politicians
A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.

Why it matters: The alleged operation offers a rare window into how Beijing has tried to gain access to and influence U.S. political circles.

This catches my eye:

Among the most significant targets of Fang's efforts was Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).

• • Fang took part in fundraising activity for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign, according to a Bay Area political operative and a current U.S. intelligence official. Swalwell’s office was directly aware of these activities on its behalf, the political operative said. That same political operative, who witnessed Fang fundraising on Swalwell's behalf, found no evidence of illegal contributions.
  • Federal Election Commission records don’t indicate Fang herself made donations, which are prohibited from foreign nationals.
  • Fang helped place at least one intern in Swalwell's office, according to those same two people, and interacted with Swalwell at multiple events over the course of several years.

A statement from Swalwell's office provided to Axios said: "Rep. Swalwell, long ago, provided information about this person — whom he met more than eight years ago, and whom he hasn’t seen in nearly six years — to the FBI. To protect information that might be classified, he will not participate in your story."

If you will remember, Swalwell was one of the key promoters of the idea of Russian collusion with President Trump. An idea that was found to be baseless after spending three years and $43 million dollars of taxpayer money.

The idea that he was - at that time - consorting with a Chinese spy makes me think of Psychological Projection - fits the definition to a "T"