Eric Swalwell Addresses Claim That Pam Bondi Was Fired for Leaking Info to Him

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) denied claims that Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired because she leaked information to him, claiming on Thursday that “the attorney general did not tip us off.”

Swalwell joined MS NOW’s Antonia Hylton to discuss President Donald Trump’s announcement that he had fired Bondi on Thursday, a choice many have linked to the president’s discontent over the attorney general’s mishandling of the files relating to Jeffrey Epstein and her ineffectiveness in going after his political enemies.

But some outlets have reported yet another reason for Bondi’s ouster– the president’s belief that the attorney general may have given Swalwell a heads-up about the administration’s plans to release information on a years-old investigation involving the congressman’s past.

FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly been personally involved in the effort to release files related to Swalwell’s past association with suspected Chinese intelligence operative Christine Fang. “Fang Fang,” as she is known, allegedly worked to develop relationships with California politicians from 2011 to 2015. The congressman has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and allegedly cut ties with Fang when he was alerted to the suspicions surrounding her by federal agents.

Swalwell strongly denied that Bondi had leaked information to him or his team, telling Hylton that the story became public after a tip-off from FBI agents who spoke to The Washington Post.

“No, no. The attorney general did not tip us off,” he said. “No one in her orbit tipped us off. It was FBI agents who tipped off The Washington Post because they saw this effort by Kash Patel and Donald Trump to try and interfere in a California governor’s race that I have been leading.”

The congressman sent a cease and desist letter to Patel’s office on Monday, calling the move “a transparent attempt to smear him and undermine his campaign for Governor of California.”

A senior Trump administration source denied claims that Bondi was fired because the president thought she was responsible for this leak, telling The New York Post that “the president has been considering this change for a long time.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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