On Wednesday (January 18), Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA.) complained that his household was receiving threats from people who he described as “parrot” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s rhetoric.
In an appearance on “Deadline: White House,” MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace questioned Swalwell about why McCarthy (R-CA.) stripped him of his Committee duties. Swalwell called the move “political vengeance.”
Swalwell added that McCarthy was acting out vengeance on something that stems from former President Barack Obama’s first term in the Oval Office, saying the California Republican wanted to “heat up the leftovers” of that incident.
Swalwell continued, stating that the FBI had commented on the investigation into him, something he pointed out they rarely do, and explained that he had only assisted the agency and wasn’t suspected of any wrongdoing.
Swalwell’s comments referred to an investigation into a suspected Chinese spy linked to his office.
According to Axios, the Chinese spy, Fang Fang, worked to develop close ties with Swalwell’s office from the start of 2014.
McCarthy insisted he had relieved Swalwell of his Committee assignments because of what he learned during an FBI briefing.
However, Swalwell defended himself by pointing to a Washington Post fact check in which McCarthy was given four Pinocchios.
The California Democrat also insisted that the ramifications of McCarthy’s actions were more profound than simply not being on a Committee, saying it had led to threats against his family.
Swalwell relayed that someone threatened to “rape and kill his children,” adding that the person making the threat was “using the language that Kevin McCarthy was using.”
