The US Sun A SUSPECTED Chinese honey trap spy reportedly had sex with two mayors and targeted Democratic politicians to infiltrate US political circles.
The apparent expose about Chinese national Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, was published by Axios on Tuesday morning.
Fang targeted aspiring politicians from 2011 to 2015, with a reported focus on Representative Eric Swalwell.
Swalwell has not been accused of having a sexual relationship with Fang, nor any wrongdoing.
Swalwell is one of the youngest members of the House and someone who Fang reportedly helped raise funding for.
His office told The Sun: “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.”
Fang also helped raise cash for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, according to the outlet.
The Sun has contacted Gabbard for comment, who also has not been of having a sexual relationship with Fang, nor any wrongdoing.
Axios also reported that the alleged honey trap had a romantic or sexual relationship with at least two US mayors from the Midwest.
At least two separate sexual interactions, including one of the aforementioned mayors, were caught on FBI electronic surveillance, according to Axios.
One of the encounters reportedly took place in a car with a mayor from Ohio.
When asked why she was interested in him, Fang reportedly responded that she wanted to get better at speaking English.
Fang reportedly enrolled as a student at Cal State East Bay in 2011 and, according to friends and acquaintances, was in her late 20s or early 30s, according to Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian.
During this time, Fang is believed to have had regular contact with a suspected Chinese Ministry of State Security officer who was under diplomatic cover in the San Francisco consulate.
However, US intelligence officials believe her main handlers were based in China.
She also served as the president of the Chinese Student Association and the campus chapter of APAPA, a group that promotes civic affairs for Asian Pacific Islanders.
Fang reportedly used her position to get a foot in the door of local off-campus politics, leading her to become a regular at fundraisers and other events.
Swalwell was one of Fang’s first known political contacts when the pair were acquainted during his time as a councilmember for Dublin City, California.
Their earliest known interaction was facilitated through the Chinese Student Association.
A source told Axios that Fang was a “bundler” during Swalwell’s 2014 Congress re-election campaign and encouraged people to donate to his operations.
She also reportedly facilitated potential intern assignments for his offices, including one in Washington DC.
However, Swalwell reportedly halted any contact with Fang when he received a defense briefing from the FBI about her.
Fang also helped Hawaii Representative Gabbard with a fundraising event in 2013.
However, a spokesperson told Axios that she “has no recollection of ever meeting or talking with her, nor any recollection of her playing a major role at the fundraiser.”
Fang also volunteered to campaign for Representative Ro Khannah’s 2014 run for Congress before he was elected two years later.
Khannah’s office told the outlet that he remembers seeing Fang at several Indian American political events, but he did not speak to her.
His office added that he was not briefed by the FBI and that her name does not appear on their staffing records – but noted that their records do not include all volunteers’ names.
The Sun also contacted Khannah for comment, who has not been accused of having a sexual relationship with Fang, nor any wrongdoing.
US officials do not believe that Fang received or passed on any classified materials, Axios reported.
However, a current senior US intelligence official told the outlet the case “was a big deal, because there were some really, really sensitive people that were caught up” in her network.
Fang fled the United States in mid-2015 as she was being investigated by authorities.
She was expected to attend an event in DC in June 2015, but said she couldn’t make it as she had to return to China.
“When she left kind of abruptly, we all kind of scratched our heads,” former Fremont Mayor Bill Harrison told Axios.
Following Fang’s probe, the FBI has heightened the importance of investigations into Chinese intelligence and influence operations.
In May 2019, the agency even created a unit dedicated to countering Beijing’s operations at state and local levels.
