Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene fired Congressman Eric Swalwell on Twitter Thursday after posting a recording of a death threat to his voicemail.
“This death threat is what happens when the FBI says *repeatedly* I did nothing wrong and Kevin McCarthy persists in spreading lies about me out of sheer revenge,” Swalwell wrote.
Swalwell, a Democrat serving California’s 14th congressional district, is one of the few Representatives who has pledged to block McCarthy, the new House speaker, from holding committee positions in the new congressional term. Swalwell previously served on the House Intelligence Committee but was repeatedly scrutinized by some Republicans after a 2020 report linked him to a Chinese intelligence operation.
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Green wrote back to Swalwell’s voicemail clip from her personal Twitter account, in which she said that because of “Dem/media lies, I’m receiving some of the most death threats in Congress, several this week.
“My house was beaten six times,” Greene wrote. “Death threats are wrong, but you can’t sit on Intel and have sex with Chinese spies.”
You all kicked me out of committees for doing nothing wrong in Congress and because of Dem/media’s lies, I’m getting some of the most death threats in Congress, several this week.
My house was beaten 6 times.
Death threats are wrong, but you can’t sit on Intel and have sex with Chinese spies. https://t.co/TyDXyxBxea— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) January 12, 2023
Swalwell first faced allegations after an TBEN report claimed he had been targeted by a suspected Chinese spy named Fang Fang, or Christine Fang, who was reportedly able to “gain proximity to political power” by through networking, fundraising, and “romantic or sexual relationships” with California politicians.
Despite TBEN and other media outlets reporting that U.S. officials do not believe Swalwell allowed Fang access to classified information, McCarthy has said for years that the California representative should not serve on intelligence committees, according to a 2020 report by NPR after the FBI briefed McCarthy and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about Swalwell’s alleged relationship.
McCarthy also reiterated his decision Thursday during his first press conference as a speaker at the Capitol.
“Let me say something very direct to you,” McCarthy told reporters. “If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, Swalwell wouldn’t be on any committee.”
However, Swalwell has said the allegations against him stem from his frequent criticism of former President Donald Trump, a close ally of both McCarthy and Greene.
In February 2021, Greene was voted out of her committee assignments on the Budget Panel and the Education and Labor Committee after coming under fire for her history of promoting conspiracy theories and violence against Democrats on social media before taking office. In defense of the House floor, according to an NPR report, Greene said her previous comments “do not represent me.”
Other Democrats McCarthy vows to keep out of House committees include Representatives Adam Schiff of California and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
McCarthy has previously accused Schiff of lying “to the American public” regarding his alleged support of the Steele dossier, also known as the Trump-Russia dossier, which alleged ties between the former president and Russia. Schiff previously served on the Intelligence Committee with Swalwell.
Omar, who served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, has come under fire from McCarthy for her comments about Israel, which McCarthy described as “anti-Semitic.” As News week previously reported, the speaker of the House does not have the power to remove a member from a standing committee, including Omar’s position on State Affairs.
News week has contacted Swalwell for comment.
