Swalwell sends cease-and-desist letter to FBI director about FangFang Poontang files

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Rep. Eric Swalwell sends cease-and-desist letter to FBI director
by Perry Stein, Jeremy Roebuck
March 30, 2026

Attorneys for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-California) demanded Monday in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel that the bureau refrain from releasing decade-old investigative files involving the congressman’s purported ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.

The congressman called for the FBI to agree within three days not to release the files, adding that any further action to release them could prompt him to take legal action. The cease-and-desist letter followed a report from The Washington Post over the weekend that Patel had dispatched agents to review and redact the files in a potential move to ready them for a public release.
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The cease-and-desist letter also warned against running afoul of the longstanding Justice Department norm that that law enforcement agents should refrain from taking any public investigatory steps against a political candidate in the 60 days before an election, to prevent even the appearance of the department using its power to sway the vote.

“For these reasons, we demand that you cease and desist from all efforts to publicly disclose any investigative files concerning Congressman Swalwell, including any effort to dispatch agents to gather, redact, and prepare such files for release,” the letter said.
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The matter is particularly delicate because of Swalwell’s role in the California governor’s race.

The top two vote-getters in California’s June 2 gubernatorial primary, regardless of party, will move on to the November general election. Two Republicans currently lead in recent polls, since the numerous Democratic candidates are splitting the vote in the liberal state.

Democratic leaders hope their voters eventually rally behind one or two candidates, and Swalwell is among the leading Democratic hopefuls.

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