There continues to be a virtual news blackout on coverage of the scandal involving House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Eric Swalwell reportedly having a long intimate relationship with a Chinese spy named Fang Fang. Some however were not content to simply ignore the story. In a more worthy of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brad Woodhouse, the former DNC Communications Director, went on Fox News not to bury Swalwell but to praise him. Asked whether Swalwell should have been left on the House Intelligence Committee after an alleged intimate relationship with a Chinese spy, Woodhouse declared Swalwell did everything right after being notified by the FBI. He then added “we should give Eric Swalwell the congressional medal of honor his conduct.” As a military history buff, the comparison did not sit well with me, but it was particularly odd coming from Woodhouse.
The Congressional Medal of Honor recognizes brave corporals, not corporeal bravery. Just in case there is a need for the distinction, consider Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. Red Cloud was a Ho-Chunk Native American born in Hatfield, Wisconsin. He served in combat with the Marines in World War II and was wounded. They wanted to medically discharge him but he refused and went on to fight with the Marines at Okinawa. He then enlisted with the Army in 1945 and fought in Korea. He was shot eight times and kept fighting.
He wrapped himself around a tree to keep firing at the massive wave of Chinese. That is an encounter with the Chinese that is worthy to repeat to our children unlike Swalwell’s brave encounter with Fang Fang.
While not ignoring any distinction Swalwell achieved in his “action,’ the CMH is meant to recognize some who “distinguishes himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” Whatever call Swalwell was answering, it was not the call of duty for a CMH.
I am sure that Woodhouse did not mean to insult CMH winners and this was just a comment that he would now take back. We have all had such moments. It is the peril of live television. The more important aspect however is how Democrats (and many in the media) are dismissing this story despite the endless coverage of previous and analogous scandals. It is the fact that Swalwell should be complimented for his conduct. Why? Swalwell did not go undercover in any intelligence-gathering sense. What was his alternative when the FBI contacted him? Woodhouse makes it sound like our expectations of our elected officials are so low that Swalwell is a hero for not refusing to speak with the FBI and continuing to sleep with a Chinese agent. The fact that he agreed to cut off ties to a foreign agent and answer questions of the FBI is deemed extraordinary conduct by Woodhouse.
Even as hyperbole, Woodhouse’s statement shows the level of galactic spin required to dismiss this story, which is being buried by most of the media. In addition to his relationship (which included her fundraising for his campaign and successfully pushing forward an intern for his congressional office), Swalwell ran for president and never mentioned the controversy. Swalwell later used national security laws to refuse to explain the nature and scope of his relationship in public, claiming that such information was “classified.” It was an absurd claim. Clearly the Chinese – and presumably Fang Fang – know whether he had a sexual relationship with this spy. The only people who do not know are the voters.
For me, that was the real lie. I do not believe that Swalwell knowingly slept with a spy. It was his insistence on staying on the House Intelligence Committee while using national security laws to shield himself from questions on the relationship.
It was impressive that Swalwell kept the scandal out of the public as he was endlessly for investigations and articles of impeachment over discredited Russian collusion theories. He was particularly adamant in calling for investigations of an alleged Russian asset meeting with Don Trump Jr. in a single meeting at the Trump Tower. Swalwell declared on MSNBC in January 2019: “Stated plainly, the President’s son met with a Russian spy. We now have the best evidence of that in our minority report the Democrats put out that Ms. Veselnitskaya was going all over the world and bumping into Dana Rohrabacher, which is a sign of a spy, someone who tries to create a coincidence encounter, and now we know that she was working at the behest of the Russian government.”
Swalwell was also one of those calling for an investigation into an accused Russian asset seducing a NRA official. Even when NRA moved to address the relationship between Butina and 57-year-old Republican activist named Paul Erickson, Swalwell appeared on countless shows to demand more information and investigation. He told CNN’s Don Lemon that further investigation was needed to explore the extent of such influence..
Indeed, when the NRA story broke, Woodhouse was not handing out CMHs but charges for a FEC investigation. So one seduction should be the subject of recognition while the other should be the subject of investigation.
The only thing more impressive than Swalwell’s hypocrisy is his audacity. Perhaps that is what should earn him some type of congressional recognition. After all, Mark Twain said “heroes are men who do thing which we recognize, with regret . . . that we cannot do.” Swalwell is a congressional hero because he did what no other politician has been able to do: sleep with a foreign agent and survive.
That is one sick comment to make and I hope to GOD when you need us no one will come forward for making that remark.
For those who think the ca rep cut ties to China after this “confidential” relationship, find out what his views of China has been since then.
What’s that got to do with a socialist autocralcy? By mid January there will be no Constitutional Republic and with it no Medals of Honor. just Comrade Billy Sol Swalwel and the Comintern.
That comment of mine was directed at whatever made that recommendation Military should be joined by police in ignoring any calls for help may come from that individual let him or her eat offal and whine at the moon. But then we haven’t seen much of our military lately have we? They are still ignoring their oath of office so maybe their is no such organization.
“On July 14, 1967, Sergeant John Yates dismounted his destroyed AAV when his convoy came under an intense ambush. As the Marines fell back, Yates braved the enemy fire alone to go back to his AAV. He suppressed the enemy from a mounted machine gun, then retrieved a 60mm mortar tube and 4 boxes of ammo from inside the vehicle. He carried the tube back to friendly lines and set up the weapon. Holding the tube in his bare hands, Yates lobbed rounds toward the enemy position. When the tube got hot, he pulled a towel from around his neck, put it around his hands, and continued firing. His mortars pinned the enemy in place until they were destroyed by an airstrike. His actions successfully thwarted the ambush, and saved the lives of the Marines with him. For his heroism, Yates was awarded the Silver Star.
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Yates extended his tour multiple times and was still in Vietnam 15 months later, now a Staff Sergeant. His incredible bravery and leadership throughout his tour earned him a battlefield commission, effective October 15, 1968. Tragically, Yates would not live long enough to have his lieutenant bars pinned on. On October 17, Yates and his column of AAVs were transporting Marines when one of the vehicles struck an anti-tank mine. The detonation set the AAV on fire and trapped the driver inside. Yates immediately left his own vehicle and ran to the flaming AAV. Undeterred by the extreme potential danger, Yates climbed aboard and attempted to extract the driver. As he opened the crew chief’s hatch, the fuel cells inside exploded, mortally wounding Yates. For his dedication and selfless action, Yates was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.”
Suggested Swallower-well deserves an award higher than this – or any award whatsoever reserved for men of courage – is a blasphemy.
I agree completely with the thrust of the blog post. However, it’s the MOH, not CMH. Wiki says:
“The Medal of Honor is the United States of America’s highest and most-prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor.[3] The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented “in the name of Congress”, it is also known as the “Congressional Medal of Honor”.[4][5] However, the official name of the current award is “Medal of Honor”.[1][6] Within the United States Code the medal is referred to as the “Medal of Honor”,[7] and less frequently as “Congressional Medal of Honor”.[8] U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not confer post-nominal titles, but the official abbreviation (often informally appended after the recipient’s name) is “MOH”.
Swalwell is a man who sees no danger in developing a personal relationship with a Chinese national. He is in a position of trust as a Representative of the United States. His disrespect for his position and the nation is fully on display.
Sorry Thinkthatthrough. Not all PRC natives in the US are Chicoms. Very few in fact. Most do not like that system or they would not be here in the first place I think.
For the average person Chinese people make excellent friends.
For the American politician who is a target of Chicom spying, the point is valid, however
Sal Sar
Trust, but verify.
I am a Combat Veteran with permanent disabilities from wounds that earned me the Purple Heart….which qualifies me to speak to issue at hand.
Professor Turley is exactly right and anyone that could support the notion of Swalwell or anyone being honored with the Medal of Honor simply are blind beyond belief.
That Award is for gallantry BEYOND the Call of Duty during combat with an armed enemy.
To even suggest Swalwell has done anything to qualify for the Meal of Honor shows a complete lack of comprehension of the concept of Honor and Swalwell’s daily conduct.
The mere suggestion of awarding Swalwell that Medal is in itself an act of Stolen Valor….as it so greatly demeans those who have been rightly awarded the Medal for their gallantry and devotion to duty and their comrades in arms.
This is just another example of what is wrong with the Leftists in our country…..they have no honor, integrity, or sense of right and wrong.
“we should give Eric Swalwell the congressional medal of honor his conduct.”
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Only if it’s posthumously.
Thank you Professor Turley, for writing this piece. Well said. If anyone misses the moral of the story, it might be because they have no morals of their own.
Biden Family Bribes.
“What has happened to us? How corrupt have we become in the name of protecting the hightest eschelons of the Democrat party?”
“Joe Biden is the boss. Hunter is just the bag man.”
The United States must cooperate with China to reform the United Nations into a more equitable and secure system for the maximization of human prosperity within ecological carrying capacity.
Cooperation for mutual regional resilience is incompatible with capitulation to a global hegemon. The United States Department of Defense does not project itself as a unilateral global police force through the rest of this century. At the same time, it does not project the replacement of its strategically contracting military footprint by the unchecked military expansion of a hegemonic China, nor the colonization of North America by hundreds of millions of Han Chinese.
Spanish-speaking but mostly indigenous Mexico and Central America claim more room for the relatively rapid population growth of their native North Americans, while African America faces increasing internal and external pressure to admit tens of millions of African refugees. Refugees and immigrants from the rest of Asia will also continue to rebuild the US in their own cultural images. European American majorities in the US House and Senate will do their best to manage immigration and domestic growth within some semblance of continental carrying capacity, unless and until their work is overtaken by new representative majorities.
A stiff d*ck has no conscience.
-Confucious
Plenty of men get stiff and have enough of a conscience that they don’t rape girls like Epstein did.
Did Eric Swalwell and Mitch McConnell double date Chinese style?
Apparently, China has been an extremely lucrative investment for each of them.
Joe Friday thank you for posting that video of Eric eating Jonathan’s lunch!
Wait ’till you see the video of Eric eating his Chinese girlfriend’s lunch!
Ya know that is very offensive to our LGBTQ-eieio readers like that bitter troll in WeHo who seems to think he/she/shim has anything of value to contribute to these pages
now about that Chinese wonton soup…..any crispy noodles added?
OT, but important information for the discerning blogger, Today (or tomorrow–he was baptized on the 17th) is Beethoven’s 250th birthday.