Axios published a yearlong investigation last week about an alleged Chinese spy who developed ties to politicians at both the local and national level between 2011 and 2015, including with Congressman Eric Swalwell, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

“Through campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, [Christine] Fang was able to gain proximity to political power, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officials and one former elected official,” Axios reported.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday she doesn't have "any concern" about Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), after an Axios investigation revealed the congressman was targeted by a suspected Chinese spy seeking to gain access to U.S. political circles up until 2015.

Driving the news: Pelosi called for closer examination of Chinese activities "in terms of their undue influence at universities in our country and the overtures they've tried to make to members of Congress," but stopped short of saying that lawmakers should run background checks on everyone they work with.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she's not concerned about Rep. Eric Swalwell's ability to serve in Congress despite his past connections with a suspected Chinese spy.

"I don't have any concern about Mr. Swalwell," Pelosi said Thursday during her weekly news conference.

She pushed back on GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy who has publicly questioned whether Pelosi knew of China's alleged attempt to infiltrate Swalwell's office when she appointed him to the House Intelligence Committee in January 2015.

The Cal State East Bay student and Chinese national hobnobbed with some of the Bay Area’s leading politicians, even fundraising for some. She attended student events, fundraisers, campaign rallies and cocktail parties throughout the region, ingratiating herself to politicians on the rise.

A suspected Chinese intelligence operative developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman, in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China’s main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.

Why it matters: The alleged operation offers a rare window into how Beijing has tried to gain access to and influence U.S. political circles.

Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell is alleging that information about his ties to a suspected Chinese spy were leaked to the press in retribution for his vocal criticism of President Trump.

“I’ve been a critic of the president. I’ve spoken out against him. I was on both committees that worked to impeach him,” Swalwell told Politico on Tuesday. “The timing feels like that should be looked at.”

The evidence is in, and it’s overwhelming: Donald J. Trump abused the power of the presidency and your taxpayer dollars — $391 million in military aid — to pressure a desperate ally to manufacture dirt on his political opponent.

And now we must decide what to do about it.

The Founding Fathers did not leave us helpless to a lawless chief executive; they drafted a Constitution providing that a president could be impeached for “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Representative Eric Swalwell can rattle off the best places to pump breastmilk in an airport. Julián Castro broke from the campaign trail for the last day of preschool. And Gov. Steve Bullock postponed the announcement of his presidential campaign for a true test of personal endurance — the Advanced Placement exams that his 17-year-old daughter had to take.
Welcome to 21st-century fatherhood, presidential campaign style.

Presidential candidate and House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Eric Swalwell said Tuesday that Democrats are “on that road” to impeachment, adding that “doing nothing is not an option” due to the precedent it sets.

California Representative Eric Swalwell, one of President Trump's most outspoken critics in Congress, announced he is seeking the presidential nomination in what is shaping up to be the largest Democratic primary field in U.S. history.

The 38-year-old San Francisco area lawmaker announced his presidential campaign during an appearance on "The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert" airing Monday night on CBS.