SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore) continued to hit back Monday following reports the FBI plans to release files related to decades-old allegations connecting him to a Chinese spy. The congressman, who is running for California governor, held a press conference in San Francisco where he slammed the FBI's efforts as a desperate attempt to interfere in the governor's race. Over the weekend, reports surfaced in The New York Times and The Washington Post that President Donald Trump's FBI Director Kash Patel was pushing to release documents tying Swalwell to alleged Chinese spy, Christine Fang. San Francisco comedian and SNL alum Rob Schneider calls for reinstatement of draft "This case is closed, the bureau said over 10 years ago," Swalwell said Monday. "All we did was help. But this effort to weaponize the FBI against the president's political enemy in a time that we are at war, shows a distraction. It shows an obsession with going off the plot. The president's political opponents." Fang helped out with fundraising for Swalwell's 2014 reelection campaign and helped put an intern in his office. When investigators raised concerns about Fang the following year, Swalwell cut ties. A recent Emerson College/Inside California Politics poll showed Swalwell leading the race to succeed termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. Swalwell's closest competition in the race, according to that poll, are Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton. California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) "What Trump wants the most is to have a Western White House," said Swalwell in a statement over the weekend. "An enabler on the opposite coast." Swalwell, a prominent Trump critic, is one of eight Democrats in the governor's race. Under California' jungle primary, the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. With the Democratic vote split among several candidates, concerns are growing in the party that two GOP candidates could advance to the general election -- setting the stage for the first Republican governor in deep-blue California since Arnold Schwarzenegger was reelected in 2006. ...read more read less