Eric Swalwell wants to ban Trump from the Capitol; Trump calls him an ‘idiot’

Rep. Eric Swalwell, the California Democrat who was recently expelled from his seat on the House intelligence panel, wants to permanently ban former President Donald Trump from entering the U.S. Capitol because of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

Mr. Swalwell is the sole co-sponsor to a resolution introduced by Rep. Nikema Williams, Georgia Democrat, that would compel the House and Senate Sergeants at Arms and Capitol Police to “take such actions as may be necessary” to prohibit Mr. Trump from stepping foot in the Capitol.

The resolution cites the former president’s “effort to undermine and overturn the 2020 presidential election” as having damaged “the functions of our democracy” and the “integrity of Congress’ role in certifying the election results.”

The ban would also apply to several Trump allies including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino; former White House advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro; former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani; lawyers John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro; and former Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark.

Mr. Trump came out swinging Wednesday, calling Mr. Swalwell an “idiot” and resurfacing allegations that he had an affair with a Chinese spy.

“Little respected Representative Eric Swalwell was just kicked off the Intelligence Committee for reasons of ‘Integrity and lack of Intelligence’ and, for having the poor judgment of dating and falling desperately in love with a Chinese Spy, Fang Fang, whose honey net has gotten massive amounts of information for her beloved China,” the former president said in a statement.

“This idiot is now calling … for some Great American Patriots, including me, to be banned from the Capitol,” he said. “Fortunately, people understand that Swalwell is a ‘low life,’ not respected by anybody, and merely used for entertainment reasons by the Fake News Media to continue their assault on President Donald J. Trump, and America!”

Mr. Swalwell, who served as a manager in Mr. Trump’s second impeachment trial, was removed last month from his seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence along with the panel’s former chairman, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, when Republicans took control of the House.

Republicans cited Mr. Swalwell’s relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, who was also known as Fang Fang. Mr. Swalwell was targeted as part of a Chinese influence campaign in 2014.

Mr. Swalwell said he cut off all ties with Ms. Fang in 2015 after federal investigators alerted him of their concerns. He accused Republicans of seeking political vengeance by ousting him from his seat on the committee.

The Democratic-led House Jan. 6 committee released an 814-page summation of events leading up to the attack on the Capitol as a parting shot before the committee was dissolved under a Republican-led House.

The report pins the blame for the Capitol attack squarely on Mr. Trump and offers what then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a “clarion call to all Americans: to vigilantly guard our Democracy and to give our vote only to those dutiful in their defense of the Constitution.”

Before releasing the report, the panel recommended in its final public proceeding that federal prosecutors pursue charges against the former president for inciting an insurrection against the U.S. government, obstructing an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the government and making false statements on fake presidential electors.

Mr. Trump said the move was intended to derail his 2024 campaign for the White House, but predicted the move wouldn’t harm him.