When Bad Patterns Become Habits

Here’s what you need to know about Eric Swalwell: the man doesn’t learn. Or maybe he does, and that’s the scarier option.

The California congressman turned gubernatorial hopeful just accepted nearly $10,000 from a law firm with roots so deep in the Chinese Communist Party that you’d need a shovel made in Beijing to dig them up. DeHeng Law Offices PC, operating out of Pleasanton, California, cut a check for $9,999 on December 30th. That’s one dollar shy of the threshold that might trigger additional scrutiny. Convenient, right?

You remember Swalwell. He’s the guy who spent years on the House Intelligence Committee while allegedly getting cozy with a suspected Chinese spy named Fang Fang. That scandal should’ve ended his career, but this is California we’re talking about. Instead, he’s running for governor and apparently hasn’t adjusted his fundraising standards one bit.

The money trail here isn’t complicated. DeHeng Law Offices sounds American enough, with its Silicon Valley office address and everything. But peel back one layer and you find Keliang “Clay” Zhu, a partner at the firm who’s already donated over $15,000 to Swalwell’s various campaigns. Zhu is listed as the only lawyer in their so-called Silicon Valley Office. One guy, one office, nearly $10,000 from the firm itself plus his personal contributions. That’s some serious devotion.

Or it’s something else entirely.

Following the Thread Back to Beijing

DeHeng Law Offices didn’t spring up from some scrappy American entrepreneur’s dream. The firm started as the China Law Office, a subsidiary established by the CCP’s Ministry of Justice back in the early days. That’s not speculation or guilt by association. That’s documented history. The Chinese Communist Party literally created the parent organization of the firm now funding Swalwell’s gubernatorial dreams.

Think about what that means for a second. The Ministry of Justice in China isn’t like the Department of Justice here. It’s a party organ. Everything flows from and returns to the CCP. When you’re dealing with entities born from that system, you’re not just doing business with a law firm. You’re doing business with Beijing’s interests, whether directly or through layers of corporate structure designed to obscure that reality.

And Swalwell knows this. He has to. After the Fang Fang debacle, after all the questions about his judgment and his relationships with Chinese nationals connected to intelligence operations, you’d think he’d be extra careful about where his campaign cash comes from. You’d think wrong.

The Pattern That Won’t Break

This isn’t about xenophobia or anti-Chinese sentiment. I’ll say that plainly because it matters. Americans of Chinese descent contribute to campaigns all the time, and that’s perfectly fine. That’s democracy working. But there’s a universe of difference between a Chinese-American small business owner donating to a local candidate and a gubernatorial campaign accepting five figures from a law firm with institutional ties to a hostile foreign government.

The CCP isn’t our friend. They’re not a competitor we can manage through better trade deals and stern diplomacy alone. They’re a strategic adversary with goals that directly contradict American interests. They want to supplant us as the world’s leading power. They’re building a military designed to challenge ours. They’re stealing our intellectual property, infiltrating our institutions, and yes, they’re trying to influence our politicians.

Some of that influence comes through spy operations. Some comes through business relationships that create dependencies and obligations. And some comes through campaign contributions that buy access and goodwill.

Stop Playing Footsie, Start Showing Sense

The headline here writes itself, and it’s not flattering. Swalwell’s already got more China problems than any serious gubernatorial candidate should carry. Adding $15,000 in CCP-connected cash to that pile isn’t just bad optics. It’s bad judgment that reveals either stunning naivety or calculated indifference to how this looks.

California voters deserve better than a governor whose campaign finance reports read like a case study in foreign influence. They deserve leaders who understand that taking money from entities connected to America’s biggest geopolitical rival isn’t smart politics. It’s a liability that follows you into office and compromises your ability to govern with the state’s interests, not Beijing’s, at heart.

Swalwell could return the money tomorrow. He could make a statement about maintaining clear boundaries between American political campaigns and foreign-influenced entities. He could show that he’s learned something from his previous scandals.

But he probably won’t. Because the pattern here isn’t accidental. It’s a feature, not a bug, of how he operates. And California Republicans better make sure every voter knows it before they head to the polls. This isn’t about partisan attacks. This is about basic national security common sense that somehow keeps eluding a man who wants to run the world’s fifth largest economy.

You can’t serve two masters. Swalwell needs to pick one and stick with it. Right now, his campaign finance reports suggest he’s already made his choice.

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