Schiff Endorses Fellow Russiagate Hoaxer Swalwell for CA Gov, Gets Roasted on Social Media
When California Sen. Adam Schiff says he has “exciting news,” you can bet it’s anything but. And if you’re taking this seriously, it’s not. But why take the race for governor on the Democratic side in the Golden State seriously when there’s so much fun to be had?
In this case, the fun involves Schiff endorsing his fellow Russiagate hoaxer, Rep. Eric Swalwell, to succeed the term-limited — and aspiring presidential candidate — Gov. Gavin Newsom.
In a statement released Monday, Schiff said Swalwell “will take on anyone, including the president, to protect our values, our rights, and our freedoms.”
“I worked closely with Eric when we needed to investigate Donald Trump in his first term and hold him accountable,” Schiff said in the short video.
“And I’ve seen Eric in action when he helped lead the impeachment trial of Donald Trump after the president incited the violent mob on January 6,” he continued. “What I saw then and what I know now, Eric is fully prepared to get things done for the Golden State.”
Wanted to share some exciting news with you.
I’m endorsing @ericswalwell for Governor. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/cAhgYscjdG
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) February 9, 2026
“The Golden State will be in good hands with Eric Swalwell, and I hope you’ll join me in supporting his campaign,” he concluded.
This could mean one of two things.
The first is that Democrats are coalescing around Swalwell to avoid a splintered jungle primary that could mean, in a nightmare situation for Democrats, that the only two logical Republicans in the field advance to the general election because the Democratic vote is split between a field that includes former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and others.
🚨 BREAKING: Two REPUBLICANS are leading the California governor’s race…and only the top two candidates make it to the general election
👀👀
🔴 Chad Bianco: 18%
🔴 Steve Hilton: 17%
🔵 Katie Porter: 14%
🔵 Eric Swalwell: 11%
🔵 Tom Steyer: 8%This is INSANE if it holds!… pic.twitter.com/SBP8HAc6jt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 24, 2026
The Washington Examiner reported that a poll released Monday showed Swalwell moving ahead of Porter for the first time. The progressive lawmaker was considered to be the favorite on the Democratic side until a cascade of what NFL draft scouts like to euphemistically call “character red flags” started piling up:
Someone who used to work with Katie Porter sent me this clip from a train-wreck interview with her and said, “Now imagine what she’s like when there aren’t cameras around.” pic.twitter.com/OCF73BrUg1
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 8, 2025
Katie Porter would pour scalding-hot mashed potatoes on your head if you’re not careful. pic.twitter.com/aacJh4YBmR
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 8, 2025
Thus, even though the primary isn’t until June, consolidating behind someone not named Katie Porter ASAP might not be the worst idea for Democrats, even at the risk of getting a pot of boiling potatoes dumped in your lap.
However, Swalwell has character red flags of his own — and the second reason Schiff might get behind him is that some of them are his red flags, as well.
For instance, Swalwell and Schiff were two of the three Democratic members who were stripped of their roles on the House Intelligence Committee by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2023 after the Republicans retook the House. The third was Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who has a history of anti-Semitism.
Part of the reason both California men were taken off the committee was that they had used the Intelligence Committee as a platform to spread lies about “collusion” between President Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 election. (We’ll get to the other reason Swalwell was kicked off in a second.)
In a document declassified last summer by the FBI, a former congressional staffer alleged that Schiff and Swalwell had leaked classified documents in an effort to discredit Trump, under the assumption that the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution would protect them. This caught public attention, as well it should have:
A serial liar and traitor supporting a serial liar and traitor. Who would have guessed?
— Andrew Boeddeker (@aboeddeker) February 10, 2026
Of course you are. One proven liar endorsing another. I actually feel bad for the Californians that don’t have the financial resources to leave that beautiful state that’s turned into a filthy mess.
— James Hicks (@jghicksjr) February 10, 2026
Then there’s the other issue why Swalwell was taken off of the Intelligence Committee: In 2020, Axios reported he was at least an acquaintance with a Chinese spy who had “developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including” Swalwell, and that those ties included “romantic or sexual relationships.”
In the roughly five-and-a-half years since that report came out, Swalwell has done nothing to answer whether or not he had a relationship with that spy, known as Christine Fang or Fang Fang.
Denizens of X again noted this:
Do you know Fang Fang as well? pic.twitter.com/g6exiAkfqp
— ILLCID (@illcid) February 10, 2026
But do you also endorse Fang Fang?
— Stop Simping and Start Winning (@stopsimpingwin) February 9, 2026
😆 The guy who dated a Chinese spy to run California, No Thanks.
We know he’s a liar and has deep ties with China 🇨🇳— Brian Dougherty (@BrianDough45) February 10, 2026
And both men have also faced scrutiny over whether their primary residence is in California and not in or near the District of Columbia:
Because you’re both slimy snakes whose primary residences are on the other side of the country from the state your constituents live?
— Rita Da Lione (@MargaritaDali1) February 9, 2026
That’s funny seeing as his primary residents is in Washington. Funny that neither of you live in the state you represent. Be quiet pencil neck!!!
— SummerTime’79 (@SummerTime079) February 10, 2026
No need to read the rest of this…. One POS Senator who committed mortgage fraud endorses another POS Candidate committing mortgage fraud…. Moving along
— Jennifer C Perez (@6thJenerationCA) February 10, 2026
As the kids liked to say 15 years ago or so, this is a case of real recognizing real.
It’s unclear, however, whether that’s going to move the needle for California Democrats.
Yes, Porter has her own set of problems, and she’s arguably too liberal for even California, but she can also say she actually lives in the state and has never rutted with a Chinese spy. (I can’t believe these are actual standards for California Democrats in 2026, but the Golden State has taken a turn.)
Moreover, being governor actually requires serious effort on serious matters. I wish I could say the same thing about Congress, but Swalwell is an unserious man who has been able to hide his deficiencies behind the fact that he’s one of 214 Democrats in the lower chamber and play up his shamelessness on social or legacy media.
(This is a man who announced his gubernatorial run on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program, a venue and host that could have only been more apt if Kimmel broke down in tears.)
So, perhaps this moves the needle. Or, perhaps it makes the argument that Schiff isn’t really in a position to tell California how to run itself. It’s not a good look when one Russiagate hoaxer who fell upwards politically is endorsing another to do the same thing, after all.
And this time it involves the serious business of fixing the nation’s most populous — and broken — state.
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