Collusion Delusion: Eric Swalwell Still Thinks There Is Evidence of Russian Collusion
Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell is a delusional member of Congress, in more ways than one, which makes his position as a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees as baffling as it is frightening.
The little-known congressman has thrown his hat in the ring as a 2020 Democratic also-ran presidential candidate — he has zero chance of winning the nomination — whose primary platform is strict gun control that would gut and undermine the Second Amendment — something for which he will be hard-pressed to drum up support.
But Swalwell’s biggest delusion is arguably his insistent adherence to the thoroughly debunked Russian collusion narrative involving then-candidate Donald Trump, a man about whom Swalwell is incapable of saying anything positive.
For the better part of the past two years, Swalwell has been at the forefront of those perpetuating the liberal fantasy that Trump “colluded” and conspired with the Russian government to win the 2016 election.
It’s a narrative Swalwell has repeatedly said has been confirmed by ample evidence, but which special counsel Robert Mueller — after two years of investigating — dismissed as being evidence-free.
Nevertheless, Swalwell seems utterly incapable of accepting the conclusions reached by Mueller and his team of anti-Trump investigators and lawyers, as was displayed once again during an appearance Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber.”
Melber pointed out that Mueller had not found evidence of a Trump/Russia conspiracy and noted that Swalwell was perhaps best-known for asserting such. Following a series of clips in which the congressman seemed to definitively claim to know of connections between Trump and Russia, Melber asked, “Do you accept the findings in the Mueller report that do not support some of those claims?”
“Well, I accept that I probably should have been out there a little bit earlier, because who knew how many links there were? Two-hundred pages of links,” Swalwell replied.
“I accept also, Ari, that prior congresses did not have an imagination to see a president or a campaign have so many [sic] concerning conduct, and not write laws to prohibit it,” he continued. “But it didn’t meet the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt, but here’s what we know: The Russians helped Donald Trump.”
Melber interrupted Swalwell and asked, “Sure, but to be clear, so you’re no longer maintaining he effectively is, quote, a Russian asset?”
“No, I think he acts on Russia’s behalf, and I challenge him to show me otherwise,” Swalwell replied.
To his credit, Melber attempted to drill down and distinguish a difference between merely advocating on behalf of a foreign government — he used former President Barack Obama and his outreach toward Cuba policy as an example — versus conspiring and coordinating with a foreign government against the interests of the United States, but Swalwell insisted, “There is evidence of collusion and coordination there.”
“It doesn’t go beyond a reasonable doubt, but that doesn’t mean that this is a good guy,” Swalwell said.
“I mean, we know the Russians helped him. He asked the Russians to help him, the campaign expected to benefit from it. What we don’t know yet is why won’t he show us his taxes, why won’t he show us his finances.”
“And look, Ari, if this guy is able to be blackmailed by a porn star, how do we know he’s not going to be blackmailed by Vladimir Putin? That’s why we need to understand it,” he added.
Melber made one last attempt to nail down Swalwell on whether he still maintained his “Russian asset” theory about Trump, despite Mueller’s conclusion to the contrary.
But the obstinate congressman said, “I think he acts on Russia’s behalf too many times and he puts their interests ahead of our interests. He pulled us out of Syria, he wants to reduce the role of NATO, he continues to pull back sanctions on Russia, he won’t tell us what he talked about with Vladimir Putin, and he won’t tell us anything about his finances with the Russians. He acts guilty, Ari.”
Except that U.S. military troops are still in Syria, Trump has strengthened NATO by demanding member nations increase defense spending, he has imposed more sanctions on Russia and Russian allies — among other tough actions that are definitely not in Russia’s interests. And it’s none of Swalwell’s business what Trump and Putin spoke about in a private meeting, just as Trump’s personal tax returns and business financials are none of Swalwell’s business either.
Swalwell already had no possible chance of becoming the Democratic nominee for 2020, but if he intends to run on a delusional platform of confiscatory gun control while claiming that Trump is a “Putin puppet” with no actual evidence, his candidacy will be exceptionally short-lived.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
