FBI Used Air Marshals to Spy on Eric Swalwell During Flight

Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images Kash Patel’s FBI took the highly unusual step of asking federal air marshals to spy on one of President Donald Trump’s enemies during a transatlantic flight.

Former Democratic congressman and California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell was one of Trump’s most outspoken critics before he ended his campaign and resigned from Congress over allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct.

He has denied the allegations but remains under state and federal investigation.

The U.S.

Air Marshals Service covertly monitored Swalwell on Aug.

8 during a nine-hour flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington, D.C., in a bid to obtain his electronic passcodes, according to The Atlantic .

Air marshals are trained to blend in with other passengers and usually surveil suspected terrorists or potential hijackers, not politicians.

Former officials told The Atlantic it was unusual for air marshals to obtain electronic passcodes, and said it would have made more sense for the FBI to put its own agents on the plane to conduct surveillance.

They also doubted the administration would have gone to such lengths to monitor someone who wasn’t reviled by the president.

Swalwell was the manager for Trump’s second impeachment trial following the deadly Capitol riot on Jan.

6.

2021, and has regularly accused the president of “treason.” The directive for air-marshal surveillance said he was the “focus” of an FBI investigation, but it didn’t provide any details about what he was being investigated for, according to The Atlantic.

Sexual assault is usually investigated by state and local authorities, not the FBI.

It’s also not clear whether the FBI operation succeeded in uncovering his passcodes.