(Joshua Paladino, Headline USA) Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said the federal government should have a plan “on the table” to expel Russian students from American universities and Russian diplomats from their American embassy, reported Gateway Pundit.
“Frankly, I think closing their embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States—those should all be on the table,” he said. “Vladimir Putin needs to know every day that he is in Ukraine, there are more severe options that could come.”
He called for the punishments against Russia and its citizen during an interview on “CNN Newsroom.”
Swalwell, who had an affair with a Chinese spy, has taken an anti-Russian stance that contrasts sharply with his pro-Chinese attitude.
Even after China released the man-made COVID-19 virus into the world, he did not call on the United States to target the nation with sanctions.
And even as China continues to steal American intellectual property, buy American assets, and threaten Taiwan, he has not demanded retaliatory sanctions.
President Joe Biden‘s Justice Department ended the China Initiative, which tried to catch Chinese spies who are stealing American research.
Swalwell also said that the federal government should place personal sanctions on Putin and financial sanctions on Russia, including “completely” removing the nation from SWIFT, a global banking service.
Several commentators have warned against removing Russia from SWIFT due to fears that the action would further alienate Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Western-run international banking system.
“But I mean, President Biden isn’t talking about those things,” CNN host Alisyn Camerota said in response to Swalwell’s suggestons. “He’s not doing SWIFT right now.”
Camerota added that Biden avoided a question about personal sanctions on Putin.
“I think this is the largest invasion in Europe since World War II, and these are the harshest sanctions that any country has experienced since World War II,” Swalwell responded, echoing Biden’s talking points. “There will be more to come.”
