- Rep. Eric Swalwell shared screenshots showing a missed call and text exchange with Tucker Carlson.
- The lawmaker declined to call the Fox News host, prompting Carlson to call him a "coward."
- Swalwell accused Carlson of telling lies about him and his family.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Eric Swalwell took aim at Tucker Carlson on Twitter Friday, sharing a screenshot of a testy text exchange the two shared.
Swalwell, a Democrat from California, said he is refusing to return Carlson's calls due to things the Fox News host has said about him and his family in the past.
"After years of lying about me and my family, @TuckerCarlson is losing his mind that I won't return his calls. Sorry, Tucker, I'm just not that into you. Who knows what lie he'll tell next? #TuckerTantrum," Swalwell wrote.
He also shared two screen shots, one showing a missed call allegedly from Carlson and the text exchange. After Carlson texted Swalwell asking him to call him, Swalwell declined the request.
"Tucker, I'm hesitant to do that. You falsely smeared by wife on Tuesday and she's getting death threats," the congressman wrote. "Hit me all you like. But to go after her. That's just wrong."
Carlson's response to that was brief: "Coward."
-Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 23, 2021
A representative at Fox News did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Carlson ran a segment on Tuesday saying "Swalwell has a problem with money." During the segment he said "more than $20,000.00 of Eric Swalwell's campaign expenditures went to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay, California. Now, weirdly or maybe not so weirdly, Eric Swalwell's wife is an executive at that very hotel."
Swalwell did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Carlson also discussed Swalwell's connection to a Chinese spy on the Tuesday segment. Axios reported in December that a Chinese spy had gotten close with Swalwell before he was informed by the FBI who she was and that he was being targeted in 2014.
Swalwell cut ties with the woman and was not accused of any wrongdoing. Carlson has independently alleged on his program that Swalwell had a sexual relationship with the woman, citing original reporting. Swalwell did not respond to the accusation when Insider reached out at the time.
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