The FBI stopped former Congressman Eric Swalwell at an airport this weekend and seized his electronic devices, while also carrying out a raid on his home in Washington DC. The move is part of a federal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, allegations that already forced him out of two major roles earlier this year.
Swalwell had been leading the race for California governor when the allegations first surfaced. He dropped out of that race entirely and also gave up his seat in the House of Representatives as the fallout intensified.
He remains under separate criminal investigation from both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, where he faces accusations of rape and sexual assault.
Swalwell denies the claims
Swalwell has consistently denied the allegations against him. His attorney, Sara Azari, pushed back hard when the accusations first became public, describing them as false, fabricated, and deeply offensive. She called the entire situation a calculated and transparent political hit job.
According to CBS News, federal agents recovered Swalwell’s devices and searched his home this weekend while carrying out a search warrant.
Multiple accusers, serious allegations
Swalwell, 45, has now been accused by several women. The allegations include a claim that he raped one victim while she was too intoxicated to respond, as well as claims that he sent unsolicited nude photographs to women.
Before all this, Swalwell was a familiar face on cable news, frequently appearing as a vocal Democratic critic of President Trump. Once the allegations came out, he resigned from Congress and ended his gubernatorial campaign as members of the House began pushing to remove him from office. The House ethics committee had opened its own investigation into the matter, but that inquiry ended once Swalwell was no longer serving in Congress.
A separate, older controversy resurfaces
On Monday, the White House released declassified documents from a completely separate FBI investigation, one that detailed Swalwell’s alleged relationship over a decade ago with Christine Fang, a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Much of what’s in those documents was already public knowledge, and Swalwell was never charged in connection with that relationship.