Media handling of Swalwell sexual harassment story shows built-in biases

The natural instincts in the broadcast network’s news divisions are to highlight Republican scandals and controversies and bury troubling stories about Democrats. So it’s interesting that they took a Democrat scandal, impeached a Democrat, and then dropped the story like a hot potato.

That’s what happened recently to Rep. Eric Swalwell, one of the leading Democrats for governor in California’s “jungle primary.” On Friday night, April 10, CNN broke the news that four women had accused him of sexual harassment. On Sunday night, Swalwell withdrew from the governor’s race. He resigned from Congress on Monday night. That’s two news cycles and he’s gone. The networks appeared to lose interest after Wednesday morning.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that these accusations were coming on April 6, so it was no surprise that the network was sidelined by negligence for four days. But it was clear that the wheels were turning in Democratic circles. Polls in this primary generally showed the two Republicans winning the top two seats in the general election. So it seemed time for Democrats to narrow the field of candidates.

On Saturday morning, CBS anchor Kelly O’Grady announced: “Under fire! Eric Swalwell is facing calls to end his campaign for California governor after the Democratic congressman was accused of sexual assault. It’s leading members of his party who have withdrawn his support and what Swalwell has said about the accusations.” Despite this teaser, the bombshell was only 88 words long when it was revealed late in the show.

ASSEMBLY DEPUTY EXPRESS THEIR CONSISTENCE ABOUT SWALWELL NOT EXPOSING EARLIER: ‘Shameful’:

The Sunday demonstrations raised rapid, sometimes vague questions about Swalwell’s fate. ABC’s “This Week” host Jonathan Karl couldn’t have been more specific about the “serious allegations of sexual harassment.” NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked both Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and Washington Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal about Swalwell, and both said Swalwell should go. CBS’ “Face the Nation” did not bring up the scandal.

On Sunday night, CBS “Weekend News” reported disastrous reports that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wanted Swalwell impeached, and Adam Yamaguchi reported: “All 21 Democrats support for Swalwell [for governor] withdrawn.”

Broadcast reports included Swalwell’s insistence that the allegations were false, but the overall tone was somber. She was gone, and the problem was the atmosphere of young women on staff on Capitol Hill. This may also reflect that the allegations were discussed for days before publication. When the allegations hit the breaking news, Swalwell’s fate was sealed.

SWALWELL’S FALL FROM GRACE LEADS TO DEMOCRATS’ SCHEMES TO RETURN CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AMONG SCREENINGS

Only Whoopi Goldberg protested the sudden conclusion on ABC’s “The View” on Monday, emphasizing that Swalwell denied the allegations and that he didn’t need to resign before Trump: “55 people can come out and say they need to drain the swamp, but unless you’re draining it from the top, I don’t know that people are going to take it seriously.”

Strangely, late-night comedians have completely avoided making fun of Swalwell, whose career has suffered. This was especially shocking to ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who announced last November that Swalwell was running for governor, promising to be a “fighter and a protector.” This seems weird now. On Thursday night, Kimmel briefly mentioned Swalwell’s resignation in a joke about Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert.

The Washington Post tweeted:

“The fall of Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) has left many asking how someone haunted by persistent rumors of inappropriate behavior toward women could rise so quickly and so quickly in a party that says it supports women’s rights.” One obvious reason is the typical bias resulting from negligence.

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Democrats — including his mentor, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and his closest friend in Congress, Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego — claimed they were completely unaware of Swalwell’s alleged “double life” until the last minute. Such denials explain why the press lacks the will to investigate. Neither of them wants to be on the wrong side of Pelosi.

Broadcast reports included Swalwell’s insistence that the allegations were false, but the overall tone was somber. She was gone, and the problem was the atmosphere of young women on staff on Capitol Hill.

Reporter Bethany Allen said on When conservatives attacked this, he blamed the conservative media; as if their job is to expose the Democrats, not the liberal media.

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Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo shared on

Journalists may say there is a gap between rumors of sexual abuse and verifiable allegations. But one could argue that broadcast networks don’t wait for confirmation before spreading wild rumors about conservatives, as they did during the confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The burden of proof is much lighter on the right side. It didn’t matter that one of the most aggressive defenders of the wild Kavanaugh allegations was Eric Swalwell.

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