Swalwell pays attorney $50K from his campaign amid sex abuse claims
Greg Gutfeld: The blind leads the blind
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld and ‘Gutfeld!’ The panel analyzes former California congressman Eric Swalwell’s resignation from Congress over sexual harassment allegations.
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Disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., paid one of his lawyers a total of more than $360,000 from his congressional and gubernatorial campaign accounts just weeks after dropping out of the governor’s race and resigning from Congress, according to an investigation by Fox News Digital.
On April 24, famous lawyer Sara Azari was paid 50 thousand dollars for “Law”. [and] Accounting Services” raises questions about what the payment was for and whether Swalwell was trying to salvage his public image amid sexual misconduct allegations that derailed his gubernatorial campaign and ultimately cost him his congressional seat. The payment came 11 days after he resigned from Congress.
Three more payments appear to have been made by Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign to Azari the following month, including a $250,000 payment in early May for “legal compliance of the campaign,” according to California. government records.
After weeks of allegations circulating on social media, bombshell reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle forced Democrats to reckon with allegations from several women who offered detailed accounts of how Swalwell stalked drunk women, pressured employees into intimate situations and solicited explicit images from female contacts.
SWALWELL LAWYER DENIES MISCONDUCT, SAYS CONGRESSMAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘LACK OF JUDICIALITY’
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., appeared 26 times on MS NOW and 24 times on CNN in 2026 alone, according to the Media Research Center. (Matei Horvath/Getty Images for California Environmental Voters)
The allegations had an immediate impact.
Azari, who runs a law firm in Los Angeles and New York, was one of the few voices defending Swalwell after his resignation, even as top Democrats subsequently withdrew their support for Swalwell.
“You know, after a day or years or whatever, maybe you’re ashamed of what you did, or maybe you were in a relationship and you shouldn’t have done what you did, that doesn’t make it rape,” Azari said. he said. in an interview via NewsNation.
Notably, Swalwell apologized for past “mistakes” in his resignation announcement, although he denied the allegations.
SWALWELL SAYS SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS ‘TOTALLY FALSE’ AND SAYS HE WILL FIGHT THEM WITH ‘EVERYTHING’
Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell gives a speech while attending the SEIU-United Service Workers of the West (SEIU-USWW) Gubernatorial Candidate Labor Forum at Meruelo Studios in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2026. (ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty Images)
“I deeply apologize to my family, staff and constituents for the errors of judgment I have made in the past. I will fight the serious, unfounded allegations made against me. But I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I have made,” Swalwell said in a statement. he said.
Azari said he admires Swalwell for confronting the allegations and distancing himself from Congress, as well as his run for governor.
GAVIN NEWSOM IS HOLDING A SPECIAL ELECTION IN AUGUST 2026 TO FILL ERIC SWALWELL’S VACANCY CONGRESS SEAT.
“I think this is a tremendous display of accountability, not because he did these things and resigned, but because of how he could properly defend himself and represent his electorate when these serious allegations were out there,” he added.
Swalwell faces criminal investigations in New York and Los Angeles in addition to the Justice Department’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during Hands Off! Day of action against the Trump administration and Elon Musk in Washington DC on April 05, 2025 (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
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Azari did not respond to questions about the payments or what services they covered.
