Department of Justice investigating Eric Swalwell amid sexual assault allegations | House of Representatives
According to a source close to the matter, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) launched an investigation against Eric Swalwell after his resignation from Congress.
News of the federal investigation comes just days after the Democratic representative in California resigned amid multiple sexual harassment allegations.
The Justice Department has not commented publicly on its investigation.
Swalwell, a seven-term representative, was one of the frontrunners to replace Gavin Newsom as governor of California until he became embroiled in scandal. He suspended his gubernatorial campaign and then resigned from Congress, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. reported Statement from an unnamed former employee who said he sexually assaulted her twice. CNN It was published A similar account containing allegations from three other women who said Swalwell sent them unsolicited sexual messages.
On Tuesday, the day after Swalwell’s resignation, another alleged victim, Lonna Drewes, publicly alleged that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018. Drewes said at a news conference in Beverly Hills that the agent choked him, that he “lost consciousness” and thought he was “dead.”
Sara Azari, an attorney representing Swalwell, said in a statement earlier this week that he “categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual harassment and assault made against him.”
Azari did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the DoJ investigation on Thursday.
The Los Angeles sheriff’s office said this week it was investigating the 2018 allegations, and the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said its sex crimes division was working with law enforcement agencies involved in the case. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said over the weekend that it was investigating a sexual assault allegation against Swalwell.
Swalwell, who was first elected in 2012, was facing expulsion from Congress when he announced his resignation, and said in a statement: “I am deeply sorry to my family, my staff, and my constituents for the faulty judgments I have made in my past… I will fight the serious false allegations made against me. But I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I have made.”
The woman told the Chronicle that Swalwell began stalking her shortly after she was hired in 2019, when she was 21 years old. She said Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice while she was too drunk to consent.
