Swalwell’s Kavanaugh stance resurfaces as sexual assault allegations emerge against him

California gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., faced backlash on social media after it was reported that his attorney sent cease and desist letters to Swalwell’s accusers on Friday, a day before multiple bombshell allegations were released.

Swalwell, who once called on lawmakers to listen to women who made allegations against Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation hearings and said they “deserved to be heard,” is now accused of hypocrisy.

“I have seen sexual assault victims continue to be degraded, people who deserve to be heard, people who deserve to have their allegations investigated, and a president who wants to rush this,” Swalwell said. he said. somehow report was on MSNBC at the time.

“And for Brett Kavanaugh’s sake, if he’s innocent, I hope he opens his testimony tomorrow and says: ‘You know what? Bring in all the victims, question them all.’ If he is truly innocent, this will clear his name,” Swalwell added.

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The resurfaced clip comes as Swalwell has sought to downplay the allegations against him as he leads a large field of gubernatorial candidates in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is barred from holding office by term limits.

Jonathan Turley, a Fox News contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, took to

“While Kavanaugh claimed his innocence, Swalwell was leading the mob,” Turley continued.

Mike Davis, former chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee, posted “Time to take it” on X while resurfacing an old Swalwell post attacking Kavanaugh.

“Oh how I remember this hypocritical predator peddling these completely ridiculous claims against Kavanaugh,” Davis said in another post.

Rumors of sexual misconduct from Swalwell first surfaced last month, when Cheyenne Hunt, a former Capitol Hill staffer and progressive political media personality, began circulating testimonies of women who said they were sexually assaulted by the congressman.

Swalwell’s attorney, Elias Dabaie, reportedly sent cease and desist letters on Thursday to quash the rumors, but multiple outlets, including CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle, broke the bombshell news on Friday. later denied in a video He posted on X late Friday night.

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Democratic United States 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)

One alleged victim shared her story publicly for the first time, accusing Swalwell of taking advantage of her on multiple occasions while drunk. report published Article by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The alleged victim’s story also included allegations that Swalwell pressured her to send nude images of himself and sent sexually explicit photos of himself, removing her private parts while driving and demanding she perform oral sex on him; The victim said Swalwell, among other incidents, affected how he treated her professionally.

The unnamed female accuser reportedly worked for Swalwell for about two years and revealed that, despite being married, he began stalking her shortly after she was hired as a 21-year-old staff member at the regional office.

She also reportedly revealed that, years after working for Swalwell, she attended a charity event in April 2024 where Swalwell was honored and reunited with her. In her account of the night, which included drinking with him after the incident and then blacking out, she claimed she remembered pushing Swalwell away and telling him “no” as he allegedly forced her to have sex with him in his hotel room.

The woman reportedly texted a friend after the incident, saying she had been sexually assaulted by Swalwell. Other messages reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle showed the victim “passed out” but “woke up once during this time and even told him to stop at one point.”

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel at the Rayburn House Office Building on September 17, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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After the allegations spread online and top Democrats called for him to withdraw from the California gubernatorial race, Swalwell said in a video message on

“I’ve certainly made mistakes in judgment in the past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife, and between her and me. I’m very sorry for putting her in that situation,” Swalwell continued.

“This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before the election begins, rattling opponents who have unfortunately teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the front-runner in this race,” Swalwell spokesman Micah Beasley said earlier this week.

Swalwell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.