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Topline The FBI seized former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s, R-Calif., electronic devices and raided his home in Washington, D.C. over the weekend as part of its probe into sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, according to multiple reports.
The FBI confronted Swalwell with a search warrant and took possession of his electronics at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and searched his home in Washington the following day, CNN and the New York Post reported, citing unnamed sources.
Multiple women have accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting them, including a former congressional staffer who alleged Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice, once in 2019 and again in 2024, when she was too intoxicated to consent, and another woman, model Lonna Drewes, who said he drugged, raped and choked her in 2018.
At least a dozen other women described interactions with Swalwell to CNN that made them uncomfortable, which included sending unsolicited nude photos of himself.
Swalwell, who is married, has admitted to "extramarital contact with women,” an attorney for Swalwell, Sara Azari, said previously, but has denied any of the encounters were nonconsensual.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April shortly after the allegations were made public, a day before ending his bid for California governor.
Forbes has reached out to attorneys for Swalwell.
News of the weekend searches comes after the Trump administration released documents Monday that show Swalwell told the FBI he “occasionally hooked up” with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, known as Fang Fang, sometime between 2012 and 2015. The federal investigation into Fang and how she built relationships in the political world, including with Swalwell, has been known for years. The documents released Monday show the FBI was looking into whether Fang helped facilitate a campaign finance scheme involving foreign donors and Swalwell interns. The FBI determined there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge Fang or Swalwell.
Multiple agencies are investigating the sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, including the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Manhattan district attorney.
The allegations against Swalwell were first made public in April when the former staffer, whose identity has not been made public, came forward to multiple outlets. Multiple other unidentified accusers came forward in the following days, with Drewes being the first to go public with her claims. Two other women, Ally Sammarco and Annika Albrecht, have since publicly alleged Swalwell sent them sexually inappropriate messages on Snapchat, and Sammarco said he sent her an unsolicited photo of his penis. Most of the accusers were women in their 20s who worked or had an interest in politics, who say Swalwell pursued them under the guise he could help their careers. Swalwell, who was elected to Congress in 2012, was considered a frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race prior to the claims being made public. His backers, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called on him to end his campaign in the wake of the allegations.
Eric Swalwell Under Investigation After Sexual Assault Allegation Against Him (Forbes)
Tony Gonzales And Eric Swalwell Will Resign From Congress Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations (Forbes)
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