The San Francisco Chronicle published an account of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell on two separate occasions. According to the Chronicle, the woman, a former employee, alleged she had sexual encounters with Swalwell while he was her boss and that he sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent. Three other women alleged sexual misconduct by the Democratic congressman in interviews with CNN.
Swalwell had been a frontrunner in a crowded Democratic race to succeed Gavin Newsom. Three campaign employees, including former adviser Courtni Pugh, confirmed to Politico that they had exited Swalwell's campaign. Swalwell's campaign did not respond to questions from the Guardian.
For nearly 20 years, I have served the public – as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.
California senator Adam Schiff, one of the most prominent members of Congress to back Swalwell, said on Friday he was rescinding his endorsement immediately and called on him to withdraw from the race. Arizona senator Ruben Gallego, a personal friend of Swalwell who had days ago defended the congressman against the allegations swirling online, also pulled his endorsement. The former speaker of the California state assembly and a Democratic rival in the governor's race, Antonio Villaraigosa, called upon Swalwell to exit the governor's race and withdraw from Congress.
At a town hall in Sacramento earlier this week, Swalwell disavowed the online discourse as false and suggested the posts were timed intentionally to derail his campaign. Posts had circulated social media, claiming that a groundswell of women would go public with accounts of inappropriate behavior they had experienced from Swalwell. The specific evidence supporting the allegations and the current status of Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign remain unclear, and it is unknown how many staffers resigned beyond the three confirmed or what legal actions have been initiated.
Eric Swalwell's attempt to silence victims to save his campaign for governor – a campaign he was unfit to enter given these allegations – is a shameful disgrace to our democracy.