A former congressional staffer has accused Rep. Eric Swalwell of sexually assaulting her on two separate occasions, once in 2019 while she worked in his office and again in 2024, setting off a rapid unraveling of his campaign for California governor as Democratic allies, labor unions, and party leaders pulled their support and urged him to quit the race.
Swalwell, the married congressman and one-time presidential candidate, denied the allegations in a written statement and a video posted to social media. He called the claims "flat false" and said they were timed to damage his frontrunner status in the gubernatorial contest. But the political damage was already moving faster than his denials.
The accusations, first reported in detail by CNN on Friday, involve four women in total. The most serious claim comes from a former staffer who said Swalwell had nonconsensual sexual contact with her in 2019 when she was 21, and then assaulted her again after a 2024 charity gala in New York. Three other women accused him of varying forms of sexual misconduct, including sending unsolicited explicit photos. Breitbart News detailed the allegations and Swalwell's response.
The former staffer, who has not been publicly identified, told CNN she began working in Swalwell's district office after he ended his presidential campaign in July 2019. She said the two started communicating via Snapchat, and that Swalwell sent her explicit photos and sexted her while she was still on his staff.
She described a dual dynamic in the relationship:
"There was Eric the Snapchatting guy, and then there was Eric my boss. It was like two different people completely."
Later that year, she said, Swalwell asked her to perform oral sex on him in a parked car. She also described a night in September 2019 when she said she was alone with him at a bar in his congressional district, became heavily intoxicated, and remembered getting into a rideshare car, then woke up naked in bed with him in his hotel room the next morning.
She said she realized sexual contact had occurred. When Swalwell messaged her afterward that "last night was great," she told him she didn't remember it. His response, she said: "Well, next time, we have to make sure you remember it."
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the former staffer told the San Francisco Chronicle she "blacked out" but "woke up once during it and even told him to stop at one point." Medical records showed she obtained pregnancy and STD tests a week after the 2024 encounter, and she texted a friend days later saying Swalwell had "sexually assaulted" her.
The former staffer said a second incident occurred in 2024, after she had left his office. Both were attending a gala in New York, and she said Swalwell asked her to meet for drinks. She told CNN she explicitly set a boundary beforehand:
"I said, 'No funny business, like, that's not what this is.' And he was like, 'Okay, okay.'"
She said she was "completely confused" the next morning and described physical injuries. In her account to CNN, she said: "My vagina was bleeding the next day after the sex, I had cuts and bruises on my body. I could see the bruises of where his hand had been on my rib cage and on my legs and near my thighs."
She said she woke alone, took a cab to her own hotel, called her mother, and took an STD test the following day. CNN reported that her mother confirmed her daughter's account. The woman said she did not report either alleged assault to police.
For months, she said, she blamed herself. Then her perspective shifted. As she put it: "Well, Eric shouldn't have raped me." She also described the fear that kept her silent:
"I always felt like if I came forward, I was going to suffer the consequences because he was so powerful. I've lived in fear every single day."
Swalwell's long trail of controversies was already a factor in the governor's race before these allegations surfaced.
Beyond the former staffer, three other women gave accounts to CNN. One anonymous woman said she met Swalwell in Spring 2025 after connecting on Instagram. She described a night of drinking that ended in his hotel room, with memories she called a "blur." She said she felt "really disgusted and ashamed" afterward and later sent him a lengthy message in December, a month after he launched his gubernatorial bid, telling him "all you did was harm me."
That woman said Swalwell "used my vulnerabilities and the fact that I looked up to him to be able to get something from it."
Two other women, identified as social media influencer Ally Sammarco and one additional unnamed woman, accused Swalwell of sending unsolicited nude photos or explicit messages. Sammarco replied to Swalwell's denial video with three words: "You can't be serious."
The allegations did not arrive without warning. On Sunday, before CNN published its report, one-time congressional candidate Cheyenne Hunt posted a thread on X saying she had been in contact with multiple women "coming forward and sharing their stories of sexual harassment and even alleged abuse at the hands of Eric Swalwell." Multiple women had been preparing to come forward for some time.
Campaign advisor Bri Gillis backed Hunt up, writing that "anyone who has been in DC for five minutes knows this. It's actually wild it took this long." Bhavik Lathia, a former staffer on the Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns, said he confirmed with a "trusted friend" that the allegations are "real" and warned: "Take it seriously. Eric Swallwell [sic] cannot be our nominee. There is going to be a lot more coming out soon."
Swalwell issued a statement to CNN calling the allegations false and framing them as politically motivated:
"These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor. 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."
His attorney sent a letter to CNN denying that Swalwell ever had nonconsensual sex with any woman or sexual relations with any of his staffers. When asked directly by the New York Post if he had ever had a sexual relationship with a staffer, Swalwell said: "No, no, no, no." His attorney, Elias Dabaie, said: "We believe those allegations are baseless and continue to seek the truth."
Swalwell's legal team also sent cease-and-desist letters to at least two of the women. Those letters argued that the women's claims were "undermined" by their "voluntary and cooperative relationship with Mr. Swalwell over the course of many years" following the alleged incidents.
In a video posted after the CNN report, Swalwell acknowledged personal failings while insisting the assault claims were fabricated. He said he was not "perfect or a saint" and had "certainly made mistakes in judgement," but that "those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position." He added that he "went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims" and declared: "That's who I am and who I've always been."
The gap between that self-portrait and the accounts of four women is the central tension of this story. Swalwell's own legal team has not disputed that he had contact with these women, only that any sexual activity was consensual.
The political damage was swift and broad. Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, and influential California labor unions withdrew or suspended their support for Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign, the Washington Times reported. Gomez said bluntly: "The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay."
Sen. Ruben Gallego withdrew his endorsement, writing: "What is described is indefensible." Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he was "very disappointed in Eric Swalwell." Former Rep. Katie Porter said: "It is those women's stories to tell when they are ready, and I hope that they feel safe and supported if they choose to do so." Top Democrats including Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, and Hakeem Jeffries called for the matter to be taken seriously and investigated.
Politico reported that at least four staffers abruptly quit Swalwell's campaign after the allegations surfaced, including top labor advisor Courtni Pugh. A member of Swalwell's congressional staff also said they quit immediately after CNN sent questions about the allegations, before the story even published.
Swalwell's troubles extend well beyond this episode. His legal team has also been fighting to prevent the release of FBI files related to his past entanglement with a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, a separate scandal that has dogged him for years.
And the initial response from his campaign, calling the misconduct allegations "outrageous", now looks less like righteous indignation and more like a preview of a defense strategy that failed to hold.
No criminal charges have been filed. The former staffer said she never reported the alleged assaults to police. It remains unclear whether any law enforcement investigation is underway or whether any of the women plan to pursue legal action beyond their public accounts.
The specific legal claims threatened in Swalwell's cease-and-desist letters have not been disclosed. The full names of the anonymous accusers and Swalwell's attorney in the CNN correspondence have not been made public. And whether Swalwell will remain in the governor's race, or in Congress, is an open question his weekend statement did not answer.
Swalwell built a career telling voters he stood up for women. Four women now say he did the opposite. The facts will either vindicate him or they won't, but the Democratic establishment isn't waiting around to find out.
