When the Eric Swalwell scandal broke, I told my readers that this was just the tip of the iceberg and that the system that was protecting him went far deeper than just one politician.

On Monday, I was proven right when the House Ethics Committee published a list of 28 members of Congress who had been investigated for sexual misconduct dating back to 1976.

Recently, the problem has exploded, with 20 investigations taking place since 2017, but Congress has only divulged the names of 15 of them. Even with the Swalwell debacle blowing up in their face, they have the audacity to keep five names hidden, continuing to protect these members, and they are doing it with taxpayer dollars.

The List

The layers of this foul onion are finally being peeled away, and it is rocking the establishment.

Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales are the names dominating headlines these days, but they are far from the first members of Congress to be accused of sexual misconduct, and they certainly won’t be the last.

Over the last five decades, there have been 28 members who have been investigated, with one member, former Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), having the distinction of being on the list twice. This is not a partisan issue, as the list is fairly evenly split, with 14 other Democrats and 12 Republicans being investigated.

Ironically, Hastings’ replacement, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), is neck-deep in a different scandal, having allegedly funneled roughly $5 million in COVID-19 relief funds through her family's healthcare business.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) still has a scandal hanging over his head, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was briefly nominated by Trump for Attorney General, but as the walls closed in, he withdrew his name.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is not only hounding Mills, who still enjoys the endorsement of President Trump, but she is also calling out the establishment. The New York Post reported her stating:

“The fact Congress keeps protecting him says everything about who we are as an institution.”

She is right. Even though a list was published, five names were left off it. But here is who we do know about:

What makes this even more infuriating is the fact that when settlements are made, they come from a taxpayer-funded slush fund that serves as a security blanket for these perverts.

The Slush Fund

This problem was running so rampant in Congress that the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 created a taxpayer-funded system for settling workplace disputes. This is one of those little earmarks that gets buried in legislation that lawmakers like to keep hidden from the American people.

All disputes are handled by the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR), according to Newsweek.

In 2021, a report was published that revealed $18.2 million had been paid out by this slush fund since 1997.

This has always been something hidden behind the curtain, but several firebrands in the Republican Party are hoping to pull the curtain back. Rep. Mace has requested that the “release of all awards and settlements paid pursuant to Section 415 of the Congressional Accountability Act prior to December 12, 2018 for misconduct by Members of Congress" be made by the OCWR.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) posted to X:

"A friendly reminder that House Oversight subpoenaed the records of the congressional sexual harassment slush fund and we will be releasing them. Maybe we'll see more resignations, you never know."

Mace added:

"Today, the members who voted for our subpoenas chose transparency over secrecy and accountability over cover-ups. We will not stay silent while the American people are kept in the dark. Not on the Epstein files. Not on the taxpayer-funded settlements members of Congress used to hide their own misconduct. Today brings us one step closer to the truth the establishment has tried so hard to keep buried."

Swalwell and Gonzales Resignations and Fallout

Both Swalwell and Gonzales resigned their seats just prior to the House coming back to session after its most recent break, knowing full well they were likely to be expelled.

There are more than a few who believe Swalwell’s antics were known among party leadership and only exposed out of fear of what would happen if he were to make it out of the gubernatorial primary race in California, facing off against a Republican.

The door on Swalwell was pushed open when a former staffer made allegations of sexual misconduct, but then the floodgates opened, and Swalwell had no choice but to leave the race and eventually resign his seat in the House, reported the BBC.

Gonzales’ case was far more complicated, dating back to a staffer who set herself on fire in her backyard, with the local coroner declaring death by self-immolation, reported local outlet KSAT. She reportedly did this over an alleged affair between the two of them. After having denied the affair for months, the Texas Republican came clean in March, but showed no signs of resigning. As the pressure ramped up on Swalwell, Gonzales was also being threatened with expulsion, and he, too, resigned before Congress came back in session, reported NPR.

Mills remained under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, and he has refused to budge even with the threat of expulsion looming.

Ironically, Mace, who, as we noted, is a driving force behind this, is also under investigation for allegedly improperly claiming housing reimbursements, reported CNN. I am far from a fan of Mace, but weirdly, you have to respect someone demanding accountability while facing the guillotine herself.

In terms of who could be next, in my recent deep dive into Swalwell (click here to read the full report), I mentioned Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who was reportedly Swalwell’s best friend in Congress.

These two were two peas in a pod, taking at least one donor-backed trip together. In my deep dive, I had stated that I do not believe that Gallego was ignorant of Swalwell’s ways, and it would not surprise me in the least if he was doing much the same thing. I just don’t believe you can be that close to someone without knowing their underbelly.

In fact, according to a report in The Hill, Rep. Luna claimed a woman was preparing to come forward with allegations “sexual in nature” against the Arizona senator. Gallego’s camp responded to the allegations, using the usual “right-wing conspiracy theory” to defend the senator. If memory serves, that was also how Swalwell defended himself until the allegations from multiple women within his own office became impossible to deny.

Gallego tried to control the narrative by saying he “fell” for Swalwell’s act, but his body language was saying something completely different.

When the White House was asked about the allegations, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the allegations “despicable and disgusting,” then added:

“I think it’s also quite plausible … that there were many other Democrats in this town on Capitol Hill who knew about his perhaps illegal behavior — certainly his disgusting and inappropriate behavior. And why they were silent for so long? I think those are questions that must be raised of the sitting representatives — including Mr. Gallego.”

That, my friends, is called poking the bear.

Democratic strategist Anthony Coley also threw a rock at Gallego’s glass house, taking note of what I picked up on his body language. Coley stated:

“If Gallego’s press conference was meant to reassure potential voters, donors and activists, it failed. Folded arms and incomplete answers don’t shut down a story, they extend it. The party faithful will want real clarity on his relationship with Swalwell before he gets serious consideration for higher office in 2028.”

Gallego is back up for re-election in 2028, and I would be very surprised if he makes it out of the primary race, if he is even in office by then. If there is even a hint that he did something wrong, he will be tossed to the wolves by Democrat leadership, just as they did with Swalwell.

The Reform Proposals

While the House Ethics Committee's investigations and discipline are usually a joke, it is taking this very seriously, even going so far as to ask possible victims to come forward in this matter.

This is one of those rare instances where there is a true bipartisan effort taking place, largely driven by Luna and Rep. Leger Fernandez (D-NM). Fernandez, according to a Washington Post report, stated:

"This has now sent a signal to everybody in Congress, male or female, Republican or Democrat, who thinks it's all right to sexually harass, sexually abuse your staffers. It's not all right, and there are enough of your colleagues who are going to vote you out. You better stop, and you better not run for reelection."

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has announced legislation that would strip these members of their pensions.

Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD) says that we don’t have enough protections in place for potential victims, which is why more are not coming forward. He is hoping to change that.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wants to see an independent body with subpoena powers to investigate these claims, adding, "If we have clear evidence, they're out.”

I found out about the slush fund more than a decade ago when I first started covering politics, and I remain amazed at how few people realize it even exists. To that point, I was on the golf course this weekend with a buddy who is just as much a political junkie as I am, and he had never heard of it. That needs to change.

Not only do we need to stop funding these settlements, but we need to expose these people for who they are: power mongers who feel as though they are untouchable.

People like Swalwell live a lifestyle of a multimillionaire, with donors covering costs as well as tapping into their campaign funds to live a lavish lifestyle. They think they are untouchable and have no fear of being caught because they know there are systems in place to protect them and silence their victims with fat checks paid with our tax dollars.

We finally have people in place who are willing to break at least one cog in this corrupt machine, so let’s enable, nay, demand that they do it. This all ends now.