Swalwell Resigns From Congress as Sexual Assault Allegations Multiply

Eric Swalwell’s political career ended in disgrace on Tuesday as the California Democrat resigned from the House of Representatives following accusations of sexual assault and rape from at least five women. The swift collapse, which also forced him out of the race for governor, has laid bare how a man who positioned himself as a leading voice against Donald Trump was allegedly exploiting women for years while colleagues looked the other way.

The allegations surfaced with devastating speed. First came a former aide’s claim, reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, that Swalwell sexually assaulted her on two occasions. CNN soon followed with accounts from three additional women describing separate incidents of misconduct. Then, on Tuesday, Lonna Drewes, a former model and fashion software executive, held a news conference to accuse Swalwell of drugging and raping her in a West Hollywood hotel in 2018. “He raped me and he choked me,” Drewes said, adding that she plans to report the incident to law enforcement. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed it has opened an investigation and will present findings to the district attorney.

Swalwell has denied the claims, telling supporters he made “mistakes in judgment” but insisting the most serious accusations are false. His attorney, Sara Azari, called the allegations a “calculated and transparent political hit job” timed to destroy his reputation. The campaign sent cease-and-desist letters to some accusers and promised legal action. Yet the volume and consistency of the accounts proved too much. Within 48 hours Swalwell went from frontrunner in a crowded Democratic field for governor to political exile.

The most striking reaction came from Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who described Swalwell as his “best friend” on Capitol Hill. Outside his Washington office, an emotional Gallego admitted he had heard rumors that Swalwell was “flirty” with women but chose to ignore them after spending time with Swalwell’s family. “I fell for it,” Gallego said, his voice cracking. He described his former colleague as someone who “became very good at being a predator” and “extremely proficient at lying to us, lying to his family, lying to his community.” Gallego conceded he should have confronted Swalwell about the whispers years ago. “It hurts the fact that he hurt a lot of people,” he added. “And it pisses me off that now we all have to deal with all of his BS.”

The timing of these revelations has raised eyebrows even among those who take the allegations seriously. Swalwell ran for president in 2020 and maintained a high national profile, including CNN town halls. Yet the most damaging reporting only appeared now, as California Democrats faced the real possibility of a jungle primary that could send two Republicans to the general election. Conservative critics argue the liberal San Francisco Chronicle and CNN assembled the stories only when it became politically useful to clear the Democratic lane. Whether the timing was coincidental or coordinated, the result is the same: victims who say they were silenced for years finally have an audience.

Enter Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s controversial choice to lead the FBI. Hours after Swalwell’s resignation, Patel posted on X inviting the former congressman to speak with agents. “@EricSwalwell has maintained that none of the allegations against him are true, and now that he’s resigned, we would welcome him to sit down with the FBI and share any information he has,” Patel wrote. He added that the bureau is open to anyone with relevant information. The invitation lands in a Justice Department now controlled by Trump loyalists, raising legitimate questions about whether the new FBI will pursue these cases with professional independence or treat them as political trophies.

The spectacle is compounded by Polymarket, the cryptocurrency prediction platform, which has already opened betting on whether Swalwell will be arrested by the end of May. That such a market exists reflects how quickly this story has moved from Capitol Hill corridors to public bloodsport.

Democrats who spent years defending Swalwell against earlier controversies, including his reported ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, now face the consequences of their selective blindness. Gallego’s public mea culpa is a rare moment of accountability in a political culture that too often protects its own until the political math changes. The women who have come forward, particularly Drewes, who chose to speak publicly despite the inevitable attacks, deserve more than partisan point-scoring. They deserve thorough, impartial investigations that follow the evidence wherever it leads, regardless of which party occupies the White House or the FBI director’s office.

Swalwell’s resignation does not end the matter. It begins a new and uncertain chapter in which law enforcement, under the leadership of a man who once promoted conspiracy theories, will decide how aggressively to pursue a Democrat who made his name antagonizing Republicans. The test of whether this process delivers justice or merely spectacle will matter far beyond one disgraced politician’s ruined career. For the women who say they were assaulted, choked, and violated, the difference between genuine accountability and political theater could not be more personal.