Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell announced this Monday that he will leave his seat in the United States Congress following various accusations, including that of a former employee of his office who alleges that the Californian politician raped her while she was drunk. The legislator had already announced this weekend that he would withdraw from the race to be released as a result of the complaints.
“I am aware of efforts to put to a vote my immediate expulsion, as well as that of other members. Expelling anyone from Congress without due process, within days of an accusation being made, is wrong. But it is also wrong for my constituents that I am distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat,” Swalwell in his X account.
Swalwell’s announcement comes after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the allegations against him and after calls for him to resign grew within both parties on Capitol Hill.
“I sincerely apologize to my family, my team and my constituents for the errors in judgment I have made in the past,” Swalwell said in the statement published on He did not specify when he will leave the position.
The Democrat had already announced Sunday night that he was suspending his campaign for governor. His abrupt exit from the race to succeed Gavin Newsom and his subsequent withdrawal from Congress could be a serious blow to Democrats in the middle of an election year.
Former allies of Swalwell began to turn their backs on him since Friday, as soon as the allegations against him became known. It was the beginning of his downfall: on Saturday the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office reported that it was investigating the complaint of a woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by this congressman in New York City in 2024.
Finally, his aspirations were buried on Sunday with this phrase: “No one is above the law.” It was written in a statement issued by more than 50 former collaborators, who asked him to resign his seat and abandon the race for governor of California.
At the end of March, new polls concluded that the congressman had positioned himself as the Democratic favorite, placing him in the lead ahead of the state’s primary elections on June 2. “Swalwell’s message — focused on cutting costs and combating Donald Trump — continues to grow his support among likely voters,” a statement read.
The newspaper published on Friday that a woman who had worked in Swalwell’s office for two years reported that he had sexually assaulted her on at least two occasions, both of which were under the influence of alcohol.
The woman told said media that Swalwell began courting her a few weeks after she was hired in 2019. According to her testimony, the situation escalated when the congressman sent her photos of his genitals on Snapchat and asked her to send him naked photos of herself. One night, the politician tried to kiss her inside his car and, weeks later, while she was driving him to an event, “Swalwell took out his penis inside the vehicle and asked her to perform oral sex on him. She stated that she agreed to do it in a parking lot,” describes the Chronicle.
It would not be the last incident. In September 2019, according to his account ChronicleSwalwell took her out for a drink and she drank so much she couldn’t remember what else happened that night. But the next morning she woke up naked in the lawmaker’s hotel bed, with alleged evidence that she had been raped. Five years later, when she no longer worked for him, the scene repeated itself. They met at a charity gala; She drank a lot again and this time she only remembered fragments in which she tried to push her old boss away while he abused her.
Three other complainants emerged shortly after in a journalistic investigation. One of the women told the media that she had established contact with Swalwell through the Internet because of her interest in politics. She claimed that while they were at a bar, he kissed her and touched her leg without her consent. Later, in a state of extreme drunkenness, the woman went to the congressman’s hotel room, but did not remember anything else.
For her part, content creator Ally Sammarco told CNN that, without her request, the legislator sent her messages with nude photographs.
The congressman rejected these accusations in a statement. “They are false and they arise on the eve of an election in which I am competing against the candidate who is leading the polls for governor,” declared Swalwell. “For almost 20 years I have served citizens—first as a prosecutor and later as a congressman—and I have always protected women,” he concluded.
By that time, Swalwell had already lost important allies, including Democratic Congressmen Jimmy Gomez (of Los Angeles) and Adam Gray (of Turlock), as well as House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi.
Swalwell’s career in public service began in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, where he headed the Hate Crimes unit and was a prosecutor. At the age of 29 he became a councilor in his native Dublin, a city located in the north of the State. In 2013 he won the congressional race, adding more than 12 years in the seat.
In a statement, Swalwell said that, in his opinion, some of the allegations he faces are private in nature. “I’m not telling you in any way that I’m perfect or a saint. I certainly made mistakes,” he declared in front of a camera. “But those mistakes are between my wife and I. And I deeply apologize to her for putting her in this situation.”
