Eric Swalwell Under Investigation for Sexual Assault After Exiting California Governor Race

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office, led by Alvin Bragg, is spearheading a separate investigation into these sexual assault allegations against the embattled congressman. The scandal has forced Swalwell to suspend his campaign to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom, a move that followed the public emergence of these accusations last week.

In addition to these developments, the House Ethics Committee has confirmed its own inquiry into the claims of sexual misconduct, further intensifying the scrutiny surrounding Swalwell.

The allegations have been brought to light by a former staffer, who alleges that Swalwell assaulted her on two occasions while she was incapacitated from alcohol consumption. One of these incidents reportedly occurred in New York City in 2024, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s recent report.

The accuser, who has chosen to remain anonymous, shared that she was only 21 when she began working in Swalwell’s district office in 2019. According to her, Swalwell, who was married at the time, began making advances shortly after her employment commenced. She claims he sent explicit photos via Snapchat and solicited sexual acts during a car ride home. She also recounted an incident where she woke up naked in Swalwell’s bed, having blacked out from heavy drinking.

The unnamed woman told the paper that she was hired at 21 to work in Swalwell’s district office in 2019 and claimed her married boss began pursuing her weeks later. She reportedly claimed he sent her naked pictures over Snapchat and asked for oral sex in a parking lot during a ride home from an event. On another occasion, she claimed to have awoken naked in Swalwell’s bed after blacking out drinking.

The New York investigation stems from separate allegations in the article, when she was no longer an employee of Swalwell’s office. They allegedly met up for drinks after a gala in Manhattan at around 11:30 p.m. on April 25, 2024.

Rep. Eric Swalwell waves before speaking at the California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

According to the report, she claimed to remember only “snippets of the night,” including telling Swalwell “no.” Three days later, she reportedly told a friend she believed she was sexually assaulted.

“I have no skin in the game of who becomes governor of California, but I feel people have a right to know whether the person who leads a state that is a safe haven for so many women actually treats women with dignity and will protect their rights,” the Chronicle quoted her as saying. “No one protected me from him, and so I have to protect the other young women like me who aspire to work in this field and he could prey upon.”

Eric Swalwell delivers a speech at the SEIU-United Service Workers West gubernatorial candidate forum in Los Angeles on Jan. 10, 2026. (Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images)

She claimed she kept quiet for years, however, out of fear of retaliation.

“We urge survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office told Fox News over the weekend. “Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner.”

Swalwell has denied the allegations and apologized to his wife in a video posted online. He said he planned to fight the accusations but stepped out of the California governor’s race anyway.

“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made,” he wrote on X Sunday. “But that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

Since the initial report, several other women have come forward with other misconduct allegations.