WASHINGTON — On Monday evening, FBI Director Kash Patel extended a pointed farewell to his long-time foe, Rep. Eric Swalwell, following the latter’s departure from Congress amid accusations of sexual misconduct.
In a public statement, Patel, aged 46, invited the outgoing California Democrat, 45, to participate in an FBI interview regarding the serious allegations leveled against him. These include claims of sexual harassment involving four women, inappropriate relationships with subordinates, and two instances of sexual assault, which prompted Swalwell’s resignation from the House of Representatives.
Patel communicated via X, stating, “[Eric Swalwell] has consistently denied the truth of these accusations. Now that he has stepped down, we invite him to meet with the FBI to provide any insights he might have.”
“We also encourage and welcome any person with relevant information to any of these matters to speak with us. Door is open to all.”
Swalwell was a member of the House Intelligence Committee during the first Trump administration and was one of the most prominent Democrats to push the Russia collusion narrative.
At that time, Patel was a senior aide to then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who fought tooth-and-nail against claims of nefarious ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
In 2023, Swalwell was kicked off the Intelligence Committee by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), due to both his promotion of the collusion narrative and his relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang.
That same year, Patel named Swalwell as one of dozens of so-called “government gangsters” in his book of the same name.
In the fall of 2025, Swalwell confronted Patel about the designation during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
“I’m gonna borrow your terminology and call bull— on your entire career in Congress,” the FBI director raged in response. “It has been a disgrace to the American people.”
Last month, Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist notice to the FBI to stop the release of the files detailing his interactions with Fang.
Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor Sunday night after the sexual misconduct allegations, the most stunning of which came from a woman who previously worked in his office and claimed he raped her in 2024, leaving her bloody and bruised.
Swalwell issued a vague denial of “false accusations against him,” while simultaneously admitting “personal failings.”
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill had stopped short of calling on Swalwell to resign before Monday’s announcement after demanding he drop out of the governor’s race, despite one House aide acknowledging to The Post that “there’ve been rumors for a while, but nothing quite this bad, and people are pretty disgusted by what’s come out.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who elevated Swalwell to the Intelligence Committee when he was just a sophomore rep back in 2015, told CNN’s Frank Sesno Monday night that “it is absolutely not true” that Democrats turned a blind eye to the lawmaker’s activities.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a close confidant of Swalwell who served in the House with him for a decade, claimed to reporters that his former friend “led a double life and tricked many of us into thinking he was someone he’s not.”
In response, Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) suggested Gallego release his communications with Swalwell.
It’s simple,” Lawler wrote on X, “if [Gallego] has nothing to hide, he should apply the same standard he demanded with the release of the Epstein Files to himself.
“He should immediately release all text messages, emails, signal chats, social media communications, photos and videos exchanged between him and [Swalwell] and be fully transparent with the American people.
“If they were best friends, there is almost zero percent chance he didn’t know and didn’t in fact exchange some sort of communication on it,” Lawler concluded. “These women deserve full accountability. Release the files!”
