ERIC Swalwell’s political collapse came in a matter of days, with the California Democrat forced to quit his run for governor before announcing he would resign from Congress.
The once high-profile lawmaker saw his career unravel after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault allegations that he denies.
Swalwell went from gubernatorial contender to outgoing congressman almost overnight.
The downward spiral began on Friday when a former staffer claimed Swalwell had sexually assaulted her twice, including once when she was still working for him, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Other women came forward that same day and accused the candidate of making unwanted sexual advances toward them when they were low level staffers.
Hours after the bombshell reports were published, Swalwell flatly denied the accusations and said the incidents alleged “never happened,” calling the claims “absolutely false.”
He posted his denial video from the $26 million Beverly Hills home of billionaire donor Stephen Cloobeck – who is engaged to a Penthouse Pet cover star accused of stealing from sugar daddies.
But, despite Swalwell’s defense, support began to drain from colleagues and former staffers and political allies who distances themselves.
Cloobeck told Fox affiliate KTTV he later threw Swalwell out of the house after deciding the congressman had “broke his trust.”
“You busted the trust. I’m disappointed and disgusted — get out of here,” Cloobeck said.
More than 55 former staffers signed a letter urging him to resign, while senior aides publicly backed the women who had come forward.
On Sunday, Swalwell suspended his campaign for governor, saying, “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.
“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made, but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
By Monday, the seven-term congressman said he would leave the House as bipartisan calls for expulsion intensified.
“Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong,” Swalwell said.
“But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
At the same time, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee he supervised.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office also confirmed it is investigating allegations tied to a 2024 encounter in New York.
Meanwhile, two women who accused him of sexual assault told
CBS News they felt “vindicated” by his decision to abandon the governor’s race and resign from Congress, but said the fight was far from over.
“He was pushed into a corner, essentially, because they were planning to expel him … so I think he did that to save face a little,” said Ally Sammarco, whose accusations were first detailed in a CNN report.
“But I also felt very vindicated that he realized it was over for him.”
Annika Albrecht told CBS News she first met him on a college class trip and said what began as a supposed mentorship turned sexually inappropriate.
She said Swalwell began speaking to her under the guise of professional mentorship and told her he could help her land her dream role as a chief of staff.
She said Swalwell added her on Snapchat, and later, Snapchat messages turned flirty and then crossed into what she described as sexually inappropriate.
Albrecht said Swalwell eventually invited her to meet him at a hotel.
“I keep thinking about how lucky I am that didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht said.
“It was very clear what the connotation was.”
Albrecht also said hearing other women’s accounts made the scandal even more chilling.
“It was terrifying to get on the phone with those women and hear their stories about how they were drinking with him and suddenly woke up in bed next to him with no recollection of how they got there,” she said.
Another accuser, Ally Sammarco, said she first connected with Swalwell in 2021 when she was 24 and working an entry level role on a political campaign for former Virginia Governor McAuliffe.
She reached out on Twitter to discuss their similar upbringing, and he quickly responded and moved their conversation to texts.
Eventually, Swalwell asked to communicate on Snapchat where messages and pictures are seen for a few seconds before they delete for good.
Their conversations were professional at first, but slowly became more explicit as time went on, Sammarco claimed.
“He was sending me photos of his face […] he was drinking in a lot of them,” she said.
“He would ask me if I was drinking too or tell me I should have a drink with him,” she said.
One day, Sammarco said Swalwell abruptly sent her a picture of his penis.
“I was shocked,” she said.
Swalwell “never should have run for governor to begin with knowing the kind of history and receipts that are out there,” Sammarco said.
