A former congressional staffer has accused Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) of raping her on two separate occasions, and three additional women have come forward with their own allegations of sexual misconduct against the California Democrat, claims he flatly denies but that have already drawn the attention of Manhattan prosecutors.
The accusations, first previewed on social media and then detailed by Breitbart News, paint a picture of a powerful congressman who allegedly used private messaging apps and after-hours encounters to pursue women in his orbit, then deployed cease-and-desist letters when they threatened to speak publicly.
Swalwell, the leading Democratic candidate for governor of California, called the allegations "flat false" in a social media video and suggested the timing was politically motivated. Four women told CNN otherwise.
The most serious accusation comes from a woman who worked in Swalwell's district office after he ended his presidential campaign in July 2019. She said the two began communicating via Snapchat, and that a pattern of inappropriate contact developed while she was still on his payroll.
She described an initial incident of nonconsensual sexual contact in 2019, followed by a second alleged encounter later that year. She told CNN she was alone with Swalwell at a bar in his congressional district in September, became heavily intoxicated, and woke up naked in bed with him in his hotel the next morning.
In her own words, as reported by CNN:
"I know that there was sexual contact because when I woke up in the morning, I could feel that there was."
She said she confronted Swalwell about the night, telling him she didn't remember it. His alleged response chills: "Well, next time, we have to make sure you remember it."
The woman later transferred to Swalwell's Washington, D.C. office before eventually leaving for a different job. She kept in sparing contact with the congressman. Then, in 2024, she said Swalwell invited her for drinks when he spoke at a New York gala she was also attending. She alleged that after drinking with him, she found herself in a hotel room with him on top of her.
She described the physical aftermath in graphic terms:
"My vagina was bleeding the next day after the sex, I had cuts and bruises on my body. I could see the bruises of where his hand had been on my rib cage and on my legs and near my thighs."
She said she did not report the alleged assaults to police. But she did not mince words about what happened to her. "Well, Eric shouldn't have raped me," she told CNN. Her mother confirmed her daughter's account to the network.
The former staffer was not alone. Three additional women described their own experiences with Swalwell to CNN, alleging varying forms of sexual misconduct.
Another anonymous woman said she met Swalwell in Spring 2025 after the two connected on Instagram. She described leaving his hotel room after a night of drinking with a "blur" of fuzzy memories. She said she felt "really disgusted and ashamed" and later sent Swalwell a lengthy message in December, about a month after he launched his gubernatorial bid, telling him "all you did was harm me."
That woman said Swalwell "used my vulnerabilities and the fact that I looked up to him to be able to get something from it." She added: "I suffered a lot in silence... I had no desire to ever come after him or ever come out saying something."
Social media influencer Ally Sammarco also accused Swalwell of sending unsolicited nude photos or explicit messages. When Swalwell posted his denial video, Sammarco replied: "You can't be serious."
The allegations have prompted broader scrutiny of how Congress handles sexual harassment records and misconduct by its members, a recurring sore point in Washington.
Swalwell moved quickly to push back. In a video posted to social media after the CNN report, the congressman addressed the allegations directly:
"These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They're absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have."
He also issued a written statement calling the accusations lies timed to damage his campaign. "These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor," Swalwell said. "For nearly 20 years, I have served the public, as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women."
But Swalwell's denial came with a notable concession. He acknowledged personal failings without specifying them:
"I do not suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I'm a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgement in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position."
The question of what those "mistakes" were, and how they square with his categorical denial of any assault, remains unanswered.
Meanwhile, Swalwell's legal team sent cease-and-desist letters to at least two of the women. Those letters argued that the women's claims were "undermined" by their "voluntary and cooperative relationship with Mr. Swalwell over the course of many years" following the alleged incidents. An attorney for Swalwell also sent a denial letter to CNN.
The use of cease-and-desist letters against accusers, before any legal proceeding has begun, is a familiar tactic. It raises the question of whether the goal is to defend against false claims or to intimidate women into silence. Readers can judge for themselves which interpretation the facts support.
The allegations have now moved beyond the court of public opinion. Newsmax reported that the Manhattan district attorney's office confirmed it is investigating sexual assault allegations against Swalwell, giving the accusations formal legal weight. The 2024 hotel encounter described by the former staffer took place in New York City, putting it within Manhattan's jurisdiction.
The accuser told CNN that Swalwell raped her during that 2024 encounter and that she had been too intoxicated on both occasions to consent. Swalwell responded to the investigation with the same word he has used throughout: "Absolutely false."
Whether or not charges follow, the DA's involvement transforms this from a political controversy into a potential criminal matter. It is no longer just a campaign headache.
Perhaps the most damaging development for Swalwell has come from inside his own operation. More than a dozen current congressional and campaign staffers issued an unsigned statement saying they were "horrified" by the reports, the Washington Examiner reported.
"We stand with our former colleague, and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too," the staffers wrote. They called the alleged behavior "abhorrent, beneath the dignity of those serving in public office" and said it "betrays the trust of all Californians."
The staffers said their decision to remain in their jobs should not be read as support for Swalwell. Instead, they said they stayed to protect junior staff and continue serving constituents during the fallout. That framing, we're staying despite him, not because of him, speaks volumes about the internal collapse of confidence in the congressman.
Swalwell is also facing calls to suspend his gubernatorial campaign. The political ground is shifting fast beneath him.
The pattern here is familiar to anyone who has watched how media outlets have covered, or avoided covering, misconduct claims against politically connected figures.
Before the CNN report landed, one-time congressional candidate Cheyenne Hunt posted a preview on X, saying she had been in contact with multiple women "coming forward and sharing their stories of sexual harassment and even alleged abuse at the hands of Eric Swalwell."
Campaign advisor Bri Gillis backed Hunt up, writing that "anyone who has been in DC for five minutes knows this. It's actually wild it took this long."
Bhavik Lathia, a former staffer on both Kamala Harris's and Bernie Sanders's presidential campaigns, said he confirmed the allegations with a "trusted friend" and called them "real." He urged Democrats: "Take it seriously. Eric Swallwell [sic] cannot be our nominee. There is going to be a lot more coming out soon."
These are not conservative critics looking to score points. These are Democratic operatives and political insiders who say the allegations track with what they already knew. That makes Swalwell's claim of a political hit job harder to sustain.
Scandals involving elected officials and their staffers are not new. What distinguishes this case is the number of accusers, the consistency of the pattern they describe, and the speed at which Swalwell's own people have distanced themselves from him.
Several questions hang over this story. The former staffer said she did not report the alleged assaults to police at the time. She explained her silence this way:
"I always felt like if I came forward, I was going to suffer the consequences because he was so powerful. I've lived in fear every single day."
She also described the psychological toll of self-blame: "I kept figuring out ways to blame myself: I shouldn't have reached out to him at all, I should have left, I should have done this."
The exact content of the cease-and-desist letters, the full scope of the Snapchat communications, and the substance of the attorney's letter to CNN remain undisclosed. Whether the Manhattan DA's investigation produces charges, or quietly closes, will determine whether this story has a legal resolution or only a political one.
Swalwell, for his part, said he would "where necessary bring legal action" and that he planned to spend the weekend with his family. He said he looked forward to "updating you very soon."
Accountability in public office is not a partisan principle, or at least it shouldn't be. Four women have now put their accounts on the record. A prosecutor is looking into it. Swalwell's own staff has publicly sided with his accusers. The congressman says he's innocent. The facts, and the law, will have their say.
Democrats spent years telling the country to "believe women." Now one of their own faces exactly the kind of reckoning they once demanded of everyone else. The test was never whether the standard applied to the other side. It was whether it applied to theirs.