Eric Swalwell briefly detained as feds seize his phone at San Francisco airport, source says
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- Federal agents briefly detained former Rep. Eric Swalwell as they seized electronic devices over the weekend, a source told The Times.
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source → detain → Times
- Swalwell resigned from Congress and dropped his bid for California governor amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.
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Swalwell → resign → assault
A federal investigation into former Rep. Eric Swalwell appeared to gain steam after agents seized his electronic devices and raided his Washington home over the weekend, even briefly holding the former lawmaker at San Francisco International Airport, a person familiar with the inquiry told The Times.
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person → appear → Times
Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, dropped out of the California governor’s race and resigned from Congress in April after allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer and acted inappropriately with other young women, which he denied at the time.
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he → drop → time
Before he dropped out of the race, polls indicated that Swalwell was among the front-runners.
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Swalwell → drop → runners
The source said Swalwell was held Saturday at SFO for search purposes and released the same day.
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Swalwell → say → purposes
Federal prosecutors are using civil rights law to pursue an inquiry into his conduct as a member of Congress.
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prosecutors → use → Congress
Authorities in New York and Los Angeles County are conducting separate investigations.
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Authorities → conduct → investigations
His home was searched Sunday by federal agents, the source added, based on a warrant in connection with a civil rights investigation concerning the sexual assault allegations.
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source → search → allegations
Investigators sought to seize Swalwell’s white iPhone and MacBook Pro, according to court records.
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Investigators → seek → records
They sought the devices as part of their inquiry into whether Swalwell violated a federal law that makes it a crime for anyone acting under official government authority to willfully deprive a person of their constitutional rights, according to the court filings.
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anyone → seek → filings
Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing, but the accusations upended the California governor’s race and shook Capitol Hill, where both parties reckoned with a culture of secrecy and silence around sexual impropriety.
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parties → deny → impropriety
One accuser, Lonna Drewes, said at a news conference that she was drugged and raped by the onetime politician in 2018 in Beverly Hills.
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she → say → Hills
Drewes said she met Swalwell three times as she was growing her fashion software company and toying with the idea of a political career.
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she → say → career
Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democratic front-runner for California governor, faces calls to drop out after assault claims.
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Swalwell → face → claims
On the third occasion, Drewes said she believes that Swalwell drugged her glass of wine.
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Swalwell → say → wine
She said they were supposed to go to a political event and stopped by his hotel room to retrieve some paperwork.
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they → say → paperwork
She said she found herself incapacitated despite having had only one drink.
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herself → say → drink
“He raped me and he choked me and while he was choking me I lost consciousness and I thought I died,” she said.
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she → rap → consciousness
“I did not consent to any sexual activity.”
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I → consent → activity
Sara Azari, an attorney for Swalwell, denied Drewes’ characterization of the incident at the time.
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Azari → deny → time
“Two adults consenting, which is our position, is not against the law,” she said.
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she → consent → law
Swalwell and Azari didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Swalwell → respond → comment
The former staffer for Swalwell told the San Francisco Chronicle that Swalwell began sending her nude pictures on Snapchat and messages after she was hired by his office in 2019.
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she → tell → 2019
In early results from the special election runoff to complete the congressional term of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, state Sen. Aisha Wahab was in the lead late Tuesday by a narrow margin.
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Wahab → complete → margin
In September of that year, she said she had drinks with the congressman, blacked out and woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed, according to the Chronicle.
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she → say → Chronicle
In 2024, when she no longer worked for Swalwell, she said she attended a charity event honoring the congressman and met him for drinks afterward.
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she → work → drinks
She was intoxicated but recalled Swalwell forcing himself upon her, and that she pushed him away and said, “No,” according to the Chronicle.
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she → recall → Chronicle
Azari said in April that Swalwell denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and assault and would pursue “every legal remedy” against those making the claims.
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Swalwell → say → claims
“These accusations are false, fabricated and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent 20 years in public service,” Azari said.
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Azari → design → service
The reporting by the Chronicle and CNN uncovering Swalwell’s alleged activity prompted national headlines, forcing him out of Congress and the governor’s race.
At least one other relationship Swalwell had with a woman also raised concerns among law enforcement over its potential national security implications.
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Swalwell → uncover → implications
Newly declassified documents released Monday from a White House task force reveal that Swalwell told FBI investigators in 2015 that he had a sexual relationship with a woman who was later revealed to be a suspected Chinese spy.
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who → declassify → woman
Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, worked as a volunteer raising money for Swalwell’s congressional campaign.
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Fang → work → campaign
Swalwell cut off ties to Fang after intelligence officials briefed him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate the government.
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officials → cut → government
Swalwell was never accused of wrongdoing, a point he repeatedly highlighted when asked about his relationship with Fang in a November interview with The Times the day before he announced his gubernatorial campaign.
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he → accuse → campaign
“I’ll let the FBI speak for itself,” he said.
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he → let → itself
Asked whether he had sexual relations with Fang, Swalwell flatly denied the allegations.
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Swalwell → ask → allegations
This, it’s always been bull—-,” Swalwell said.
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Swalwell → say → ?
Winton reported from Los Angeles, Smith from Sacramento and Wilner from Washington.
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Winton → report → Washington
Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report .
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Mehta → contribute → report
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