WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee has begun an investigation into whether Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., engaged in sexual misconduct toward an employee working under his supervision, the panel announced Monday.
The announcement comes one day after Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor after the emergence of allegations that he continues to deny.
Democrats quickly abandoned support for Swalwell after allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. The reports published in the San Francisco Chronicle and later by CNN came as Swalwell began to emerge as a leading contender in the crowded race.
“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell said in a social media post.
The Ethics Committee said the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publicly disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.
A growing number of lawmakers, from both political parties, have called on Swalwell to resign from Congress. Conversations have even moved toward a potential House vote to expel the congressman, but no floor action has been scheduled.
The Ethics panel’s decision to launch its own probe could potentially stall, for now, any other immediate action in Congress.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said over the weekend that she would be filing a motion to expel Swalwell from Congress, but that could prompt Democrats to force similar votes against Republicans.
The most likely target would be Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, who acknowledged an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide.
Many Democrats sought to distance themselves from Swalwell after the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday that a woman said Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2019 and 2024. The newspaper reviewed text messages about the alleged 2024 assault and spoke to people whom she had told about it. She told the newspaper she did not go to police because she was afraid she would not be believed.
The woman worked for Swalwell in 2019 when the first alleged assault occurred, and the 2024 assault allegedly occurred after a charity gala, the newspaper reported. She said in both cases she was too intoxicated to consent to sex.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she believes both Gonzales and Swalwell should resign from Congress.
“I think that this is very important that we believe women, and that we show people across the Capitol and across the country that we will not accept this kind of behavior,” Jayapal said on NBC's “Meet The Press.”
On the same show, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he would vote to expel Swalwell and Gonzales if such a vote were presented on the House floor.
“These things are just completely unacceptable. And as far as I’m concerned, both gentlemen need to go home,” Donalds said.
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