On Saturday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced an investigation into sexual assault allegations made against Eric Swalwell, a Democratic congressman from California who is currently campaigning for the governorship. This follows Swalwell’s denial of accusations from an unnamed woman who claims he assaulted her on two occasions.<\/p>\n
The investigation’s confirmation came after the San Francisco Chronicle revealed that the woman, a former employee in Swalwell’s district office, alleged two incidents of nonconsensual sexual encounters. According to her statements in the newspaper, she stated that she was too intoxicated to consent during both incidents, one occurring in California in 2019 while she was employed by Swalwell, and the other in New York in 2024.<\/p>\n
Under New York law, a person is unable to provide consent if they are “mentally incapacitated” or “physically helpless” due to substances like drugs or alcohol. However, there are instances where voluntary intoxication may not invalidate consent.<\/p>\n
In a CNN interview, where her identity was concealed, the woman accused Swalwell of raping her in New York. Additionally, the report highlighted that three other women alleged Swalwell had sent them inappropriate sexual messages, including explicit images, and had engaged in unwanted physical contact.<\/p>\n
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has encouraged anyone with information regarding the allegations to reach out to its special victims division, emphasizing their commitment to providing trauma-informed support through specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and counselors.<\/p>\n
Swalwell has categorically denied the allegations, calling them “absolutely false” and insinuating that they are politically motivated. He pointed out that these claims have surfaced ahead of the gubernatorial primary in June, where he is considered a leading candidate to succeed Gavin Newsom, the current governor.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Swalwell asserted, “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They did not happen, they have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have.” These claims emerged only days after Swalwell stated to reporters in Sacramento that he had never engaged in a sexual relationship with a staff member or intern.<\/p>\n
In a video message shared on social media, Swalwell mentioned that he would spend the weekend with family and friends and would provide further updates “very soon.”<\/p>\n
Staff members from Swalwell’s office expressed their disapproval of the alleged conduct attributed to the congressman, stating, “We stand with our former colleague and the other women who have come forward. We believe you should stand with them, too.” They characterized the reported behavior as unacceptable, stating it undermines the integrity expected of public officials and breaches the trust of Californians.<\/p>\n
The Manhattan DA’s investigation was announced just a day after several prominent supporters of Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign began to distance themselves, including all 21 of his congressional backers. Influential Democrats in California, including both state senators and the lieutenant governor, have urged Swalwell to withdraw from the race.<\/p>\n
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has not endorsed any candidate in the election, called for a thorough investigation into the “serious allegations,” suggesting that it should occur “outside of a gubernatorial campaign.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Saturday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced an investigation into sexual assault allegations made against Eric Swalwell, a Democratic congressman from California who is currently campaigning for the governorship. This follows Swalwell’s denial of accusations from an unnamed woman who claims he assaulted her on two occasions. The investigation’s confirmation came after the San […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[461,825,866,423,88,580,219,460],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-california","category-uk-democrats","category-uk-law-us","category-uk-new-york","category-uk","category-uk-us-news","category-uk-us-politics","category-uk-west-coast"],"yoast_head":"\n