FBI agents search Eric Swalwell’s home as part of federal inquiry

Federal agents searched the home of Eric Swalwell, the former Democratic Congress member, and seized electronic devices from him over the weekend in connection with a civil rights investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault, according to a person familiar with the inquiry.

The agents, armed with a warrant, stopped Swalwell at the San Francisco airport Saturday and laid claim to his devices. The next day, they searched his home in Washington, the person said.

Swalwell, who spent more than a decade in the House representing two districts in California, resigned from Congress in April after the news media reported on allegations from several women, including a former member of his staff, accusing him of sexual misconduct. Around the same time, he withdrew from the California governor’s race.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Swalwell also did not respond to messages seeking comment. The search at his home and the seizure of his communications devices were reported earlier today by CNN.

Swalwell is also facing investigation based on accounts from his accusers by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state investigators in Los Angeles. Most sex crimes are prosecuted by state and local authorities. The federal agents appeared to be using civil rights statutes as a means to scrutinize Swalwell’s conduct with his accusers, the person familiar with the case said.

During his time in Congress, Swalwell was a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, at one point serving on the House select committee that held him responsible for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Swalwell has also accused the president of using his office to engage in various forms of corruption and personal enrichment.

Earlier this week, the White House released previously secret documents arising from an earlier and unrelated investigation into Swalwell. That inquiry focused on his relationship with a woman named Christine Fang, who was believed by counterintelligence officials to be a Chinese spy.

In an article in The San Francisco Chronicle in April, the former staff member for Swalwell claimed that he had sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel room after an event in 2024. She recounted how she had been too intoxicated to consent to the encounter and that Swalwell had ignored her when she had tried to refuse.

Three other women spoke separately with CNN, accusing Swalwell of various kinds of sexual misconduct, including sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

Swalwell denied the allegations, telling both news outlets that the accusations had “come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor.”

“For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women,” he said in a statement at the time.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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