The Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed on Saturday that it is investigating allegations of sexual assault leveled against U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat who has been regarded as one of the leading candidates in the state’s gubernatorial contest.
News accounts reported that a woman who previously served on Swalwell’s district staff has accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters - one that she says occurred in 2019 while she was employed in his office, and another in 2024 after she had left his staff. She told CNN that the 2024 encounter occurred in a New York City hotel and that he raped her during that incident. The woman was not identified in the reports.
According to the published accounts, the woman said she had been too intoxicated on both occasions to provide consent. The same reporting indicated that three other women have separately accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct.
In response to the allegations, Swalwell has issued a categorical denial, describing the claims as "absolutely false" and stating he intends to fight them. Several prominent Democrats have urged him to end his campaign for governor in light of the accusations.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has encouraged anyone with information relevant to the allegations to contact its special victims division as the inquiry proceeds.
Swalwell has pointed out that the allegations surfaced in the lead-up to the June primary for California governor. In a wide and competitive field of candidates from multiple parties, he has been widely viewed as a top contender to move on to the next stage of the state’s nonpartisan primary system.
Under that system, the two candidates who receive the most votes in June advance to the general election in November, even if both are from the same political party. The timing of the reported allegations and the ongoing investigation add uncertainty to a race that will be decided by the top-two finishers later this year.
The Manhattan district attorney’s confirmation of an investigation and the allegations reported to media outlets remain the central facts available publicly at this stage. Additional details have not been provided by prosecutors in recent statements.