SACRAMENTO — Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Tuesday denounced online claims that he had inappropriate relationships with young congressional staff members.
“It’s false,” he told reporters after an evening town hall at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Sacramento.
When asked, Swalwell said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern.
Swalwell, 45, added that allegations that his staff members were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements or entered into legal settlements were patently false. He and his campaign spokesman added that the timing of the allegations — less than one month before ballots land in voters’ mailboxes, when he is among the front-runners in the governor’s race — is notable.
“This false, outrageous rumor is being spread 27 days before an election begins by flailing opponents who have sadly teamed up with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the frontrunner in this race,” spokesman Micah Beasley said in a statement.
Allegations that Swalwell (D-Dublin) acted sexually inappropriately with young women have been swirling online for weeks, with the tempo growing in recent days as Democratic strategists, Washington insiders and social media influencers posted about the allegations, including that he made these women sign nondisclosure agreements.
Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group, and social media influencer Arielle Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled, are among those publicizing the allegations online. Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who has tangled with Swalwell in the past, also took to social media to amplify the allegations and question the California congressman’s behavior.
“Smearing survivors with claims that they ‘teamed up with MAGA’ is morally repugnant,” Hunt wrote on X after Swalwell’s team responded.
Fodor told The Times that the comments from Swalwell’s team are “ridiculous and verifiably unfounded.”
Swalwell’s campaign began forcefully pushing back against the allegations, which have recently been circulated by conservative media outlets such as the Washington Free Beacon and the California Globe, on Tuesday afternoon.
“In 13 years, no one in Eric Swalwell’s Congressional office has ever been asked to sign an NDA. Ever,” Beasley said in a statement that was first reported by Politico. “In 13 years, not a single ethics complaint by any staff in his office or any other office has ever been lodged. Ever.”
The Times has not independently corroborated reports of inappropriate behavior.
An advisor to the congressman’s gubernatorial campaign said they felt they had to speak out because of the brewing tempest weeks before ballots land in voters’ mailboxes in early May.
“We’re speaking out now because we have nothing to hide from,” this advisor said, requesting anonymity to speak candidly. “We know how the new media ecosystem works. We know how misinformation spreads. The facts of what they have put out don’t line up.”
This advisor said that campaign employees are required to sign an agreement to not disclose confidential strategic information but that no congressional or campaign employees are asked to sign any agreement regarding Swalwell’s personnel behavior.
“People are coming at him from both sides of the aisle … because he’s the front-runner,” the person said.
Swalwell said he decided to address the matter because he didn’t want Californians to question his ethics.
“I’m offering myself, also, as somebody who is fearlessly going to stand up for Californians, and, you know, on the toughest issues, not flinch,” he said.
Former Rep. Katie Porter, one of Swalwell’s top Democratic rivals in the governor’s race, said Tuesday that she was troubled about the claims about the congressman’s behavior.
“I have seen allegations coming from women staffers. They are very, very troubling allegations,” Porter, who has faced criticism of abusive behavior toward her staffers, said on CNN. “It’s those women’s stories to tell when they are ready, and I hope they feel safe and supported if they choose to do so.”
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the Republican front-runners in the governor’s race, said he expected the allegations to greatly influence the contest.
“I think in California, Swalwell was only popular because of his hatred for President Trump,” he said on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast. “He’s not going to survive this…. He should probably just drop out and save his family.”
Swalwell entered the campaign to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom in November, and recent opinion polls show he is among the Democratic front-runners. Swalwell had the support of 13.7% of voters in an average of recent polling compiled by Real Clear Politics, behind only Republican Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator who had an average of 14.7%.
This is the second controversy Swalwell has faced in recent days.
Late last month, he accused President Trump of trying to sway the governor’s race based on reports that the FBI could release documents related to a decade-old investigation about his association with an alleged Chinese spy.
The investigation centered on Swalwell’s ties to a suspected intelligence operative, Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, who worked as a volunteer raising money for his congressional campaign. Swalwell cut off ties to Fang in 2015 after intelligence officials briefed him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate the legislative body.
Swalwell was never accused of wrongdoing. In an interview with The Times in November, he said he was cleared by the FBI and a GOP-led House Ethics Committee of any impropriety in his ties to Fang.
FBI Director Kash Patel directed agents in the bureau’s San Francisco office to redact the case files for public release, according to a report by the Washington Post, a highly unusual move to release case files tied to a investigation that did not result in criminal charges.
Swalwell’s attorneys filed a cease-and-desist letter with Patel and the FBI. No documents have been released as of Tuesday evening.
The congressman said he expects additional attacks in coming weeks.
“We expect there will be something new from this president, or, you know, wherever it comes from in the next, you know, couple weeks,” he said. “That’s just, you know, the nature of campaigns.”
Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.
