A sweeping federal law enforcement action targeting former Democratic U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell unfolded over the weekend, as FBI agents stopped the California politician at a U.S. airport, seized his personal electronic devices, and executed a search warrant at his Washington, D.C., residence. The operation marks a significant new development in an ongoing federal investigation into multiple claims of sexual misconduct leveled against Swalwell earlier this year. Multiple U.S. law enforcement and media sources, including CBS News — the BBC’s official U.S. news partner — have confirmed details of the enforcement action. The 45-year-old former congressman, a frequent cable news commentator who built a national profile as a prominent critic of former President Donald Trump, has been facing overlapping probes from multiple jurisdictions since the first allegations became public. The accusations, which come from multiple female accusers, include claims that Swalwell raped one woman while she was severely intoxicated and unable to consent, and that he sent unsolicited nude images to other women. Soon after the allegations were first reported publicly earlier this year, Swalwell stepped down from his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and abandoned his campaign for California governor — a race where he had been leading in early polling at the time. Following his departure from Congress, the House Ethics Committee terminated its own parallel investigation into the claims, which had been launched after House Democratic leadership faced pressure to remove Swalwell from committee assignments over the allegations. Swalwell has repeatedly and unequivocally denied all accusations of sexual misconduct. His attorney, Sara Azari, has characterized the claims as entirely manufactured, calling them a deliberate, transparent political attack targeting her client. “These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job,” Azari stated when the allegations were first made public. The BBC has reached out to Swalwell and his legal team for additional comment following the weekend FBI action, but has not yet received a response. Beyond the sexual misconduct investigations, new developments emerged this week in a separate decade-old FBI investigation tied to Swalwell. On Monday, the White House declassified and released previously sealed documents detailing long-reported allegations of a past relationship between Swalwell and Christine Fang, a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence operative. While most key details of the 2015 relationship have been public knowledge for years, Swalwell never faced any criminal charges related to the alleged connection. Multiple major U.S. media outlets, including CBS News, have reported that FBI Director Kash Patel spearheaded the push to declassify and release the previously sealed investigation files. In addition to the federal probe being carried out by the FBI, Swalwell also faces active criminal investigations into the rape and sexual assault allegations from two separate local law enforcement agencies: the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in his home state of California.
FBI seizes former Congressman Eric Swalwell’s devices and searches his home as part of investigation
