Eric Swalwell’s hotshot lawyer comes out swinging — after bombshell new rape claim

Eric Swalwell’s hotshot attorney has come out swinging after a bombshell new rape claim was leveled at the former congressman.

Sara Azari took to the airwaves late Tuesday saying “regret is not rape,” pushing the idea the politician’s alleged victims were just ashamed by any sexual activity they had.

She launched a staunch defense of him and praised his “tremendous amount of accountability” for stepping down amid the growing scandal.

It comes after another alleged Swalwell victim came out with harrowing rape claims on Wednesday during a blockbuster press conference in Beverly Hills.

Her allegations piled on top of four women who also accuse the married father of three of sexual assaults or innappropriate behavior towards them.

Azari told NewsNation: “The fact that, you know, a day later, years later, or whatnot, you maybe had shame around what you did, or maybe you were in a relationship and shouldn’t have done what you did, doesn’t make it rape.”

She continued: “I think it demonstrates a tremendous amount of accountability, not because he’s done these things and he’s stepping down, but because how could he properly defend himself and represent his constituency with these serious allegations pending.”

She added: “So he couldn’t be able to do his job properly, and it was the right thing to do.”

Azari is a top LA attorney who is “frequently retained by high-profile individuals facing allegations of sexual misconduct, arising in the context of the #MeToo movement,” her legal bio says.

She makes frequent appearances as a legal contributor in the media and also works as a legal analyst for NewsNation.

Azari argues the allegations against Swalwell should not be hashed out in the court of public opinion.

She said: “I don’t dispute the severity of what is being alleged here, being alleged that he committed rapes; one person was allegedly drugged.

“That underscores why we can’t hash this out in the court of public opinion. These allegations are false. The court of public opinion is not the venue to bring out receipts.”

Swalwell resigned from Congress Wednesday amid a smattering of serious sexual misconduct allegations, including from Beverly Hills model Lonna Drewes.

She claimed Swalwell choked her unconscious after he allegedly roofied her in 2018. Drewes described her alleged traumatic experience in the front of the press.

“When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms over my body. He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died,” she said.

Drewes had met Swalwell on two other occasions and was expecting to form a strictly-business connection with him, she claimed.

The victim and her attorneys went to the LA County Sheriff’s Department to file a police report after she recounted her encounter with Swalwell.

LA authorities say they are investigating the incident, which happened in July 2018 at the Montrose Hotel in West Hollywood.

“The investigation remains in its preliminary stages and is ongoing. Investigators are in the process of gathering information, reviewing available evidence, and conducting follow up inquiries as part of a comprehensive investigative process,” the sheriff’s department said.

A different woman, Annika Albrecht, came forward to accuse Swalwell of luring her to a hotel room after allegedly sending her pervy messages on Snapchat.

She claimed Swalwell, who initially started chatting to her under the guise of a professional mentorship, quickly asked for her Snapchat.

Eventually, she alleged, the messages crossed the line to “sexually inappropriate” before he hit her with the hotel invite.

“I keep thinking about how lucky I am that I didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht said, adding that she immediately stopped responding to him. “It was very clear what the connotation was.”

And another victim, a woman who has not been identified, claims Swalwell sexually assaulted her in a New York City hotel room in 2024.

Swalwell has resigned from Congress and dropped his gubernatorial campaign. He’s apologized for “mistakes” he’s made in his past.

He said earlier this week: “I do not suggest to you in any way that I’m perfect or that I’m a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past.

Here’s the latest on the allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell

“But those mistakes are between me and my wife, and to her I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.” He’s denied all of the accusations against him.

“Congressman Eric Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him,” Azari said in a statement on Tuesday.

“These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent twenty years in public service.”

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A special election will be held in August of this year in order to fill Swalwell’s seat in Congress.