More than a dozen women have come forward with misconduct allegations against former California Representative Eric Swalwell following his resignation from Congress.
Numerous women spoke to CNN about alleged interactions — both in-person and via social media — where the married former congressman, 45, made them feel uncomfortable. Some accused Swalwell of exhibiting “Jekyll and Hyde” behavior, where he publicly championed victims of abuse while sometimes acting inappropriately behind the scenes.
These new allegations date back to Swalwell’s college years at Campbell University in North Carolina, where he once published a poem where he bragged, “She chased and I ran/ I chased and she ran / My anxious arm she bit – my scar is beautiful/ While I screamed/ She bent her lips to mine.”
“[Swalwell] categorically denies being crude toward women during his college years nearly three decades ago,” his attorney told CNN. “[The poem] is plainly a teenage metaphor about drinking — not sex.”
Swalwell’s alleged troubling behavior continued into his early political career where he reportedly held congressional meetings at a Hooters restaurant in 2012. (His attorney told CNN that Swalwell’s decision to “occasionally [take] a meeting at a casual chain restaurant” was not newsworthy.)
Multiple women alleged that Swalwell used Snapchat to send them overly flirty messages over the years even though he was married. (Swalwell has been married to his wife, Brittany Watts, since 2016 and they share three children.)
Heather Purcell told the outlet that Swalwell “looked at [her] up and down in a way that made [her] feel uneasy” and touched her shoulder when they met at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Swalwell allegedly gave Purcell his personal phone number once they reconnected months later. (Purcell said that she never called Swalwell and they never interacted again.)
“[I had] a gut feeling that the power dynamic did not feel right to me — that he was just trying to engage in a personal relationship when it should have been professional,” Purcell said.
Swalwell’s lawyer described the politician’s interactions with Purcell as “routine and non-contentious.”
An unnamed woman alleged that Swalwell once took her bag during a private meeting at a bar and walked to an elevator, seemingly to convince her to come to his hotel room. The woman recalled riding with Swalwell to his floor before snatching her bag back.
“I said, ‘How dare you disrespect me like that,’” the woman said. “When the elevator was closing, he stood there with a look of shock on his face. … If it was anyone else, I’d be screaming and calling security. But this is someone I know professionally, and he’s a congressman.”
Swalwell’s lawyer called the allegations “flat out false.”
An unnamed former staffer for another congressional representative told CNN that she had a consensual sexual relationship with Swalwell over the course of several years, where they allegedly met multiple times at hotels for sex. Per the staffer, they exchanged explicit videos and photos throughout their consensual relationship.
“His stories would be his, like, congressional content, but then he would be sending me d*** pics,” she recalled.
Swalwell’s lawyer told the outlet, “There was no supervisory or professional relationship and, accordingly, no power imbalance.”
Washington D.C. real estate agent Sanam Vivansia said she exchanged flirty messages with Swalwell after meeting in 2021 and he later asked her to come back to his hotel room when they later met in person in San Francisco. Vivansia allegedly sent Swalwell a text message complaining that he’d “made [her] feel really uncomfortable,” though he replied that her version of events “is not what happened.” (Swalwell’s attorney denied that the representative acted inappropriately.)
His lawyer also reacted more broadly to accusations that Swalwell had inappropriate interactions with women over the years.
Swalwell’s attorney told CNN, “Swalwell categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him.”
The lawyer described any interactions that Swalwell did have as “routine and professional,” but acknowledged that he “had extramarital contact with women.”
“He’s not denying that,” the attorney said. “But that’s very different than engaging in nonconsensual sexual misconduct.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Swalwell over these allegations.
Multiple women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell in April. A former staffer at his Castro Valley, California, district office told the San Francisco Chronicle that the politician Swalwell once propositioned her for oral sex and later invited her out for a drink, where she later “blacked out” and allegedly woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed, at which time she allegedly felt that he’d initiated vaginal intercourse.
Content creator Ally Sammarco alleged that Swalwell offered to “share her resume” with his contacts before sending her “very inappropriate” Snapchat messages. Other women who made misconduct allegations at the time chose to stay anonymous out of fear of retribution.
Swalwell was a frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race when the scandal broke out. The congressman’s initial reaction to the controversy was to say that “the allegations of sexual assault are flat false” on April 11.
“They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything I have,” Swalwell said in a statement at the time. “They also come on the eve of an election, where I have been the frontrunner candidate for governor of California.”
He went on, “I do not suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I’m a saint — I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past, but those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her, I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”
Swalwell eventually suspended his gubernatorial run on April 12 before resigning from Congress amid threats of an expulsion vote in the House of Representatives.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff and constituents for mistakes in judgement I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell announced in a statement shared via X on April 13. “I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
The California representative went on, “I am aware of efforts to bring an immediate expulsion vote against me and other members. Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it’s also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore I plan to resign my seat in Congress. I will work with my staff in the coming days to ensure that they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
