The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned Monday amid multiple sexual assault allegations, a source familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
The investigation into the disgraced former congressman is the latest development in a growing number of probes against him. Swalwell’s attorney declined to comment on the DOJ investigation.
NOTUS was the first to report on the Justice Department’s investigation.
Before his resignation, a rare bipartisan effort to expel Swalwell from Congress was already underway after the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he allegedly sexually assaulted a former aide on two different occasions when she was too intoxicated to consent. That report was followed by another from CNN, which reported on three other women who accused Swalwell of misconduct.
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The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said Saturday that it had opened an investigation into those allegations.
On Tuesday, a woman named Lonna Drewes accused Swalwell, whom she described as a former friend, of sexual assault. Drewes alleges the former congressman drugged and raped her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018. Her attorneys said she filed a police report Tuesday with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. That same day, LASD said it opened an investigation into Drewes’ claims.
In his statement announcing his resignation, Swalwell apologized to his family, staff and constituents for past mistakes but denied any wrongdoing. Swalwell also ended his gubernatorial campaign.
Many of Swalwell’s longtime allies rebuked him in the wake of these new accusations.
On the same day Swalwell announced his resignation, Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, also announced he would leave Congress. Gonzales recently acknowledged an affair with a former staffer who later died by setting herself on fire. Both members were under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, but the investigatory jurisdiction expires once their resignations from Congress are official.
Mychael Schnell contributed to this report.
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.