Eric Swalwell briefly held as feds seize his phone at Bay Area airport
Federal agents have seized electronic devices from former Representative Eric Swalwell as part of an ongoing civil rights investigation into sexual assault allegations. Swalwell, who resigned from Congress earlier this year, denies all wrongdoing.
Why it matters
The investigation involves a high-profile political figure and addresses serious allegations of misconduct that impacted a major gubernatorial race.
A federal investigation into former Rep. Eric Swalwell appeared to gain steam after agents seized his electronic devices and raided his Washington home over the weekend, even briefly holding the former lawmaker at San Francisco International Airport, a person familiar with the inquiry told The Times. Swalwell, a Democrat from Dublin, dropped out of the California governor’s race and resigned from Congress in April after allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer and acted inappropriately with other young women, which he denied at the time. Before he dropped out of the race, polls indicated that Swalwell was among the front-runners. The source said Swalwell was held Saturday at SFO for search purposes and released the same day. Federal prosecutors are using civil rights law to pursue an inquiry into his conduct as a member of Congress. Authorities in New York and Los Angeles County are conducting separate investigations.
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