Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced Friday that he plans to resign amid swirling sexual misconduct allegations — but a fifth accuser came forward on Tuesday alleging a 2018 rape at a hotel in West Hollywood, California, a flood of controversial videos of the lawmaker have surfaced, and he could even face questions from the FBI.
A fifth accuser came forward with the second allegation of sexual assault at a press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday morning.
“He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness,” model Lonna Drewes told reporters. “And I thought I died. I did not consent to any sexual activity.”
“My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt. Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties,” Drewes she added, saying she will now be filing a police report against the lawmaker.
In addition, a Sept. 2022 video surfaced on Monday that showed Swalwell cavorting on a yacht in the French Riviera, which also had a large group of young women partying on board, according to Page Six.
Young women at a yacht party Swalwell attended in 2022. (Nik Richie/Instagram)
“The people on the boat were told to keep it hush-hush about Swalwell being on the trip,” a source told the outlet regarding the trip, where Swalwell was shown in the video sporting a robe. “They were told everything stays on the boat.”
“Leave future California Governor [Swalwell] alone. He is a good guy (sarcasm) — SEPT 2022,” Nik Richie, who posted the video, captioned the recent Instagram post.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) on a yacht in 2022 while wearing a robe. (Nik Richie/Instagram)
The congressman, who suspended his campaign for California governor, is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault in New York City by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as FBI Director Kash Patel also wants to learn more about the various allegations.
“[Swalwell] has maintained that none of the allegations against him are true, and now that he’s resigned, we would welcome him to sit down with the FBI and share any information he has,” Patel posted to X on Tuesday.
The claims range from assault to sending inappropriate images over Snapchat.
“We also encourage and welcome any person with relevant information to any of these matters to speak with us. Door is open to all,” Patel added, also sharing the number for the bureau’s tip line.
In an interview with CBS News, two of the women accusing Swalwell explained their decision to come forward after social media rumors exploded last week — even before any specifics had been revealed.
“I didn’t tell anybody for years out of fear,” Annika Albrecht, who said that Swalwell offered to “mentor” her, then added her on Snapchat, saying that he later invited her to a hotel.
“It was very clear what the connotation was,” she said, saying she believes she was “all alone” in her experience with him.
Ally Sammarco also told CBS News that she Snapchatted with the congressman multiple times, and she said that had included him sending an unsolicited photo of his genitals.
“I think we just prevented another 30 to 40 years of him potentially harming people if he were to stay in Congress. In that sense, I think we have served justice for his future victims who won’t exist anymore,” she said.
Swalwell said in a statement on Monday evening that he is “deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past.”
“I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” he added.
Swalwell officially resigned from Congress on Tuesday afternoon. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said on Tuesday that if he does not resign by the afternoon, she would move forward with the expulsion effort against him.
“If Congressman Swalwell has not resigned with the Clerk of the House by 2 PM today, I will continue my resolution regarding his expulsion. His statement about his ‘plan to resign his seat’ is not binding and is wormy. The same goes for Tony,” Luna wrote of embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who is embroiled in a scandal of his own.
When it comes to his desire to fight the allegations, Attorney Marc Randazza, who specializes in the First Amendment, told The Daily Wire in a statement that the lawmaker would have a tough time suing.
“Public figures like Eric Swalwell only win defamation cases if they can prove a false statement of fact made with ‘actual malice’. That doesn’t mean ‘maliciously,’ it means knowingly lying or showing a reckless disregard for the truth. That’s a hard case even for a respected public figure and Swalwell didn’t have much respect going into this,” Randazza said.
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