Eric Swalwellmay have resigned from Congress, but the scandal thatforced him to vacate his House seatand end his bid forCalifornia governorcontinues to grow.
On Tuesday, former model and fashion software company owner Lonna Drewesclaimed to reportersin a news conference that Swalwell raped her in a hotel in 2018, adding to others’ previous allegations of sexual misconduct by the Democratic politician.
“He raped me and he choked me,” Drewes said. She added that she stands with the other women who spoke out and that she will report the incident to law enforcement.
After Drewes went public, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, in astatementto themedia, said its Special Victims Bureau opened an investigation into a woman allegedly being sexually assaulted by Swalwell in July 2018 in West Hollywood.
“Once the investigation is completed the investigators will present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration,” the Department statement read.
Drewes’ allegations against Swalwell echo those from multiple women, including a case first reported by theSan Francisco Chronicle, which involved an unnamed former staffer who accused him of sexual assault.CNNalso reported on the case, as well as three other women who described separate instances of Swalwell’s alleged misconduct. TIME has not independently verified the allegations.
Amid the controversy, Swalwell has acknowledged some past “mistakes in judgment,” but denied the allegations of misconduct. His camp vowed to legally challenge the accusations and has sent cease-and-desist letters to some of his accusers.
Sara Azari, representing Swalwell legally,said in a Tuesday statementthat the “deeply offensive” accusations are a “calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation” of the Democratic politician, and she questioned the allegations’ timing, nature, and what she claimed to be a “coordinated rollout.”
Swalwell’s resignation from the House marks a stunning and rapid fall from his status less than a week ago, when he was among the top contenders in the race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The state is set to have primaries in June, but the allegations have eroded support for his bid from fellow Democrats.
Newsom on Tuesdayannounceda special election to fill Swalwell’s vacated seat for the state’s 14th congressional district on Aug. 18.
‘I thought I died’
In the press briefing, Drewes claimed that she had contact with Swalwell three times. She said he offered Silicon Valley connections for her firm and had invited her to two public events. She added that at the time, the two talked politics as she was considering running for the Beverly Hills City Council.
On the third encounter, Drewes claimed Swalwell spiked her glass of wine. Before a political event, Swalwell had allegedly invited her to his hotel room to retrieve documents, but the drink had by then left her “incapacitated.”
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“I couldn’t move my arms or my body,” Drewes said. While Swalwell allegedly choked her, she claimed she lost consciousness. “I thought I died.”
Drewes asserted that she did not consent and would not have consented to sexual activity with Swalwell and that the incident had impacted her mental health severely. She added that the delay in taking action was driven by “fear of his political power, his background as an attorney, and his family law enforcement ties.”
How Swalwell’s resignation ‘vindicated’ victims
After Swalwell’s resignation, Ally Sammarco, one of the accusers CNN spoke to for its report, toldCBS Newsthat she feels “vindicated” with the development. “He was pushed into a corner, essentially, because they were planning to expel him,” Sammarco said of his resignation, “so I think he did that to save face a little.”
CNN andCBS Newshave also spoken to another accuser, Annika Albrecht, who claimed to have met Swalwell in Washington D.C. while in college. Albrecht told CBS News that Swalwell offered to mentor her. She said Swalwell asked the students to create a group chat, and soon added her on Snapchat.
Albrecht’s initial exchanges with Swalwell were about politics, but they then turned flirtatious. At one point, Swalwell “invited” her to a hotel to meet, to which she stopped responding to him on Snapchat.
“It was very clear what the connotation was,” she told CBS News. “What I keep thinking back to is how lucky I am that I didn’t go to that hotel.”
Albrecht, said of Swalwell’s resignation, “For me, justice won’t be until he can’t ever harm a woman ever again, and he has faced the consequences for the women that he has harmed.”
Swalwell resigned amid threats of expulsion against him andRep. Tony Gonzales (R, Texas), who was dogged by a separate controversy—an affair with his former staffer who later died by suicide. Gonzales also resigned Tuesday.
Many of Swalwell’s political peers have since distanced themselves. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D, Ariz.), who chaired Swalwell’s brief 2020 presidential campaign,acknowledged to reporters Tuesdayhis friendship with the California politician but that he “lied to all of us.” Gallego also denied having any knowledge of Swalwell’s predatory behavior, sexual assault, or harassment, though he said that he asked Swalwell about related rumors.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, Calif.), one of the Democratic Party’s most influential leaders, called Swalwell’sresignationmove a “smart decision,” and she asserted that she knew nothing of the accusations before the reports came out. Pelosi, when she was Speaker, hadelevated Swalwell to coveted House positions, anddefended him in a previous, unrelated issue.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.)told reportersthat Congress was at a “resetting point” after Swalwell’s and Gonzales’ resignations, and that the incident has shown that the U.S. has become “acclimated” to similar incidents of sexual abuse and harassment from people in power.
“I don’t think our work is done,” she said. “I think that a lot of the underlying structures that silence victims of sexual harassment and abuse still exist.”
