Free Republic

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell was surrounded by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport as he deboarded a plane, leading to the seizure of his cellphone and laptop as part of a federal criminal investigation, newly obtained video shows. The California Post exclusively obtained surveillance footage of the Aug. 15 encounter, providing the first look at the dramatic airport search that unfolded after Swalwell arrived in California. The footage shows Swalwell — dressed incognito in a hat, black sweatshirt and sneakers — speaking with several agents at his flight gate as travelers pass nearby. The former Democratic congressman appears calm...

Eric Swalwell’s accusers were left totally in the dark before the disgraced congressman was confronted by federal agents at the airport, according to one of his alleged victim’s attorneys. Arick Fudali, an attorney for Swalwell accuser Lonna Drewes, said he was surprised to learn of the federal investigation, adding that authorities had not contacted his client during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Jesse Weber Live” Thursday. “You know, certainly an interesting development,” Fudali told host Jesse Weber. “I was a bit caught off guard because Ms. Drewes has not been contacted by the FBI or anyone from federal law enforcement.” The...

Eric Swalwell confessed to a prescription drug-fueled sex romp with a suspected Chinese spy, according to newly released FBI files that confirm for the first time the disgraced former congressman got physical with Beijing’s purported honeypot. The former East Bay congressman had “physical relations” with Christine Fang, also known as “Fang Fang,” on at least two occasions, according to investigative files made public Monday by the White House Transparency Task Force. On one occasion, Fang showed up at Swalwell’s apartment late one night demanding to be let in, with the Democrat admitting the two “hooked up” after he had taken...

Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day as part of an ongoing probe connected to sexual assault allegations, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. Swalwell did not immediately respond to messages from CNN following the raid, but he has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual assault. The FBI declined to comment. Swalwell resigned from Congress and dropped his gubernatorial bid in April after reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle detailed allegations of sexual misconduct, including...

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, the disgraced California politician accused of rape, was reportedly confronted by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport, where they seized his electronics as part of a federal criminal probe. Agents served Swalwell with a search warrant Saturday after he arrived in California and seized his cellphone and other electronics, the Daily Mail reported. Sources told the outlet, agents also executed additional warrants at Swalwell’s Washington, DC, home Sunday, where they seized other potential evidence. Swalwell, 45, was reportedly cooperative during the airport encounter. The investigation comes as the former California congressman faces multiple allegations of...

The newly declassified investigation files also show that the FBI had initially tried to recruit the infamous Fang Fang as a source that could share information on Chinese influence operations targeting public officials in the United States. ========================================================================= The FBI developed evidence that a Chinese woman with direct ties to that country’s intelligence service had potentially compromised a Democratic congressman from California with sex, foreign interns and illicit donations while she was being recruited to become a bureau informant a decade ago, according to bombshell memos that expose another threat to America’s political system from Beijing. The files chronicling the...

Disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell’s zombie campaign is continuing to still cover legal fees with donors’ money as he prepares for potential court battles over sexual misconduct allegations that ruined his political career. The former California gubernatorial candidate reported paying around $150,000 in campaign funds to the law firm Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP between May 17 and June 30, according to financial disclosures filed Friday. He had already shelled out $50,000 to the firm before May 16, the Post previously reported. The law firm declined comment to media outlets, but Swalwell has used the firm for legal guidance since...

**SNIP** Now another person with close ties to Swalwell appears to be using his campaign account like a personal slush fund. That's Adam Gray, who was co-chair of Swalwell's failed gubernatorial campaign. Gray, who was once a member of the California Assembly, had a reputation in the state legislature for taking charter flights and staying at luxury resorts. When he was elected to Congress, he reportedly kept living large, running up campaign expenses for limousine services, Uber rides, and more than $16,000 on Major League Baseball (MLB) tickets. FEC documents show that Gray's campaign spent more than $5,000 on limousine...

Disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell’s zombie congressional campaign has dwindled to just over $11,000 after he coughed up another $50,000 to celebrity defense attorney Sara Azari and refunded nearly $190,000 to donors following his epic career collapse following sexual assault allegations. The details were documented this week in new federal campaign filings and come as California ethics investigators continue probing more than $300,000 in payments made to Azari from Swalwell’s failed gubernatorial campaign — raising fresh questions about the disgraced Democrat’s mounting legal bills as his political career continues to unravel. Swalwell’s federal campaign filings, which list him as treasurer, paint...

Eric Swalwell launched a campaign of threats and intimidation to stop the sordid details of his alleged rape and sexual assaults from being spread wide. Records obtained by The California Post show the disgraced politician used a team of high-powered lawyers to fire off legal threats to a rival campaign in an effort to suppress rape and sexual assault allegations — just weeks before his own campaign imploded over those same claims. Attorneys representing Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter on March 20 to Ryan Hughes — general counsel for progressive billionaire Tom Steyer’s campaign — accusing him of...

Voters in Alameda County were back at the polls Tuesday — just two weeks after the primary election — to decide who will replace disgraced ex-congressman Eric Swalwell, whose career imploded after disturbing allegations of rape and sexual assault derailed his candidacy for California governor. Despite months of controversy surrounding the Democrat, voters in deep-blue East Bay aren’t breaking their habit. With 80% of ballots counted as of 8:32 p.m., Democrat Aisha Wahab led the field with 42.6% of the vote, short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff under California’s top-two system. Trailing the frontrunner, Melissa Hernandez held...

WASHINGTON — The mystery woman Rep. Jimmy Gomez admitted to making “mistakes” with is his best buddy Eric Swalwell’s former chief of staff, The Post can reveal. The married California Democrat had an 11-month-old child at home when he was caught in a moment of passion with Swalwell’s minxy congressional aide Yardena Wolf three years ago. Gomez, the founder of the Dads Caucus in Congress, confessed Tuesday in a statement that he cheated on his wife after The Post’s reporting on the encounter with Wolf, which kicked off a House Ethics Committee investigation, yielding fresh tips on his conduct. Wolf,...

Thousands of California Democrats cast ballots for Eric Swalwell even though the disgraced ex-congressman’s zombie campaign for governor was suspended after allegations of rape and sexual assault. With 76% of precincts partially reporting Tuesday night, Swalwell had drawn 16,865 votes, or 0.4%, in the crowded race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to the California Secretary of State’s Office. It’s unclear why so many Californians decided to light their ballots on fire, as the votes amounted to wasted trees in California’s top-two primary, especially after Swalwell suspended his campaign and resigned from Congress after a series of women — including...

The field of candidates for governor was once crowded with big-name California Democrats. By Election Day, it had narrowed to two — Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer — and Republican Steve Hilton. Each of those three campaigns has a story to tell about its own success. Becerra will talk about how he overcame “racist” criteria on polling and fundraising to become the first viable Latino candidate for governor (after Eric Swalwell imploded in a sudden sex scandal). Steyer will talk about how he fought billionaires and special interests — after spending over $200 million of his own money, a record...

The reclusive and disgraced Eric Swalwell has paid a law firm more than $313,000 so far to fend off his sexual misconduct claims, according to a recent campaign finance disclosure. In his most recent disclosure spanning from April 19 to May 16, Swalwell’s campaign paid Sara Azari’s New York law firm in two separate payments of $250,000 and $23,251, totaling $273,251, for “campaign legal compliance.” The payments came after he had already given her $40,000 to defend him publicly. Swalwell, who dropped out of the gubernatorial race and resigned his seat in Congress due to the claims, has been quiet...

Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace named several lawmakers Monday who she claims used a congressional “slush fund” to cover up alleged sex scandals. Mace said she uncovered 1,000 pages of documents detailing how certain lawmakers allegedly evaded consequences for sexual scandals, according to a Monday post on X. Mace originally subpoenaed the House Oversight Committee in March in light of a string of sexual scandals that resulted in two resignations from Congress. (RELATED: REPORT: Two GOP Lawmakers Go Head-To-Head In Push To Expel One Another) Notably, Mace said that these documents are only from the last 22 years, claiming...

Former Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell was accused by multiple women of sending sexual messages, including “videos of him masturbating,” after becoming one of the first members of Congress to join Snapchat in an effort to restore “faith” in “democracy.” In a bombshell report on Sunday – less than a month after Swalwell resigned from Congress after being accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women – CNN spoke to “more than a dozen” women who claimed the congressman had made them feel uncomfortable, both in person and online, over the past decade. Several women told CNN that the congressman...

Pervy ex-congressman Eric Swalwell sent nude photos and videos of himself masturbating through Snapchat — all while he was married — as lurid details of his alleged creepy conduct continue to spill out. Swalwell, who was once crowned the “Snapchat King of Congress,” regularly slid into women’s DMs and shared unsolicited nudes with several — exchanges that initially seemed innocent but quickly veered into explicit territory. Swalwell’s attempted sexual conquests even included a 19-year-old waitress in Los Angeles who was “stunned” to receive a LinkedIn message from the powerful Democratic lawmakers, according to CNN. Another young congressional staffer said Swalwell...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s June 2 primary election is approaching, with ballots set to begin arriving for registered voters Monday. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, voters will receive four key pieces of mail: a state voter information guide, a county voter information guide, a sample ballot and an official ballot. “Democracy is a messy business, and it can take some work,” political analyst Steve Swatt said. “And it’s incumbent on us as voters to do our homework.” At the top of the ticket is the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, a contest that analysts say remains...

Eric Swalwell, the disgraced former Congressman, is still using Snapchat as a channel for private communications despite it being the app that led to the end of his political career. The revelation came Friday in a report from the New York Times detailing Swalwell’s use of social media. “Mr. Swalwell is still using Snapchat. As recently as this week,” the Times wrote. “Mr. Swalwell communicated directly with a former intern on the app and asked her why she had taken a screenshot of their chat history.” The Times said the details were provided to them through images, though they said...