"I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s," the politician wrote on social media
Credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Rep. Eric Swalwell has announced he’s suspending his campaign for California governor after being accused of sexual assault
- “To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” the politician wrote in an X post
- Swalwell denies the sexual assault allegations made against him by a former staffer and three other women
Rep. Eric Swalwell is suspending his campaign to become governor of California after being accused of sexual assault.
On Sunday, April 12, Swalwell, 45, confirmed in an X post that he was stepping down, but insisted that he will “fight” the “false allegations” against him.
He wrote, “I am suspending my campaign for Governor.”
“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past."
“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that's my fight, not a campaign's," concluded Swalwell, who was a leading Democratic candidate in the California gubernatorial race.
A spokesperson for Swalwell didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
Credit: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP via Getty
The politician's post comes after it was reported on Friday, April 10 that he'd been accused of sexual assault by a former staffer and three other women.
The former staffer, whose identity has not been made public, alleged that she had a sexual relationship with Swalwell while working for him for two years, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The woman also claimed that on two occasions, Swalwell assaulted her while she was "too intoxicated to consent."
As previously reported by PEOPLE, the former staffer decided to come forward at the encouragement of her boyfriend and close friend. Swalwell then had a cease-and-desist letter sent to her home, per the Chronicle.
CNN reported that an attorney for Swalwell had sent two of the women that the outlet spoke with cease-and-desist letters on Thursday, April 9.
Swalwell continues to deny the allegations, posting a video on Instagram after the reports emerged, which he captioned, "These allegations are false and I will fight them.”
PEOPLE previously reached out to attorneys for the former staffer and Swalwell when the abuse allegations emerged.
The former staffer told the Chronicle of Swalwell, “He was the foundation of my career," adding, "I had nothing to fall back on or anyone to vouch for my skills outside of my colleagues in that office and Eric himself. I knew if I came forward, it would define me and undermine my credibility.”
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Swalwell has been married to Brittany Watts since 2016, and the couple shares three children together.
The politician said in a statement to CNN, “These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor.”
“For nearly 20 years, I have served the public – as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies,” he continued, per the outlet.
In a series of interviews with the Chronicle, the former staffer alleged that Swalwell began pursuing her shortly after she joined his office in Castro Valley, Calif., in 2019, when she was 21 and Swalwell was 38. At the time, Swalwell had launched a short-lived presidential campaign.
Among the allegations, the former staffer told CNN that Swalwell had sent her sexually explicit messages on Snapchat, as well as asking her to perform oral sex on him in the car, to which she complied but then stopped and stated she was uncomfortable.
“He said to me, ‘You're right, it's probably not good for a congressman to be caught with his pants down,' ” the former staffer told CNN.
The woman told the Chronicle that in September 2019, the politician invited her out to drinks and she became so intoxicated she did not recall how she found herself naked in his hotel bed.
In 2024, after she no longer worked for Swalwell, she alleged he assaulted her once again while she was intoxicated. She wrote in messages obtained by CNN that she “blacked out” but “woke up once during it and even told him to stop at one point.”
Three other women alleged various kinds of sexually inappropriate behavior from Swalwell to CNN, including claims he sent them "unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos."
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
One of the alleged victims, social media creator Ally Sammarco, came forward to CNN, alleging that she'd originally found Swalwell through Twitter (now X) in August 2021 and sent him a message asking what it was like growing up in a Republican family.
After friendly messages turned to texting, Swalwell allegedly offered to share Sammarco's resume with other congressional offices.
The politician later began asking Sammarco personal questions, she alleged, and they started exchanging Snapchat messages in September 2021. She claimed that Swalwell sent her selfies of himself in bed or shirtless, and unsolicited pictures of his penis.
The pair's communication reportedly fizzled out in December 2021 after she met her now-husband and stopped responding to Swalwell's Snapchat messages, she alleged to CNN.
Through the years, Swalwell has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump and worked on Trump's second impeachment in January 2021.
He previously commented on Trump's sexual assault and rape allegations, writing about complaining to his wife about the president in his 2021 book Endgame: Inside the Impeachments of Donald J. Trump, per the Chronicle.
“He's a pig,” Swalwell wrote. “He bragged about grabbing women by the p—y. He's awful.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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