FBI Seizes Eric Swalwell's Devices, Searches His Home in Misconduct Probe

WASHINGTON —

FBI agents seized former Congressman Eric Swalwell's electronic devices over the weekend and searched his home in Washington, D.C., as part of a criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, CBS News reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

One search warrant was carried out Saturday night after Swalwell landed at San Francisco International Airport, according to CBS News. A second warrant was executed Sunday at his Washington residence. The Daily Mail was first to report the searches, according to CBS News.

Swalwell, 45, is also under criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department over accusations that include rape and sexual assault, according to the BBC. Multiple women have accused him of misconduct, including one allegation that he raped a woman who was too intoxicated to respond and separate claims that he sent women unsolicited nude photographs, the BBC reported.

The allegations surfaced earlier this year and prompted Swalwell, a Democrat who represented Bay Area districts in the House of Representatives from 2013 until his resignation, to drop out of California's governor's race, where he had been leading, and give up his seat in Congress in April. The House Ethics Committee, a bipartisan panel that investigates misconduct by sitting lawmakers, opened an inquiry but closed it once Swalwell was no longer a member, since it has no jurisdiction over former officials, according to CBS News.

Swalwell has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Sara Azari, called the allegations "false, fabricated, and deeply offensive, a calculated and transparent political hit job," when they first surfaced. CBS News reported that Swalwell has acknowledged making "mistakes in judgment" but has called at least one assault allegation "false" and said he intends to fight it.

A separate spy inquiry resurfaces

Separately, the White House on Monday released declassified documents from an earlier, unrelated FBI investigation into Swalwell's 2015 relationship with Christine Fang, a woman suspected of working as a Chinese intelligence operative. Most of the details in the 97-page release were already publicly known, and Swalwell was never charged in connection with that matter, according to both CBS News and the BBC.

CBS News reported that FBI Director Kash Patel pushed for the release of those files, a detail the network said The Washington Post reported first. It was not clear whether the timing of that release was connected to the new search warrants in the misconduct investigation.

The BBC said it had reached out to Swalwell for comment on the searches.