(KMJ) Federal Investigators and prosecutors with the Department of Justice have reportedly opened up investigations concerning allegations of sexual assault against former California Congressman Eric Swalwell.
The NY Post reports detectives in Los Angeles and New York are combing over evidence and accusations from five women who’ve accused the fallen democrat gubernatorial hopeful.
On Wednesday, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro opened a tip line for possible sexual assault victims of former California Congressman Eric Swalwell. Watch here:
Now that Swalwell has dropped out of the race for Governor, polling indicates billionaire progressive Tom Steyer is swooping in to grab the lead among democrat candidates. Will Gov. Gavin Newsom get involved or continue to steer clear?
A fifth woman accusing the troubled politician of sexual abuse went public on Tuesday. At a press conference in Beverly Hills, Lonna Drewes claimed that the former gubernatorial candidate drugged her drink and raped her in 2018.
“He raped me and he choked me and I lost consciousness and I thought I died”, Drewes said to the gaggle of press alongside her attorney Lisa Bloom.
In a video post last Friday, Swalwell denied all of the accusations. He recorded the video at the So-Cal mansion of billionaire, and now former friend Steve Cloobeck.
Cloobeck, who had endorsed and donated heavily to Swalwell’s campaign, told Fox 11 Los Angeles that his ex-political pal had “busted the trust…get the f*ck out of here!”
Drewes is the fifth woman to come forward in recent days with allegations of sexual abuse by the married father of three.
Neither former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy nor former San Francisco Mayor Willy Brown were shocked by the revelations. They both spoke to ABC about the scandal:
The leading republican candidate in the Governor’s race, Steve Hilton joined KMJ’s Ray Appleton to address the scandal:
The seven-term Congressman, who officially stepped down Tuesday afternoon, had been seen as one of the leading candidates in California’s gubernatorial race before dropping out Sunday.
“I am deeply sorry to my family, staff, and constituents for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell said on social media. “I will fight the serious false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”
