Federal Agents Seize Swalwell's Devices in Sexual Misconduct Investigation

Today’s Focus

Federal agents seized electronic devices belonging to former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home this past weekend as part of a criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, according to reporting by The Associated Press carried by NPR and PBS NewsHour.

A person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity, told the AP that agents took Swalwell’s devices at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. A search warrant was executed at his D.C. residence a day later.

The Daily Mail first reported the device seizure on Thursday. An attorney for Swalwell did not respond to a request for comment left by the AP, PBS NewsHour reported. Swalwell has previously denied allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

Swalwell, a California Democrat who represented the East Bay for seven terms, announced his resignation from Congress in April. His departure followed reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, later confirmed by CNN, that a woman had accused him of sexually assaulting her twice, including on an occasion when she was employed in his congressional office.

CNN subsequently reported that three additional women accused Swalwell of misconduct, including sending unsolicited sexually explicit messages and nude photographs, according to the PBS NewsHour summary of the case.

Before the allegations became public, Swalwell had been considered a leading contender in California’s 2026 gubernatorial race, PBS NewsHour reported. He withdrew from that contest as the accusations emerged.

The special election to fill his vacated House seat was called Wednesday for Democrat Aisha Wahab, a progressive state senator who, according to Politico, will become the first Afghan American elected to Congress.

Federal prosecutors have not filed charges, and a search warrant is not itself an accusation of wrongdoing. NPR and PBS NewsHour both noted the investigation remains active.

The Debate

Supporters argue

Backers of the investigation, including several of Swalwell’s accusers and their attorneys, say the seizure shows federal law enforcement is treating the allegations with the seriousness they deserve. At an April news conference reported by PBS NewsHour, lawyers for the first accuser described a “violent sexual assault” and called for a full criminal inquiry.

Women’s advocacy groups have long argued that misconduct by members of Congress rarely produces criminal consequences. They contend that a search warrant executed at a former lawmaker’s home signals a departure from that pattern.

Some former House Democratic colleagues, speaking after Swalwell’s April resignation, said the party was correct to press him to step aside quickly rather than allow the matter to linger through the California governor’s race. They argue that voters in the 14th District were entitled to a representative not under criminal investigation, a view echoed in editorial pages after Wahab’s special-election win reported by Politico.

Supporters also note that four separate women have made allegations, according to CNN’s reporting cited by PBS NewsHour, and say a coordinated federal probe is an appropriate response to a pattern of complaints.

Critics argue

Swalwell’s defenders, including his legal team, have consistently maintained that he denies the allegations and that no charges have been filed. They argue that a search warrant is an investigative tool, not evidence of guilt, and caution against treating leaked details of an active probe as a verdict.

Some civil-liberties commentators have questioned the public disclosure of the device seizure by the Daily Mail before any charging decision. They contend that anonymous leaks about ongoing investigations, of the kind the AP source described to NPR, can prejudice potential jury pools and damage reputations irreparably regardless of the outcome.

A handful of Swalwell’s former House colleagues, speaking on background to reporters after his April resignation, argued that he was pushed out before due process could run its course. They say the political system’s speed in demanding resignations now runs ahead of the legal system’s ability to test the underlying claims.

Defense attorneys unconnected to the case have also noted that federal probes into public figures can stretch for months or years without resulting in charges.

What the experts say

Research on sexual misconduct in Congress is limited, but a 2018 report by the Congressional Research Service found that between 1997 and 2017, the Office of Compliance paid more than $17 million to settle workplace disputes on Capitol Hill, including harassment claims. The report did not break out payments by member or by allegation type.

Carrie Baker, a professor of the study of women and gender at Smith College who has written on congressional harassment policy, has argued in academic work that criminal investigations of sitting or former lawmakers remain rare because most complaints are handled through internal ethics processes rather than referred to prosecutors.

On the legal mechanics, Orin Kerr, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a specialist in criminal procedure, has written that federal search warrants for electronic devices require a magistrate judge to find probable cause that evidence of a specific crime will be found. That standard, Kerr has noted in published commentary, is higher than the threshold to open an investigation but lower than what is needed to bring charges.

Pew Research Center polling from 2018 found 59% of Americans believed sexual harassment by men in politics was a “major problem.”

By the Numbers

7: House terms served by Swalwell before his April 2026 resignation, according to PBS NewsHour.

4: women who have publicly alleged sexual misconduct by Swalwell, per CNN reporting cited by PBS NewsHour.

2: alleged sexual assaults described by the first accuser, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s original reporting.

$17 million: total paid by the congressional Office of Compliance to settle workplace disputes between 1997 and 2017, per the Congressional Research Service.

59%: share of Americans who called sexual harassment by men in politics a “major problem,” Pew Research Center, 2018.

1: date of Wahab’s special-election win to fill Swalwell’s seat, reported this week by Politico.