A former staffer of US Representative Eric Swalwell has alleged the California gubernatorial candidate raped her — twice — while she was heavily intoxicated. The allegations, published in an exclusive CNN investigation on 10 April 2026, are backed by medical records, text message screenshots, and separate interviews with her mother, partner, and two friends. Three other women have since come forward with their own accounts of misconduct by the Democratic congressman, who has denied everything.
The former staffer first began working for Swalwell as a 20-year-old intern in 2019, at a time when he was making a name for himself on the House Intelligence Committee and launching an underdog presidential bid. She told CNN the attention he showed her early on felt intoxicating. 'When he talked to you, it was like the sun was shining on you,' she said. 'You felt like the coolest person in the room.' What followed, she said, was years of abuse she told nobody about.
