Fifth Accuser Comes Forward Against Rep. Eric Swalwell Ahead of Resignation

On the morning of April 7, 2026, Rep. Eric Swalwell held a gubernatorial campaign town hall in the Bay Area, riding a polling lead in California's crowded governor's race [1]. Six days later, he announced his resignation from Congress, his political career in ruins. Between those two events, five women accused the seven-term congressman of sexual misconduct spanning half a decade — allegations that prompted criminal investigations, bipartisan calls for expulsion, and a reckoning over what many in Washington had apparently known for years.

The Allegations

The Former Staffer

The most serious accusations came from a former congressional aide who first spoke to CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle [2][3]. The woman began interning for Swalwell in 2019, when she was 20 years old. She described two alleged assaults:

• 2019: She said she woke up naked in a hotel room with Swalwell after a night of drinking and had no memory of what had occurred [2].
• 2024: She alleged Swalwell raped her after a work event in New York City involving heavy drinking, stating she was "heavily intoxicated," told him repeatedly to stop, and was left with bruises, cuts, and bleeding [2][3].

CNN reported it had reviewed text messages, interviewed friends and family members, examined contemporaneous accounts shared with confidants at the time, and reviewed medical records that supported the former staffer's account [2].

The Explicit Messages

Two additional women told CNN that Swalwell sent them unsolicited photos of his genitals and sexual messages via Snapchat after initiating contact through social media in 2021 [2]. The women described a consistent pattern: Swalwell showed interest in their careers — they were in their twenties at the time — made them feel "special and starstruck," then escalated to sexual messages. The use of Snapchat, where messages auto-delete and the app notifies senders of screenshots, appeared deliberate [2].

A fourth woman alleged unwanted kissing and touching during a social outing where she became highly intoxicated [3].

The Fifth Accuser

Social media creator Ally Sammarco came forward publicly as a fifth accuser, stating she had received unsolicited nude messages from Swalwell after initially contacting him on Twitter in August 2021 to ask about his experience growing up in a Republican family [4][5]. Her husband, Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko, publicly called for Swalwell's resignation and warned he would pursue legal action if Swalwell disparaged his wife [6].

Three Days That Ended a Career

The speed of Swalwell's political collapse was striking even by modern standards.

Source: CNN, NPR, Time, Washington Post

Data as of Apr 14, 2026CSV

April 10 (Friday): CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle simultaneously published their investigations, detailing allegations from four women [2][3].

April 11 (Saturday): The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced a criminal investigation into the alleged 2024 sexual assault at a New York City hotel [7]. The Alameda County DA's office separately confirmed it was "evaluating whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred" in its jurisdiction, relating to the 2019 allegation [7][8].

April 12 (Sunday): Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign. Within 24 hours of publication, he had lost all 21 of his congressional endorsements. Campaign staff resigned. The California Teachers Association withdrew its support. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged complete congressional resignation [1][3].

April 13 (Monday): The House Ethics Committee announced it was opening a formal investigation into whether Swalwell "engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee" [9]. Hours later, facing bipartisan calls for expulsion, Swalwell posted a statement announcing his resignation: "Expelling anyone in Congress without due process, within days of an allegation being made, is wrong. But it's also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress" [10].

The "Open Secret" Question

Multiple public figures described Swalwell's behavior toward women as widely known in political circles. Activist Charlotte Clymer, a former Human Rights Campaign press secretary, said it had been "a pretty open secret in D.C. for years that Eric Swalwell is a serial womanizer," estimating his problematic contacts numbered "a few hundred (if not a few thousand)" [5]. Alyssa Farah Griffin characterized it on The View as "an open secret that he had issues with women" [5]. Conservative journalist Carmine Sabia called it "the worst kept secret" in Washington [5].

Local Bay Area reporters indicated awareness of Swalwell's conduct dating back to his time on the Dublin city council around 2010 [5]. CNN itself had reported on a "California congressman" with suspicious associations in 2017 without naming Swalwell [5]. Conservative commentator Erick Erickson called the delayed coverage "a spectacular failure of investigative journalism" [5].

No formal complaints through House channels — the Ethics Committee, HR offices, or constituent offices — have been publicly confirmed prior to the April 13 investigation announcement. The absence of a documented institutional trail, despite years of apparent informal knowledge, raises the question of whether the House's reporting infrastructure is functionally accessible to the people most likely to experience misconduct.

Swalwell's Defense and Legal Maneuvering

Swalwell has denied all allegations, calling them "false and politically motivated" [2][3]. His attorney characterized the claims as "a coordinated effort to undermine his candidacy" and described certain encounters as involving "lapses in judgment" rather than criminal conduct [11][12].

Before the allegations became public, Swalwell's legal team sent cease-and-desist letters to at least two of the accusers, calling their accounts "false," ordering retractions, and warning of potential defamation liability [12]. In one letter, attorneys argued that the timing — less than four weeks before mail-in voting in California's June 2 primary — demonstrated "actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth," the legal standard for defamation per se under California law [12].

Critics noted the irony: Swalwell had previously been vocal about believing accusers in sexual misconduct cases involving political opponents, a record that commentators described as "the Eric Swalwell standard" now being applied to Swalwell himself [13].

Legal Protections and Exposure for Accusers

The accusers face a legal landscape that offers uneven protection. Truth is an absolute defense against defamation claims under both federal and California law — a point one accuser, herself an attorney, made explicitly [12]. However, House whistleblower protections are primarily designed to cover disclosures about government waste, fraud, and abuse, not personal misconduct by members. Former staffers who leave government employment have even fewer institutional shields.

The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, amended in 2018 after the #MeToo movement, reformed how sexual harassment claims against members of Congress are handled, eliminating mandatory mediation and a 30-day "cooling off" period that had previously discouraged complaints [14]. But enforcement remains complaint-driven, and the system provides no affirmative outreach to potential victims.

Comparing Institutional Response Times

Swalwell's three-day timeline from public allegation to resignation announcement is among the fastest in modern congressional history.

Source: GovTrack Misconduct Database / News Reports

Data as of Apr 14, 2026CSV

Sen. Al Franken took 29 days to resign after allegations of unwanted kissing and groping in 2017 [14]. Rep. Anthony Weiner held on for 21 days in 2011 after admitting to sending explicit messages to multiple women — and later returned to public life before being convicted of sexting with a minor [15]. Rep. Katie Hill resigned in 9 days in 2019 after revelations of a relationship with a campaign staffer and the non-consensual publication of intimate photos [16]. Rep. John Conyers departed in 4 days in 2017 after multiple harassment allegations [14].

The acceleration reflects both the severity of the allegations against Swalwell — which include rape, not just inappropriate messages — and shifts in institutional tolerance. The simultaneous resignation of Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who faced allegations of sexual text messages to a female aide, suggests bipartisan pressure is now applied faster than in prior eras [17].

The Fang Fang Shadow

The misconduct allegations did not emerge in a political vacuum. Swalwell had been dogged for years by the Christine Fang ("Fang Fang") controversy — a reported Chinese Ministry of State Security operative who developed close ties to Swalwell's office between 2011 and 2015, participating in fundraising and placing at least one intern [18].

Swalwell cut off all contact with Fang after an FBI briefing, and the House Ethics Committee closed a two-year investigation in 2023 without taking action [19]. But the controversy resurfaced in March 2026 when FBI Director Kash Patel reportedly sought to release decade-old investigative files. Swalwell held an "abrupt press conference" insisting the case was closed and accused Patel of "weaponizing federal law enforcement to meddle in the governor's race" [20][21]. Democrats rallied to his defense, with several senators accusing the FBI of attempting a politically motivated "smear" [22].

Those same defenders quickly reversed course after the sexual misconduct allegations. Sen. Adam Schiff, who had endorsed Swalwell's gubernatorial bid, told reporters that "the whole thing is just shocking and deeply upsetting" and withdrew his endorsement [23]. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi both called for resignation [10]. More than 50 former Swalwell staffers issued a joint statement demanding he step down [10].

The Washington Times editorial board argued that Swalwell "was expendable, and that's why Democrats turned on him" — suggesting that the party's willingness to act was motivated partly by the competitive dynamics of the governor's race, where his departure created openings for other Democratic candidates [24].

The Timing Question

Swalwell's attorneys have emphasized that the fifth accuser, Ally Sammarco, came forward "ahead of expected resignation," implying coordination [12]. Skeptics have pointed to the proximity to the gubernatorial primary as evidence of political motivation.

Against this, several factors suggest the allegations are independent. The accusers span different years (2019–2024), different contexts (staff, social media contacts, campaign events), and different geographic locations (California, New York). CNN reported corroboration through contemporaneous records — text messages, confiding in friends, medical records — that predate the public reporting [2]. Sammarco's husband is a Democratic strategist who had previously supported Swalwell-aligned causes, making political motivation an unlikely explanation for their involvement [6]. And the "open secret" reporting indicates the underlying conduct was discussed in political circles long before the 2026 governor's race began [5].

What Swalwell Leaves Behind

Swalwell represented California's 14th Congressional District, a safely Democratic Bay Area seat where Kamala Harris won by 35 percentage points in 2024 [10]. Under California law, Gov. Gavin Newsom has 14 days after the resignation takes effect to call a special election [10].

Swalwell's committee assignments included the House Judiciary Committee and — since Democrats regained the majority — restoration to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, from which then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy had removed him in 2023 over the Fang Fang controversy [25]. He also co-chaired the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, which makes committee assignments and sets the caucus's policy agenda [25]. His departure from the Intelligence Committee in particular creates a vacancy on a panel that oversees classified national security programs.

The Structural Problem

The Swalwell case is the latest in a pattern that raises questions about whether House ethics enforcement is structurally equipped to handle misconduct allegations in a timely way. The GovTrack Legislator Misconduct Database catalogs 508 instances of alleged and actual misconduct by members of Congress since 1789, but the system remains fundamentally reactive [14].

The Office of Congressional Conduct (formerly the Office of Congressional Ethics), established in 2008, operates on a compressed timeline — 30 days for preliminary review, 45 days for a second phase — but can only act on complaints it receives [26]. In 2025, the House voted down an effort to publicly release all congressional sexual misconduct and harassment reports, keeping the scope of the problem opaque [27].

The 2018 amendments to the Congressional Accountability Act improved the process for current employees, but former staffers, campaign workers, social media contacts, and other individuals outside the formal employment relationship remain in a gray zone. None of the Swalwell accusers appear to have filed complaints through official House channels before going to the press — a fact that may say more about the system's accessibility than about the accusers' credibility.

As Rep. Swalwell's political career ends and criminal investigations proceed, the case stands as a test of whether the institutional reforms of the post-#MeToo era have produced meaningful accountability — or simply faster news cycles.