Former allies of Democratic contender withdraw support after accusations in San Francisco Chronicle and on CNN

Former allies of Democratic contender withdraw support after accusations in San Francisco Chronicle and on CNN

Congressman Eric Swalwell, a leading candidate to be California’s next governor, forcefully denied allegations of sexual assault on Friday night, as he faced escalating calls to withdraw from the race from prominent supporters, rivals and his won colleagues in Congress.

In a video statement shared on his Instagram and posted by his official congressional account on X, the California Democrat vowed to fight the allegations with “everything I have”.

Earlier on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published an account of a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by Swalwell on two separate occasions.

  • Corvidae@lemmy.world
    8·
    16 hours ago

    There are serious differences between the two parties. Democrats withdraw support from a fellow democrat when credibly accused of sexual misconduct. But a GOP president who has been credibly accused of pedophilia can even start a serious war and the GOP refuses to check him.

  • lIlIlIlIlIlIl@lemmy.world
    82·
    19 hours ago

    Timing is reeeeeeeally suspicious. Could have happened literally any time, but they chose the kickoff of the primary?

    More information required, because so far it sounds like a coordinated attack on a candidate

    Of course if this beard fruit he should withdraw. But judgement should be held for now

    • daannii@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      6 hours ago

      There was more than one woman (supposedly). And it was women who worked for him or with him.

      Sorry I can’t give you a resource as I saw a video by such a woman on Instagram and the search feature on Instagram is basically garbage. I can’t find it but if I come across it again I’ll reply and add it.

      I believe she said she used to work for him (or with him) and that he harassed multiple women there. And said that multiple women have come forward but I only saw her video.

      So I’m not trying to spread false information. I can’t confirm that info but that’s what I recall she said.

      That’s different than 1 woman who may have ulterior motives like revenge. Although statistically speaking, false accusations are incredibly rare.

      But , we can’t dismiss the possibility that aipac/gop/dnc is using the lefts intolerance of sex crimes to clear out competition.

      As for the timing. Yes the timing is important but. If you knew a rapist was about to get elected, maybe that would motivate you to speak up even if previously you just wanted to forget and move on.

      Because you might think. He’s a bad person and people need to know because if he gets in that position, he’s going to be even worse and do it more to someone else.

      There is too many unknowns right now. I typically side with victims first (tentatively) because , again, statistically they are more likely to be truthful. But I’m also open to the possibility of being played by people that see him as a threat to their power.

      Edit:

      https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

      Well this says 4 women

    • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
      41·
      17 hours ago

      Not really, could be that this person just hoped this would go away and tried to forget about it but when they saw his name in the news and realized he could become governor and do what they claimed he did to someone else they felt the need to act

  • 2piradians@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    18 hours ago

    It’s worth pointing out that there must be proof beyond allegations here, but so far that’s all we have.

    I don’t know anything about Swalwell beyond that he’s running for governor, possibly making him a smear target by his opponents.

    If he’s guilty then lock his ass up. But that takes proof. Makes me wonder what Ruben Gallego knows since he flipped from supporting Swalwell to pulling his endorsement over the past few days.

    • tidderuuf@lemmy.world
      7·
      18 hours ago

      Also worth pointing out lesser people have been removed and smeared in the media for only having allegations against them without any proof.

    • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
      4·
      17 hours ago

      It’s more than allegations, this person worked for Swalwell, people saw them together, theres copies of texts they sent a friend at the time saying Swalwell assaulted them, and medical records showing this person got a pregnancy and STI test around that time too. It’s circumstantial evidence and not smoking gun stuff, but it’s more than just allegations.