On Tuesday, a fifth woman, model Lonna Drewes publicly accused former Congressman Eric Swalwell of drugging, raping, and choking her during a 2018 encounter in West Hollywood, and she announced she will file a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Swalwell resigned from Congress and suspended his California gubernatorial campaign on Monday, following multiple sexual misconduct allegations that prompted the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to open a criminal investigation.
Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, acknowledged Tuesday that he had heard longstanding rumors that Representative Eric Swalwell was “flirty” with women, but chose not to act because of their close friendship.
Gallego, a former House member who chaired Swalwell’s brief 2020 presidential campaign and spent years working closely with him, said he never personally witnessed any inappropriate behavior. He added that Swalwell had misled and manipulated him into believing the accusations of harassment and assault were unfounded.
The NY Times reports the admission came on the same day that Swalwell resigned from Congress facing multiple allegations of sexual assault.
“I never saw him engage in any of the predatory behavior, harassment, sexual assault,” Gallego said of Swalwell, who has denied the allegations.
Gallego expressed regret for not confronting Swalwell about the rumors he had heard and suggested his inaction reflected a broader culture of tolerance for such whispers in Washington.
“We have to be honest with ourselves,” Gallego said. “Like, I think a lot of people in D.C. treat these kinds of rumors as just like part of the course of playing here, or something like that. We should have figured out how to approach that.”
The Arizona senator’s comments provide a rare glimpse into the environment on Capitol Hill, where years after the #MeToo movement, rumors of misconduct have often been dismissed or kept quiet, allowing accused lawmakers to continue rising in power.