Overview
- FBI agents stopped Eric Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday and seized his cellphone and other electronics, and agents executed a separate search warrant at his Washington, D.C., home on Sunday.
- Officials say the searches are part of an active federal criminal investigation into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against Swalwell; he has denied the assault claim and said he will fight it while acknowledging past mistakes in judgment.
- The White House on Monday released declassified FBI records showing Swalwell told agents in 2015 he had physical relations with suspected Chinese operative Christine Fang, a probe that was closed in 2017 with no charges.
- State and local authorities are also investigating: the Manhattan district attorney’s office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have opened inquiries and a House Ethics review had begun before Swalwell resigned from Congress.
- The searches could expand evidence available to prosecutors and intensify partisan debate over the handling of the declassified files, while the matter remains under investigation and Swalwell retains the presumption of innocence.