Overview
- Swalwell, who spoke to reporters Tuesday after a Sacramento town hall, called the online rumors "false" and said he has never had a relationship with a staffer or reached a settlement.
- His campaign separately rejected a core claim in the posts, saying no one in his office has ever been asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement and that no staff ethics complaints have been filed in 13 years.
- Progressive activist Cheyenne Hunt says multiple women are preparing to share allegations with reporters and legal counsel, though none have been named publicly and news outlets note they have not corroborated the claims; rival Democrat Katie Porter called the reports very troubling.
- The controversy is already affecting the race, with prediction market odds for Swalwell dropping to about 39% from nearly 73% in recent weeks, while early voting starts May 4 and California’s top-two primary is June 2.
- The uproar overlaps with separate scrutiny of Swalwell’s past contacts with suspected Chinese operative Christine Fang, as his lawyers sent the FBI a cease-and-desist over any release of old case files and no documents have been made public.