Federal agents met former Rep. Eric Swalwell at the gate when he stepped off a plane at San Francisco International Airport, serving a search warrant and seizing his electronics as part of a criminal investigation tied to sexual misconduct allegations.
The encounter unfolded on the evening of August 15, when multiple FBI agents surrounded Swalwell as he deboarded his flight at SFO. Agents served him with a federal search warrant at approximately 8:25 p.m., then escorted the former Democratic congressman through the terminal, up an escalator, down a hallway marked "restricted area," and into a room where additional personnel waited. They walked out with his white Apple iPhone, its charging cable and wall adapter, and an Apple MacBook Pro.
Swalwell, who represented California in Congress for seven terms before resigning on April 14, appeared cooperative throughout the encounter. He was allowed to leave after the search. The FBI left him with a copy of the warrant and an inventory of the property seized. Surveillance footage obtained by the New York Post captured the scene, the former congressman dressed in a hat, black sweatshirt, and sneakers as agents closed in around him.
The following day, federal agents executed additional court-approved warrants at Swalwell's Washington, D.C., home, Just the News reported, seizing more materials. The FBI declined to comment on the operation.
The search warrant cited a federal civil-rights statute that prosecutors use to go after public officials who abuse their government authority. That legal hook is significant. It suggests investigators are looking at more than the underlying misconduct allegations themselves, they may be examining whether Swalwell leveraged his official position to intimidate or silence the women who came forward.
One piece of the record fits that theory. Swalwell's lawyer sent a letter to individuals who accused the then-congressman of nonconsensual sexual encounters, warning that Swalwell could sue them for defamation. Whether that letter crossed a legal line is now, apparently, a question the FBI wants to answer with whatever sits on Swalwell's phone and laptop.
The Department of Justice opened its investigation into Swalwell in April, as the former congressman faced a cascade of sexual misconduct allegations. He resigned from Congress and abandoned his campaign for California governor the same month. The device seizures at SFO and his D.C. home mark a sharp escalation from preliminary inquiry to active evidence-gathering under judicial authorization.
The allegations driving the federal probe come from multiple directions. A former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her, an allegation that the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. A second woman alleged that Swalwell drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2018. Two additional women accused him of sending them unsolicited images of his genitals.
Fox News reported that at least five women, including the former staffer, have now accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct or rape. Swalwell has denied wrongdoing. In a statement reported before the airport seizure, Swalwell said:
"I will fight the serious false allegations made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make."
That statement acknowledged unspecified "mistakes" while contesting the most serious charges, a formulation that left open the question of what, exactly, Swalwell concedes.
The probe has drawn attention from prosecutors beyond the federal level. National Review reported that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg encouraged "survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division." The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also opened its own investigation into the misconduct claims.
Meanwhile, an attorney for one of Swalwell's accusers, a California woman named Lonna Drewes, welcomed the FBI's move. The Associated Press quoted her lawyer, Arick Fudali:
"We are encouraged to learn about the escalation of the FBI's investigation into the allegations against Eric Swalwell."
The misconduct probe is not the only cloud hanging over Swalwell's record. Newly declassified records from the White House Transparency Task Force revealed that Swalwell told FBI agents he had "occasionally hooked up" with Christine Fang, a woman U.S. intelligence identified as a suspected Chinese spy who cultivated relationships with American politicians. Newsmax reported that the admission came from Swalwell's own words to federal agents, now part of the public record through the declassified files.
That episode, which first surfaced publicly years ago, has taken on fresh relevance as investigators comb through Swalwell's digital life. Declassified FBI files detailed how agents originally discovered the relationship, a national security concern that Democratic leadership largely brushed aside at the time.
Swalwell sat on the House Intelligence Committee during the period of his contact with Fang, a fact that drew bipartisan criticism but no formal consequences from his own party. The contrast between that institutional shrug and the current federal probe is difficult to miss. When allegations came from a foreign intelligence angle, Swalwell's colleagues looked the other way. When the allegations involved American women accusing him of assault, it took a DOJ investigation and FBI search warrants to force the issue into the open.
Before the DOJ stepped in, the House Ethics Committee had already been examining allegations of misconduct and sexual assault involving an employee under Swalwell's supervision. Swalwell resigned from Congress on April 14, the same day he ended his gubernatorial campaign, a sequence that removed him from the Ethics Committee's direct jurisdiction.
The timing raised an obvious question: did Swalwell resign to escape congressional accountability? His departure did not stop the federal investigation, which was already underway. But it did close the door on the Ethics Committee's ability to issue findings or sanctions against a sitting member. Ongoing disputes over DOJ files related to the Swalwell matter have added further complications to the investigative landscape.
A separate state ethics investigation into Swalwell also remains open, though its current status is unclear from available reporting.
Swalwell and his representatives did not respond to requests for comment on the airport encounter or the broader investigation. No formal criminal charges have been publicly announced.
Search warrants require a federal judge to find probable cause that evidence of a crime exists in the place or on the device to be searched. The fact that a judge authorized the seizure of Swalwell's personal phone and laptop, and a separate warrant for his D.C. residence, means investigators presented enough evidence to clear that bar. Twice, in two jurisdictions, within 24 hours.
The civil-rights statute cited in the warrant narrows the investigative theory further. Prosecutors use that provision against officials who wield government authority to violate someone's rights. Applied here, it points toward a theory that Swalwell did not merely commit personal misconduct but used the power of his office, or the threat of it, to cover his tracks.
The broader pattern of misconduct allegations swirling around figures connected to Swalwell's orbit has only deepened public scrutiny of the former congressman and the institution that shielded him for years.
Several large questions remain unanswered. What did agents find on the seized devices? What additional evidence was taken from the D.C. home? Will the DOJ bring formal charges? And how did a seven-term congressman facing allegations from multiple women manage to avoid serious institutional consequences until federal agents met him at an airport gate?
For years, Swalwell built a public brand as a righteous crusader for accountability. The FBI, it appears, would now like to hold him to the same standard.
