US Department of Justice investigating Eric Swalwell, but details are murky

Ben Paviour, The Sacramento Bee on Apr 16, 2026

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The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday.

The focus of the inquiry, which was first reported by NOTUS, is unclear. The department did not immediately respond to questions.

Swalwell suspended his campaign for governor on Sunday and resigned from Congress Tuesday; over the last week, two women have accused him of sexual assault and three others said he made unwanted advances. Swalwell has denied the accusations and any wrongdoing but also said he would take “responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make” in a letter Tuesday formally announcing his resignation.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department are investigating the two alleged assaults. Sexual assault allegations are typically investigated and prosecuted by local, not federal authorities.

Swalwell’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In February, conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert filed a complaint to the Federal Elections Committee alleging Swalwell misused campaign finance funds on child care for his three children. The Bee reported last month that Swalwell spent more than $244,000 in campaign funds on childcare from 2019 to 2025—an allowed use under certain conditions.

Gilbert said he’d been contacted by an FEC representative and told his complaint had been assigned an attorney.

The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a separate Gilbert complaint focused on the immigration status of Swalwell’s former nanny.

Swalwell was a frequent critic of President Donald Trump. In November, he filed a lawsuit against one of Trump’s top housing officials, Bill Pulte, after Pulte recommended the DOJ investigate the Democrat for mortgage fraud. Swalwell dropped the lawsuit last month, with his campaign saying it had succeeded in “calling his [Pulte’s] bluff.”

The former congressional representative also embraced reports last month that FBI Director Kash Patel was looking to publicly release files related to an investigation into a suspected Chinese intelligence officer, Christine Fang, who’d helped Swalwell fundraise over a decade ago. Swalwell said he’d never been accused of wrongdoing and called Patel’s moves a political attempt to thwart his gubernatorial campaign. At the time, analysts said Patel’s reported moves buttressed Swalwell’s image as a stalwart anti-Trump figure in the governor’s race.

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