Swalwell Campaign Imploding After New Sexual Assault Allegation

Multiple people have abruptly resigned from Rep. Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, throwing the durability of his operation into question after the California Democrat repeatedly this week denied allegations of sexual misconduct.

Members of senior leadership have departed the campaign, including Courtni Pugh, a strategic adviser who served as Swalwell’s top liaison to organized labor groups.

Pugh confirmed her resignation, but declined to comment further. Two other people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal campaign dynamics, confirmed there have been at least four departures.

The resignations came just before the San Francisco Chronicle published a report Friday afternoon reporting that a former staffer claims Swalwell had sexual encounters with her while working for him, and that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent.

A spokesperson couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday about the campaign staff departures, but Swalwell released a statement broadly denying the allegations.

"These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor," it said. "For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies."

Just a few weeks ago, Swalwell’s bid seemed to be gathering the kind of momentum that would have allowed him to pull ahead of a muddled Democratic field. He secured valuable endorsements from labor unions as deep-pocketed interests launched a super PAC for him.

And the Trump administration’s reported push to release documents from an investigation into Swalwell’s ties to a suspected Chinese operative appeared to play to the Democrat’s advantage.

But soon after, accusations of inappropriate behavior with female staffers began to surface on social media. Campaign operatives traded notes and messages: Was this just another spin of the rumor mill, or was a bomb about to drop, potentially upending the race weeks before ballots started landing in voters’ mailboxes?

Swalwell forcefully disputed those allegations earlier this week through a spokesperson who assailed a “false, outrageous rumor.”

“Some of the allegations I've seen, which is that we’ve had NDA’s in the office — never. There's never been an allegation, and there's never been a settlement,” Swalwell told reporters.

An attorney for Swalwell confirmed to POLITICO that he had sent a cease-and-desist letter to at least one person accusing Swalwell of misconduct.

“We learned from press outlets that there are multiple allegations made against the Congressman,” attorney Elias Dabaie said in an email. “We believe those allegations are baseless and continue to seek the truth. We also want to understand why these allegations would suddenly arise on the eve on an election against the frontrunner in what appears to be a coordinated effort to undermine his candidacy.”

Swalwell on Thursday abruptly canceled a planned town hall with Rep. Raul Ruiz, citing illness.

Anticipating a race-rewriting event, multiple of Swalwell’s rivals have assailed him in recent days and accused him of hypocrisy given his past statements in support of the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault ahead of his confirmation hearing.