Swalwell Vows To ‘fight’ Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Apologizes To Wife For Unspecified ‘mistakes’

Eric Swalwell vowed Friday to fight sexual misconduct allegations he said are false, while apologizing to his wife for unspecified “mistakes” in his past.

Rather than dropping out of the race for California governor — as many Democrats, including his two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, had called on him to do — Swalwell said he will spend time with family and friends this weekend and, “I look forward to updating you very soon.”

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false,” the California representative said in a video on social media hours after many of his allies and staffers abandoned his gubernatorial campaign. “They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.”

He said, “I do not suggest to you in any way that I’m perfect or that I’m a saint. I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife, and to her I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”

Elias Dabaie, Swalwell’s attorney, told CNN’s Elex Michaelson on Friday night that his client “intends to continue his campaign,” while saying it’s “not clear” when he might return to the trail.

“He’s taking time with his family right now, and that’s a decision for him to make,” Dabaie said.

Asked if Swalwell’s statements about vague “mistakes” were meant to indicate the representative was unfaithful to his wife but didn’t commit any criminal acts, Dabaie said he wouldn’t discuss details. But he alleged “political machinations” within the Democratic Party are trying to “consolidate the vote in order to make sure that a Democratic candidate makes it past the primary.”

Michaelson questioned the logic of that idea, pointing out that even close allies like Gomez and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego have dropped their support.

“Are they all lying?” Michaelson asked. “What is their motivation in this, and why is he not listening to his best friends in Congress?”

Dabaie responded, “People are free to make their choices.”

“This might be an example of a rush to judgment,” he said.

Swalwell’s statement — and his lawyer’s appearance — came after his campaign imploded on Friday, with an ex-staffer’s allegation that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her, detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle report, followed by more misconduct allegations in a CNN report.

Swalwell ended the week as he had started it, vehemently denying accusations against him as political attacks on the race’s frontrunner.

“I also apologize to you if in any way you have doubted your support for me,” he said. “But I think you know who I am. For over 20 years I have served the public, as a city councilman, as a member of Congress and as a prosecutor who went to court on behalf of victims, particularly on behalf of sexual assault victims.”

But his campaign is in tatters. Calls for him to drop out came from across the party, including from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. Top staffers left the campaign, major endorsers rescinded or paused their support, and a pro-Swalwell independent expenditure committee said it was suspending operations.