A veteran California political journalist who has covered Rep. Eric Swalwell since his days on the Dublin City Council says the congressman's alleged behavior toward women "was known by all levels of our local government", and that efforts to bring the stories to light were stymied for years by women's reluctance to speak and Swalwell's reputation for threatening litigation.
Steve Tavares, an East Bay political journalist and author, made the claims in a social media post on Saturday, adding a new local dimension to the widening scandal that now threatens Swalwell's congressional seat and his bid for governor of California. Fox News Digital reported on Tavares's statements and the broader political fallout surrounding the Democratic congressman.
Tavares wrote that knowledge of Swalwell's conduct toward women circulated among Democratic insiders in Alameda County shortly after Swalwell entered Congress in 2013, more than a decade before the allegations became national news. That timeline raises uncomfortable questions: How many local officials knew? And why did it take this long for the story to surface?
Tavares shares his own history with the story. In his Saturday post, he wrote:
"I tried repeatedly to get the stories out. I can't force women to speak out, and when they chose not to, I didn't push. I also knew that Swalwell was known to threaten litigation."
He also pushed back against any suggestion that his criticism was new or opportunistic:
"Don't get it twisted. Nobody has been more critical of Swalwell over the years."
The portrait Tavares paints is one of a local political culture that looked the other way. If his account is accurate, the Alameda County Democratic Party and local officials were aware of troubling behavior but did nothing visible to address it, even as Swalwell climbed the national stage and built a brand around holding others accountable.
That brand has now become a liability. Swalwell previously insisted that accusers "deserve to be heard" during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation fight, a standard he now faces himself.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a former staffer accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her. CNN separately reported that three additional women accused him of making sexual advances and sending explicit photos, as Just The News detailed. One former staffer alleged she was intoxicated in a New York hotel room in 2024 and woke up to Swalwell having sex with her without consent.
That former staffer, quoted by CNN, said: "I was pushing him off of me, saying no. He didn't stop."
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has now said it will investigate the sexual assault allegation, the Washington Times reported, a step that moves the matter from political controversy into potential criminal territory.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to Swalwell's office and campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the California Democratic Party. None responded immediately.
Tavares's Saturday post was not his only recent commentary on Swalwell's vulnerabilities. In an April 6 edition of his "East Bay Insiders" newsletter, the journalist outlined what he described as a strikingly weak foundation for a gubernatorial candidate.
He wrote:
"For a candidate who could plausibly contend for governor of the nation's most powerful state, Eric Swalwell's base of support at home is strikingly thin."
Tavares attributed the problem to both ideology and personal history. He noted that despite Swalwell's high-profile opposition to President Trump, many Democratic insiders in Alameda County "do not view Swalwell as a reliable progressive." His positions on law enforcement, past rhetoric on border security, and support for Israel placed him "out of step with the prevailing politics of the deep-blue East Bay," Tavares wrote.
There was also the matter of old grudges. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has moved to expel Swalwell from Congress over the allegations, but the friction at home predates the current crisis. Tavares wrote that early in his congressional career, Swalwell unseated two well-regarded local figures, Pete Stark and later Ellen Corbett, "moves that, while politically successful, left lingering resentment among longtime Democratic activists."
The endorsement picture told its own story. Assemblymember Mia Bonta and Rep. Ro Khanna, both East Bay Democrats, backed Tom Steyer for governor, not their congressional neighbor.
Tavares summed up the challenge bluntly:
"Taken together, Swalwell's path to higher office may depend less on consolidating his home base and more on building a coalition elsewhere, an unusual, and potentially risky, strategy for a California gubernatorial hopeful."
Whatever coalition Swalwell hoped to build elsewhere appears to be crumbling, too. The Associated Press reported that major Democratic allies and labor unions withdrew support and urged him to leave the race after the sexual assault allegations surfaced. Prominent Democrats including Sen. Adam Schiff, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Sen. Ruben Gallego, and Rep. Adam Gray either pulled their endorsements or called on Swalwell to exit the gubernatorial contest.
California labor groups including SEIU California and the California Teachers Association suspended their backing. Multiple staff members reportedly resigned.
Gov. Gavin Newsom weighed in: "As we continue to learn more, these allegations from multiple sources are deeply troubling and must be taken seriously." Rep. Jimmy Gomez was more direct: "The congressman should leave the race now so there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay."
Even Tom Steyer, a rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, acknowledged the gravity of the situation. "Speaking out is never easy, and her account must be taken seriously," Steyer said.
The speed of the collapse is notable. Swalwell went from credible gubernatorial contender to a congressman facing a DA investigation, an expulsion motion, and a mass exodus of allies, all within days of the Chronicle's initial report.
Tavares's claim that Swalwell "was known to threaten litigation" fits a broader pattern. The congressman has reversed his own transparency crusade to block the release of Chinese intelligence files that could shed light on his well-documented ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. He has simultaneously demanded accountability from political opponents while resisting disclosure when the spotlight turns on him.
Tavares, who said he has covered Swalwell since the congressman's days on the Dublin City Council, described a politician whose national ambitions consistently outpaced his local standing. The perception that Swalwell became less of a fixture in his own district after buying a home in Washington, D.C., only deepened the disconnect.
Swalwell has also fought to block the FBI's release of files on his ties to a suspected Chinese spy, a separate controversy that reinforces the impression of a public official who preaches transparency for others while guarding his own record.
Several questions hang over this story. Swalwell has not publicly responded to the allegations in any statement captured in available reporting. Fox News Digital noted it did not hear back from his office, his campaign, the DNC, or the California Democratic Party. Which former staffers made the allegations, and how many are there beyond those already reported? What did Alameda County Democratic officials know, and when?
Tavares's account is that of a single journalist describing what he says he witnessed and was told over more than a decade. It has not been independently corroborated. But the broader pattern, the Chronicle report, the CNN report, the DA investigation, the staff resignations, the endorsement withdrawals, lends weight to the claim that the current crisis did not materialize from nowhere.
If local Democratic officials in Alameda County really did know about Swalwell's conduct as far back as 2013, the failure is not his alone. It belongs to every party insider who chose silence over accountability, and who let a man they knew had a problem climb higher and higher without a word of public warning.
Accountability is not a weapon you pick up only when it's aimed at the other side. Sooner or later, it comes home.
