California Rep. Eric Swalwell is suspending his gubernatorial campaign amid sexual assault allegations

Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell announced that he will suspend his campaign for governor of California after accusations made by a former party employee. San Francisco Chronicle That he sexually assaulted her, which the congressman denied.

This comes amid increasing pressure from his party not only to leave the race, but to resign from Congress.

“I am suspending my campaign for governor. To my family, staff, friends and supporters, I am deeply sorry for the mistakes I have made in governance in the past,” Swalwell wrote in a letter to X on Sunday night.

“I will fight the dangerous and false allegations that have been made, but this is my fight, not a campaign fight,” he wrote.

The San Francisco Chronicle published the account of a woman, whom it did not identify, who said she was hired at the age of 21 to work as an intern in the Swalwell County Sheriff’s Office.

She claims Swalwell began stalking her and sent her a nude photo. In 2019, she went out for drinks with Swalwell and woke up naked the next morning In Swalwell’s hotel bed “I felt the effects of vaginal intercourse,” according to the article.

The woman alleges that five years later, at a party in New York, when she was no longer working with him, Swalwell stalked her while she was drunk and forced himself on her, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

In the wake of the accusations, at least four other women came forward with details The allegations range from sexual Assault and inappropriate behavior By Swalwell. ABC News was unable to confirm everything reported The alleged one the accounts, Including those Reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN.

ABC News spoke with Ally Sammarco, who accused the lawmaker of sending her inappropriate messages and an unwanted nude photo of himself in 2021.

Samarco, a social media content creator who was 24 when she met Swalwell, told ABC News she was working on Terry McAuliffe’s race, as he was running for governor of Virginia and was looking for a job on Capitol Hill.

She says she sent the congressman a direct message on Twitter in August 2021, asking him about growing up in a Republican family.

She says they talked about the race in Virginia, and then Swalwell gave Samarco his personal phone number, where she says he began asking her “more personal questions.”

In September 2021, she said they began messaging on Snapchat, where she said he offered to help send out her resume and find a job. He invited her to his office on Capitol Hill, according to text messages reviewed by ABC News.

She says he initially said she could meet his employees, but when she arrived, she says he accompanied her to his office, and she “didn’t meet anyone else.”

Sammarco told ABC News that Sometime in October of 2021, Swalwell allegedly sent her an unsolicited photo of his penis.

She said the alleged photo made her feel “gross” and that he was “pushing a sexual agenda”.

In a video posted on social media late Friday evening, Swalwell called the allegations against him “completely false. They are absolutely false.”

He said: “It did not happen. It never happened, and I will fight them with everything I have.”

Swalwell did not address these allegations in detail in his video statement.

Fellow Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, also of California, called the allegations against Swalwell “sick and disgusting.”

Rep. Eugene Vindman, Democrat of Virginia, told CNN’s “State of the Union” program, “The accusations are absolutely horrific, and his admissions of betraying his family are deplorable. That’s why Eric Swalwell needs to resign. He should drop out of the race.”

Vindman stressed the need to hold leaders accountable, regardless of their party or status.

“We have become too accustomed to our senior leaders and elected officials being far less moral and ethical than we expect their behavior to be…and Rep. Swalwell has to go,” Vindman said.

The top three House Democrats, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called on Swalwell to end his bid for governor.

“In the wake of the incredibly disturbing sexual assault accusations against Congressman Eric Swalwell, we call for a swift investigation into these incidents and for the Congressman to immediately end his campaign to become the next governor of California,” Jeffries, Webb Katherine Clark, and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said in a joint statement released Friday.

When pressed on Sunday on whether Swalwell should resign, Jeffries told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny: “Our statement right now speaks for itself. We will meet again in Washington early next week and we will have more to say.”

Swalwell said in the video he posted on Friday that the allegations “came on the eve of an election in which I was the front-runner” and cited his career as a public servant and prosecutor who went to court for victims of sexual assault, he said.

“I am not suggesting to you in any way that I am perfect or that I am a saint,” he said. “I have certainly made errors in judgment in the past. But those errors are between me and my wife and I sincerely apologize to her for putting her in this position.”

Fellow Democrats began calling on Swalwell to drop his gubernatorial campaign shortly after news of the allegations emerged.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement: “This extremely sensitive matter must be properly investigated with full transparency and accountability. As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, this is clearly best done outside of the gubernatorial campaign.”

Representative Jimmy Gomez, Democrat of California, who chaired Swalwell’s campaign for governor, announced that he would step down from the campaign and referred to the accusations as “the ugliest and most dangerous accusations imaginable.”

“I cannot in good conscience remain in any role in this campaign, and I will be stepping down immediately,” Gomez said. “The congressman must leave the race now so that there can be full accountability without doubt, distraction, or delay.”

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who in recent days has defended Swalwell from rumors of online misconduct, to publish On Friday, he withdrew his support and said he was “regretful.”[s] After they defended him on social media.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also said he would withdraw his endorsement “immediately” and called on Swalwell to withdraw.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said Saturday that she plans to force a vote next week to expel Swalwell if he does not resign.

“Eric has a choice. I will give that vote next week. If the Democrats want to protect this kind of garbage, I don’t recommend it, but they will put it on themselves. “I’m tired of this,” Luna said He said On Fox News.

Swalwell added that he is willing to take legal action to combat these accusations.

“I will defend myself with the facts and take legal action when necessary. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies,” Swalwell said.

In the wake of the Chronicle report, several of Swalwell’s Democratic opponents in the governor’s race, including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, State Supervisor Tony Thurmond, and former State Comptroller Betty Yee, called on Swalwell to withdraw from the race.

The two front-runners in the race, billionaire businessman Tom Steyer and former Congresswoman Katie Porter, expressed their support for the alleged victim but stopped short of calling on Swalwell to withdraw from the race.

Earlier this week, Swalwell’s campaign told ABC News that Swalwell had not received any complaints and had not asked anyone to sign nondisclosure agreements.

“These false and outrageous rumors are being spread 27 days before the election by attacking opponents who have unfortunately cooperated with MAGA conspiracy theorists because they know Eric Swalwell is the front-runner in this race,” campaign spokesman Micah Beasley said in a statement provided to ABC News on Tuesday.

“In 13 years, no one in Eric Swalwell’s congressional office has ever been asked to sign an NDA,” Beasley said. “In 13 years, not a single ethics complaint has been filed by any employee in his office or any other office. Ever.”

A source familiar with the investigation said Saturday that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is investigating the allegations against Swalwell.

“We urge survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Department at “212-335-9373,” the Manhattan DA’s office said. “Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators, and counselors are well equipped to assist you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered way.”

Swalwell’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. A lawyer representing Swalwell said “no comment” on Saturday.

House ethics rules prohibit sexual relations between members and interns or staff, but the House cannot investigate an incident that occurred more than three congressional terms ago.

ABC News’ Aaron Katerski, Victoria Arancio and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.