In an announcement shared to social media on Monday, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) introduced he deliberate to resign from Congress after going through sexual assault and misconduct allegations from a number of ladies.
“I’m deeply sorry to my household, employees, and constituents for errors in judgment I’ve made in my previous,” Swalwell wrote in his assertion, which famous he would proceed to “struggle the intense, false allegation made towards me.”
Swalwell, who was beforehand a candidate for California governor, additionally addressed rising requires his expulsion within the Home.
“Expelling anybody in Congress with out due course of, inside days of an allegation being made, is mistaken,” Swalwell wrote. “Nevertheless it’s additionally mistaken for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Due to this fact, I plan to resign my seat in Congress.”
Final week, The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN printed experiences detailing sexual misconduct allegations towards Swalwell. The CNN report included allegations from 4 ladies, together with one in all Swalwell’s former staffers, who stated that he sexually assaulted her. A second lady described Swalwell kissing her and touching her leg with out her consent, and winding up drunk in his resort room with little reminiscence of what occurred. Two different ladies stated Swalwell despatched them unsolicited nude messages.
The Chronicle report appeared to incorporate allegations from the identical former Swalwell staffer who spoke with CNN.
“These allegations are false and are available on the eve of an election towards the front-runner for governor,” Swalwell advised each publications in an announcement final week. “For almost 20 years, I’ve served the general public – as a prosecutor and a congressman and have at all times protected ladies. I’ll defend myself with the info and the place mandatory convey authorized motion. My focus within the coming days is to be with my spouse and youngsters and defend our a long time of service towards these lies.”
Many Democrats rescinded their backing for Swalwell’s gubernatorial marketing campaign, and urged him to drop out after the experiences.
On Sunday night, Swalwell suspended his marketing campaign following strain from lawmakers, together with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).