WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel bid his longtime adversary, disgraced Rep. Eric Swalwell, farewell from Congress Monday evening by suggesting he undergo an interview with the bureau over allegations of sexual misconduct.
Patel, 46, supplied the general public invitation to Swalwell, 45, hours after the Golden State Democrat introduced plans to resign from the Home of Representatives within the wake of claims he sexually harassed not less than 4 girls, slept with subordinates, and dedicated sexual assault on not less than two events.
“[Eric Swalwell] has maintained that not one of the allegations in opposition to him are true, and now that he’s resigned, we’d welcome him to take a seat down with the FBI and share any data he has,” Patel wrote on X.
“We additionally encourage and welcome any individual with related data to any of those issues to talk with us. Door is open to all.”
Swalwell was a member of the Home Intelligence Committee throughout the first Trump administration and was one of the distinguished Democrats to push the Russia collusion narrative.
At the moment, Patel was a senior aide to then-Home Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who fought tooth-and-nail in opposition to claims of nefarious ties between the 2016 Trump marketing campaign and the Kremlin.
In 2023, Swalwell was kicked off the Intelligence Committee by then-Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), as a consequence of each his promotion of the collusion narrative and his relationship with suspected Chinese language spy Christine Fang.
That very same 12 months, Patel named Swalwell as considered one of dozens of so-called “authorities gangsters” in his guide of the identical title.
Within the fall of 2025, Swalwell confronted Patel concerning the designation throughout a listening to on Capitol Hill.
“I’m gonna borrow your terminology and name bull— in your whole profession in Congress,” the FBI director raged in response. “It has been a shame to the American individuals.”
Final month, Swalwell despatched a cease-and-desist discover to the FBI to cease the discharge of the information detailing his interactions with Fang.
Swalwell suspended his marketing campaign for California governor Sunday evening after the sexual misconduct allegations, essentially the most beautiful of which got here from a girl who beforehand labored in his workplace and claimed he raped her in 2024, leaving her bloody and bruised.
Swalwell issued a imprecise denial of “false accusations in opposition to him,” whereas concurrently admitting “private failings.”
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill had stopped wanting calling on Swalwell to resign earlier than Monday’s announcement after demanding he drop out of the governor’s race, regardless of one Home aide acknowledging to The Submit that “there’ve been rumors for some time, however nothing fairly this unhealthy, and persons are fairly disgusted by what’s come out.”
Former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who elevated Swalwell to the Intelligence Committee when he was only a sophomore rep again in 2015, informed CNN’s Frank Sesno Monday evening that “it’s completely not true” that Democrats turned a blind eye to the lawmaker’s actions.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), an in depth confidant of Swalwell who served within the Home with him for a decade, claimed to reporters that his former good friend “led a double life and tricked many people into considering he was somebody he’s not.”
In response, Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) advised Gallego launch his communications with Swalwell.
It’s easy,” Lawler wrote on X, “if [Gallego] has nothing to cover, he ought to apply the identical normal he demanded with the discharge of the Epstein Information to himself.
“He ought to instantly launch all textual content messages, emails, sign chats, social media communications, images and movies exchanged between him and [Swalwell] and be absolutely clear with the American individuals.
“In the event that they have been greatest associates, there’s virtually zero p.c likelihood he didn’t know and didn’t the truth is change some form of communication on it,” Lawler concluded. “These girls deserve full accountability. Launch the information!”
