DC is in full meltdown mode after Eric Swalwell introduced on Monday he would resign from Congress amid explosive sexual misconduct allegations — sparking a firestorm of hypothesis from lawmakers on either side of the aisle.
The bombshell departure of the high-profile Trump critic got here through a somber written assertion by which Swalwell apologized for his conduct and admitted to “errors in judgement” whereas nonetheless pushing again on essentially the most critical accusations — together with an ex-staffer who claimed he raped her.
However his try to manage the narrative shortly unraveled.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) torched Swalwell in a collection of posts on X, making it clear she believes the resignation is just the start.
“Nonetheless, don’t you dare say there weren’t grounds in your expulsion as a result of there completely had been,” Luna wrote in a scathing publish.
“He made the right resolution, however there nonetheless must be a full-fledged legal investigation. Based mostly on what I’m listening to, he might go to jail.”
The Florida firebrand didn’t cease there, hinting that extra damaging data relating to Swalwell’s conduct is about to be made public.
In a follow-up publish, Luna warned her followers to brace for affect within the subsequent day: “I’m being instructed there will probably be extra disgusting stuff popping out,” she wrote.
Tomorrow, a girl who claims to have “critical sexual misconduct” allegations in opposition to Eric Swalwell will maintain a bombshell press convention in Beverly Hills.
The scandal has despatched shock waves via Capitol Hill, the place Swalwell’s help has quickly evaporated.
Even Democrats started distancing themselves. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who as soon as referred to as Swalwell a “greatest good friend,” issued a blunt response on X. “I need to be clear: I had no data of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory conduct in opposition to Eric Swalwell,” Gallego wrote.
“I trusted somebody who I believed was a good friend, however it’s now clear that he’s not the particular person I believed I knew.”
Swalwell had been going through an investigation by the Home Ethics Committee previous to his resignation.
It seems lawmakers from each events had been weighing an expulsion vote—a humiliating transfer that doubtless would have ended Swalwell’s profession in (extra) shame.
Within the 237-year historical past of the Home, there have solely been six lawmakers expelled, the latest of whom was Lengthy Island’s GOP former Rep. George Santos in 2023.
Nonetheless, the resignation might not defend him from what comes subsequent.
The scandal has additionally been fueled by a lately circulating video allegedly displaying Swalwell with a intercourse employee—footage that has unfold broadly on-line and intensified scrutiny round his private conduct.
“Eric, why dont you inform us a little bit about who was filming the video of the feminine intercourse employee,” Rep. Luna wrote on X.
With requires a legal probe rising louder, and fellow lawmakers brazenly predicting jail time, Swalwell’s political downfall might quickly flip into one thing way more critical.
The information comes after yesterday’s stunner, the place Swalwell introduced he was dropping out of the California governor’s race.
