The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it has opened an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.
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The committee’s leaders said in a statement that they would review whether he “violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibilities, with respect to allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision.”
A former Swalwell staffer alleged in a San Francisco Chronicle article and in an interview with CNN that she had several sexual encounters with the congressman while she worked in his office. She accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her twice, saying she was too intoxicated to consent. NBC News has not verified her allegations. Several other women who spoke to CNN also accused Swalwell of engaging in sexual misconduct.
Swalwell’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a video on Friday, he called the sexual assault allegations “flat false… they did not happen, they have never happened.”
Swalwell dropped his gubernatorial bid in California on Sunday night. He said that while he had made “mistakes in judgment” in the past, he would “fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
Several lawmakers, including some Democrats, have urged him to resign from Congress as well or face expulsion.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has also opened an investigation into one of the allegations against Swalwell.
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