Swalwell misconduct an 'open secret' media didn't report, critics say

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Quite a few stories from journalists and political operatives that the alleged sexual misconduct of former Rep. Eric Swalwell , D-Calif., was an open secret that lengthy went unreported have prompted consternation and anger.

Swalwell, who till earlier this month was a prime candidate for governor of California, noticed his profession collapse within the span of every week after a flood of sexual misconduct allegations, together with claims of rape and sexual assault. He suspended his marketing campaign, resigned from Congress and admitted "errors" whereas denying the extra severe fees in opposition to him.

Swalwell was a outstanding Home member for over a decade, notably since President Donald Trump's first time period started and he turned one of many faces of the "resistance."

In December 2025, Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo warned of Swalwell’s skeletons in a now-deleted social media publish.

"I suppose Swalwell can get pleasure from in the present day, however people know he slept with a lot of his interns whereas married, sexually harassed others whereas engaged, has a ton of bizarre texts late at evening saved on former interns' telephones nonetheless, he will get he must reply for this in a while throughout the marketing campaign, proper? Endorse at your personal peril individuals," Trujillo wrote .

‘HE SHOULD GO’: SENATE DEMS TURNED ON SWALWELL AHEAD OF RESIGNATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. (AP Photograph/Jeff Chiu)

Trujillo later mentioned he deleted the publish after receiving a cease and desist from Swalwell’s marketing campaign. However his stark warning to Democrats that it was harmful to endorse Swalwell’s bid for governor got here to fruition this week when a number of girls got here ahead.

Swalwell is now dealing with a string of accusations, together with that he drugged and raped one lady and sexually assaulted one in all his staffers, which have spurred at least two local criminal investigations . The accusations, which he has largely denied, have resulted in an onslaught of questions on who might have identified in regards to the alleged scandalous conduct.

Swalwell partially boosted his profession as a ubiquitous cable information visitor, making a whole lot of appearances on CNN and MS NOW — beforehand MSNBC — whereas in Congress. He was a very robust proponent of the Russiagate "collusion" principle and made a short 2020 presidential bid, partially based mostly on his TV presence.

Trujillo claimed reporters had been working to verify rumors about Swalwell again in 2020, however "vitality disappeared to doubtlessly take him out" as soon as he dropped out of that 12 months's crowded Democratic presidential race.

Cheyenne Hunt, a Democratic Gen Z activist who helped put a highlight on allegations in opposition to Swalwell with a sequence of viral movies, additionally bluntly acknowledged that allegations had been floating round Capitol Hill.

"I had heard these rumors for years," Hunt mentioned on TikTok earlier than Swalwell’s political profession imploded.

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Politico’s California bureau chief and senior politics reporter teamed up for a piece headlined, "The whisper community that caught as much as Eric Swalwell," that famous the Democrat "had developed a status for unsavory and generally undesirable conduct towards girls."

"These warnings had been shared in whisper networks however hardly ever traveled exterior the circle of political insiders," Politico reported within the piece that credit Trujillo, Hunt and Arielle Fodor, often known as "Mrs. Frazzled" on social media, for lastly bringing the allegations to mild.

Many others have additionally advised an "open secret" surrounding Swalwell as soon as his political profession started to unravel.

"It was an open secret that he had points with girls, that he was someone who was vulnerable, doubtlessly to heavy consuming, to impropriety with girls," "The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said this week .

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Journalist Yashar Ali responded to a social media publish criticizing "each Democrat" for renouncing Swalwell with no smoking gun by declaring, "It’s as a result of they’ve all identified for years."

One reporter wrote she didn't work to report out sure rumors as a result of "MeToo tales on the Hill aren't associated to my beat."

Heritage Basis media fellow Tim Younger believes reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN that uncovered Swalwell's alleged conduct was pushed by Democrats to "get him out of the gubernatorial major earlier than the harm turned irreversible."

"The underside line is that media not solely skews left, however is part of the Democrat machine. They cowl for ‘open secrets and techniques’ about conduct of individuals they help, then activate them once they get marching orders," Younger advised Fox News Digital .

The Washington Put up published a story , "How Eric Swalwell rose to the highest of Democratic politics as rumors adopted him," that reported the ex-lawmaker "was dogged by persistent rumors of inappropriate conduct towards girls" however thrived as a result of the Democratic Occasion was "enamored with a younger congressman’s expertise for sound bites and touchdown blows in opposition to President Donald Trump ."

The Put up added that many are questioning how Swalwell "might have risen so excessive and so quick in a celebration that claims it helps girls’s rights." A San Francisco Chronicle article Friday famous the "stunningly quick fall from grace for a rising star within the Democratic Occasion, which many shut allies and individuals who knew Swalwell are nonetheless making an attempt to make sense of."

FORMER SWALWELL ALLY SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH HIM 'CLOUDED MY JUDGEMENT' AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., was a darling of the liberal media earlier than his swift fall from grace. (MSNBC screenshot)

Conservative pundit Stephen L. Miller provided a suggestion for the Put up on his "Versus Media" podcast .

"I do know the place the Washington Put up can begin, it entails a mirror," Miller mentioned.

"The piece goes on to form of profile his rise in Congress, saying he turned good associates with Nancy Pelosi proper off the bat," Miller continued. "That’s in all probability why the Washington Put up determined to not observe up with any of those rumors for over six years."

Reporting on sexual misconduct by poweful figures has at all times been a wrestle, nonetheless. Media defenders observe the difficulties of girls coming ahead to make delicate accusations and recalling such painful experiences.

In 2017, CNN reported that "greater than half a dozen interviewees independently named one California congressman for pursuing feminine staffers." CNN didn't identify the lawmaker as a result of the claims had been "unverified." CNN has not verified that the road referred to Swalwell, however one of many article's reporters, MJ Lee, posted the story to X on Tuesday.

9 years later, CNN’s Brian Stelter was roasted on Monday for declaring that Swalwell ending his bid for California governor is "a testomony to the ability of investigative reporting."

The Hill columnist T. Becket Adams quipped, "And all it took was seven phrases in Congress and a couple of half-dozen victims for investigative journalists to interrupt the information of conduct apparently everybody knew about."

ERIC SWALWELL WAS CABLE NEWS STAR FOR YEARS BEFORE RAPID FALL FROM GRACE

Journalist Drew Holden responded, "So highly effective, in actual fact, that a number of reporters waited over a decade to say something about Swalwell’s misconduct."

"We have now had a number of reporters come out and say Swalwell's conduct was an open secret since at the least 2017. So no, this isn't a testomony to the ability of investigative reporting. If something, it's a failure of investigative reporting," radio host Erick Erickson reacted.

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Fox Information Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX Information Digital. Story suggestions will be despatched to brian.flood@fox.com and on Twitter: @briansflood.