California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell will find himself in more legal crosshairs if he or his team “disparages” one of his accusers of sexual misconduct, her husband warned on Saturday night.
Adam Parkhomenko, who is married to Ally Sammarco, said on social media he wished the congressman’s family well and hopes he gets the help he needs.
“But if Eric Swalwell or his attorney makes a single statement that disparages my wife, I will be filing a lawsuit against him,” Parkhomenko went on. “I’ve already made clear that if he believes anything I’ve said is untrue, he should sue me immediately.”
He warned Swalwell that “he should be very careful about what he chooses to say” before calling on him to resign from Congress.
Sammarco is one of four women who on Friday made sexual misconduct allegations against the candidate, whose political career is now on life support and whose campaign is in free fall.
In a report published by CNN, Sammarco alleged that Swalwell had sent her inappropriate messages on Snapchat in 2021, including unsolicited nudes.
Swalwell would also go for jogs in her neighborhood and ask her to come downstairs from her apartment to chat, she alleged.
“It made me feel gross and uncomfortable,” she said of the nudes. “I didn’t ask for that.”
Here’s the latest on the allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell
Other accusations made more serious claims, including alleged rape. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York launched an investigation Saturday into the incidents.
Since Friday, Swalwell’s campaign has imploded. Endorsements have been withdrawn and key staff members have quit.
Still, the candidate has remained defiant. That same Friday, Swalwell posted a video adamantly denying the accusations, arguing “they have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.”
His lawyer Elias Dabaie also went onto CNN to try to bat down the claims, saying there may be a conspiracy by the Democratic Party to get rid of Swalwell in order to consolidate Democratic votes in the governor’s race.
That interview sparked criticism from opponents of Swalwell, including Parkhomenko, who argue that Swalwell should own up to his alleged actions.
“I can’t even begin to tell you the secondhand embarrassment I had watching him on CNN last night,” Parkhomenko commented.
