Eric Swalwell spectacularly crashed out in his gubernatorial run for California governor on Sunday — and by Monday, he’d ripped himself out of Congress before he could be investigated by the House for his alleged heinous sex attacks.
The resignation caps a swift fall from grace for the former leading candidate in the gubernatorial race. Swalwell has pledged to fight serious allegations which he claims are false.
But alarm bells and a trail of shame had long followed the embattled representative — who is just 45 years old.
‘Fang Fang’ infiltration — 2012-2015
Accused Chinese government spy “Fang Fang,” — whose real name is Christine Fang, entered the US through California as a college student in 2011 — and spent the next four years wooing everyone from local politicos to US congressmen, per Axios, citing current and former US intelligence officials.
Fang took a special liking to Swalwell, and helped place at least one intern in his office, according to two sources.
She also raised funds for Swalwell’s 2014 re-election campaign and interacted with the congressman at a number of events over several years, Axios said.
“She was on a mission,’’ a US counter-intelligence official said of Fang — and it included plenty of seduction before the feds got wind of her antics and she vanished in 2015.
At that point, Swalwell, who was not accused of any wrongdoing, cut off all contact with Fang.
An abysmal run for president — 2019
His doomed bid for president failed to register with voters after a flashy announcement on CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
“I see a country in quicksand, unable to solve threats from abroad, unable to make life better for people here at home,” he said at the time.
But the only thing in quicksand was his failed bid — as his campaign failed to even register 1% among likely voters, per Politico.
He dropped out of the race in July 2019.
Farting for the cameras in 2019
In perhaps his grossest gaffe of the era, Swalwell appeared to let rip an enormous fart while doing a live interview with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
He later denied ripping a large one, telling Buzzfeed News: “It was not me!!!!!” he wrote. “Ha. And I didn’t hear it when I was speaking.”
#Fartgate trended on Twitter.
Sex attack claims — 2019, 2024, 2026
Last week, four women accused married Swalwell of horrific acts of sexual assault and misconduct — including a former staffer who claims he raped her.
The California governor candidate’s campaign was hanging by a thread Friday when the alleged victims aired bombshell details of what they say happened to them.
One of the women, a former staffer, claimed he raped her when she was drunk and left her bruised and bleeding during the alleged 2024 attack.
She also claimed she woke up naked next to him in a hotel room in 2019 after a heavy night of drinking and felt physically like they had sex.
Here’s the latest on the allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell
Another woman, who said she first met Swalwell online, alleged she also awoke next to him in a hotel after a drunken night out, adding he allegedly kissed her and touched her leg without consent.
And social media influencer Ally Sammarco claimed he had sent her nudes on Snapchat after they started talking about politics on X.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office opened a sex assault probe into Swalwell after the explosive reports emerged.
Illegal Brazilian live-in nanny claims — 2026
On Saturday, it emerged that Swalwell was accused of violating immigration and employment law to keep his illegal live-in Brazilian nanny in the country, according to a pair of recently filed complaints.
When his South American babysitter’s temporary work authorization was about to expire in 2022, he and wife Brittany Swalwell lied to the feds to keep Amanda Barbosa working for them, a new complaint filed Tuesday with the Department of Labor claimed.
Another complaint, filed to the Department of Homeland security in February and previously unreported, accuses Swalwell of paying the nanny under the table with campaign funds for a period of two years when she didn’t hold valid work authorization.
Skipping out on the job — 2025
Swalwell infamously had a shocking record of shirking his responsibilities in Congress — to rub elbows with the rich and famous instead of putting in the grind as an elected lawmaker.
In 2025, he missed 95 votes, not including truancy from committee hearings, out of a total of 342 House roll call votes that year.
That’s more than double the absences of octogenarian Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who began 2025 recovering from hip replacement surgery and announced plans to retire in November.
His terrible work record was only trounced by one other elected member — Dem Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey.
Searching for Swalwell — 2026
In the face of a lawsuit and growing verbal attacks on the campaign trail, Swalwell — who was the Democratic frontrunner in the California governor’s race — insisted he’d kept a home in the state for nearly nine years while serving in Congress.
But that was news to Swalwell’s neighbors.
Five people who live on the quiet Livermore cul-de-sac where Swalwell claims to have lived since 2017 told the California Post that they have never met the congressman.
“I’ve never seen him,” said Gita Prusty, who noted she’s lived on Michell Court for five years.
Prusty’s home is one of seven on the cul-de-sac where Swalwell has claimed residency, and she wasn’t the only one confused when shown his photo.
Lauren Antony, 19, lives in a house two doors down from Swalwell’s listed address, but she told The Post she had “never seen” him after being shown his picture. When asked how long she has lived on the street, she said: “All of my life.”
As for where Swalwell is holed up now is anyone’s guess — after his ex-bestie, lefty billionaire Stephen Cloobeck dramatically cut ties with him on Sunday and revealed he had kicked him out of his mansion.
“I am no longer supporting Eric,” Cloobeck told The Post in an exclusive interview. “F—king tell everyone I’m a libertarian. F—k you, Democrat Party. I’m a libertarian now.”
