FBI Agents Search Eric Swalwell's Home and Seize His Phone and Laptop as the Sexual Misconduct Probe Turns Criminal

Verified key facts

• FBI agents executed search warrants targeting former Rep. Eric Swalwell over the weekend and seized his electronic devices, CBS News reported
• One warrant was executed on Saturday night after Swalwell landed at San Francisco International Airport; a second was executed on Sunday at his Washington DC residence, according to CNN
• Federal authorities seized Swalwell's iPhone and MacBook Pro, according to a search warrant document reported by The San Francisco Standard
• The searches are part of a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, which Swalwell has repeatedly denied, The Washington Post reported
• Swalwell suspended his California gubernatorial campaign on 12 April and resigned from Congress effective 14 April, after the San Francisco Chronicle published a former staff member's assault allegation on 10 April
• A CNN report in April included three additional women who accused Swalwell of sending unsolicited explicit messages and photographs

Two warrants in two cities over one weekend

Federal agents have searched the homes and seized the personal devices of Eric Swalwell, the former Democratic congressman from California, in the most significant escalation yet of the criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations that ended his political career in April. According to CBS News, FBI agents executed search warrants targeting Swalwell over the weekend and took his electronic devices as part of the probe.

The operation unfolded in two stages on opposite coasts. CNN reported that the first warrant was executed on Saturday night, when agents met Swalwell as he landed at San Francisco International Airport. A second warrant was then executed on Sunday at his residence in Washington DC. The choreography — intercepting a traveller at an airport before he could return home, then searching the home itself — is a standard technique for preventing the destruction or movement of evidence.

An iPhone and a MacBook Pro named in the warrant

The San Francisco Standard, which reviewed a search warrant document, reported that federal authorities confiscated Swalwell's iPhone and MacBook Pro on Saturday. Investigators seeking a suspect's personal devices in a misconduct case are typically looking for messages, photographs and metadata that could corroborate or contradict accusers' accounts.

The Washington Post confirmed that the seizures form part of a federal inquiry into sexual assault allegations against the former lawmaker. Neither the FBI nor the US Attorney's office has publicly detailed the scope of the investigation, and no charges have been filed. Swalwell has repeatedly and categorically denied all allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

The April allegations that ended a career

Swalwell's fall from political prominence was extraordinarily swift. In early April, allegations of sexual misconduct towards former staff members began circulating, amplified by Cheyenne Hunt, a former Capitol Hill staffer and political media personality. On 10 April, the San Francisco Chronicle published a detailed story reporting a former staff member's sexual assault allegation against him.

Within days, CNN published a further report in which three more women accused Swalwell of misconduct, alleging that he had sent unsolicited explicit messages and nude photographs through Snapchat. The accumulation of on-the-record accusations transformed what his campaign had initially dismissed as 'outrageous allegations' into a full-blown political crisis.

From governor's race frontrunner to private citizen in five days

At the time the allegations surfaced, Swalwell was running for governor of California, having built a national profile as one of the most visible Democratic critics of Donald Trump during his years on the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. Amid growing calls from within his own party to withdraw, he suspended his gubernatorial campaign on 12 April.

The following day he announced his resignation from Congress, which took effect on 14 April, ending a House career that began in 2013 when he unseated a 40-year incumbent in an East Bay district. A timeline compiled by KRON4 described it as a 'rapid fall from political power' — from declared candidate for the governorship of the largest US state to private citizen in less than a week.

What the weekend searches signal about the case

The execution of search warrants does not mean charges are imminent, but it does establish several facts about the state of the investigation. To obtain the warrants, prosecutors had to persuade a federal judge that there was probable cause to believe a crime had been committed and that evidence of it would be found on Swalwell's devices and in his home.

That is a materially higher bar than the opening of a preliminary inquiry, and it indicates the Justice Department considers the allegations potentially criminal rather than purely a matter for civil litigation or political accountability. The involvement of warrants in two federal districts — Northern California and the District of Columbia — also suggests coordination across US Attorney's offices.

A test case in a charged political climate

The investigation lands in a fraught political context. Swalwell spent years as a prominent adversary of the current administration, and his defenders have already begun to question whether the Justice Department's pursuit of a former Democratic congressman is proportionate. His accusers and their advocates counter that the allegations were first aired by Democratic activists and reported by mainstream outlets, not manufactured by political opponents.

For the women who came forward in April, the weekend's searches are the first concrete evidence that federal investigators are treating their accounts seriously. For Swalwell, who has denied every allegation, the seizure of his personal devices means the question of what the record shows will now be answered forensically rather than rhetorically.

The devices now hold the case

Investigators will now image and analyse the seized iPhone and MacBook Pro, a process that can take weeks and is frequently followed by further investigative steps — witness interviews, additional subpoenas, and in some cases grand jury proceedings. Any charging decision would rest with federal prosecutors once that analysis is complete.

Swalwell has not been arrested and has not been charged with any crime. He has said consistently since April that he denies all allegations of sexual assault. His legal team had made no detailed public statement on the searches as of Thursday evening, according to CBS News. What happens next will be determined in large part by what, if anything, the two devices contain.

Sources

• CBS News - FBI seizes Swalwell's devices, executes search warrants in sexual misconduct probe
• CNN - FBI raids former Rep. Eric Swalwell's home, seizes devices in probe tied to sexual assault claims
• The Washington Post - Feds seize Eric Swalwell's devices, search home as part of sexual assault inquiry
• The San Francisco Standard - Feds confiscated Eric Swalwell's iPhone and Macbook Pro, document shows
• KRON4 - Timeline: Eric Swalwell's rapid fall from political power