Sen. Ruben Gallego said his former close friend, Rep. Eric Swalwell, “betrayed” his trust following revelations of sexual assault allegations and denied having any knowledge of the serious accusations lodged against the California Democrat.
“Eric Swalwell lied to all of us — lied to the most powerful people in this country — and they trusted him,” Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, told reporters Tuesday afternoon in his office.
“I fell for it,” Gallego said, adding that Swalwell “became very good at being a predator.”
Swalwell, who served with Gallego in the House, has withdrawn his bid for California governor and announced plans he will resign from Congress following multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
“I let this man into my family … it hurts me that this man hurt a lot of people,” Gallego, who chaired Swalwell’s 2020 presidential campaign, said in emotional remarks where he at times appeared on the verge of tears.
While Gallego conceded he had long heard rumblings that Swalwell was “flirty,” he insisted he was unaware of the severity of the charges being lodged against Swalwell by former staffers — including rape.
“Look, we socialized. We went out. But I never saw him engage in any of the predatory behavior, harassment, sexual assault or even like anything that,” Gallego said. “I’m sorry that we didn’t listen closer.”
He apologized to the victims of Swalwell’s alleged misconduct and pledged to hand over to the authorities electronic communications he had with Swalwell as part of any legal proceedings. Gallego also said revelations about Swalwell have made him reconsider rumors he’d heard previously about sexual transgressions involving elected officials in Washington — and reevaluate occasions where he might have crossed boundaries within his own professional circles.
“I definitely look at the world a different way now,” said Gallego. “I certainly am going to make sure that I’m going to take, you know, personal steps and office steps to make sure that we don’t even get close to a gray line.”
Gallego did not directly address whether his connection to Swalwell would discourage him from potentially pursuing his own presidential bid in 2028.
“Our full consideration is, first of all, what the hell just happened,” he said.
