by Ben Whedon
The House Ethics Committee on Monday announced it had opened an investigation into Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., amid allegations of sexual assault.
Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign over the weekend in the face of the allegations, but has adamantly denied wrongdoing.
“I am suspending my campaign for Governor.To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past. I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s,” Swalwell said.
Swalwell would not be able to run as an independent candidate because the filing deadline has passed. An Emerson College poll showed Swalwell as the early leader in the California governor’s race. The poll showed Republican Steve Hilton coming in second place, and Tom Steyer and Chad Bianco coming in third place.
The panel stated that the investigation addressed “allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, including towards an employee working under his supervision,” Politico reported.
Prior to the latest accusations, Swalwell faced longstanding allegations that he had been duped by suspected Chinese operative Christine Fang. The current allegations appear largely unrelated.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
