Federal agents search Beverly Hills mansion linked to former Congressman Eric Swalwell | Los Angeles

Federal law enforcement agents searched a home in suburban Los Angeles on Tuesday as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations, a law enforcement official and two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

Agents searched the Beverly Hills home of wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the former Democratic congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.

Swalwell has denied any criminal wrongdoing.

Messages seeking comment were left with Swalwell’s attorney and an attorney who represented Cloobeck in another case.

Cloobeck, the founder of timeshare company Diamond Resorts International, told the New York Post in April that he had severed ties with Swalwell as accusations against him mounted.

“I am no longer associated with a man who takes advantage of women,” Cloobeck told the newspaper. “I support women’s rights.”

Tuesday’s search marks the latest escalation in the federal investigation into Swalwell — one of several opened after a woman came forward with allegations that he sexually assaulted her twice, including while she worked for him.

The San Francisco Chronicle, followed by CNN, was the first to report the allegations. CNN also reported that three other women alleged various types of sexual misconduct by Swalwell, including sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

Asked about the search at Cloobeck’s address, an FBI spokeswoman, Lourdes Arocho, said the bureau “early this morning … conducted an operation in the Los Angeles area related to an ongoing criminal investigation.”

“We have no further comment.”

In August, federal agents seized electronic devices from Swalwell at the San Francisco airport and searched his home in Washington, DC.

Swalwell, an Iowa native, was elected in 2012 and represented a House district east of San Francisco. He launched a presidential campaign in April 2019, but ended it a few months later after failing to convince voters.

The seven-term lawmaker had been considered a leading candidate in the California gubernatorial race before dropping out after the allegations surfaced.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it was also investigating Swalwell after a former staffer told CNN and the Chronicle that Swalwell raped her in a hotel while he was in New York for a charity gala in 2024.

In a statement, Bragg’s office encouraged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact” its special victims division.

Los Angeles prosecutors are also reportedly evaluating the charges.

Swalwell was one of Donald Trump’s primary opponents in Congress. He was a senior member of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees during Trump’s first presidency and was one of several Democratic prosecutors for Trump’s second impeachment following the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Swalwell was removed from the Intelligence Committee by U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, in 2023, based on Swalwell’s contact with an alleged Chinese spy, Christine Fang.

Fang was reportedly in contact with Swalwell’s campaign when he was first running for Congress in 2012 and was involved in fundraising for his 2014 campaign.

Federal investigators alerted Swalwell to their concerns and told Congress about Fang in 2015, at which point Swalwell says he cut off all contact with her. He was not accused of wrongdoing, and a House Ethics Committee investigation opened in 2021 ended two years later with no action taken.