Manhattan DA’s office to investigate Swalwell sexual assault allegation

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York has opened an investigation into a sexual assault allegation against Rep. Eric Swalwell, Democrat of California, NBC News confirmed Saturday.

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Over the past two days, several women have come forward claiming Swalwell sexually assaulted or harassed them while he served in Congress, including one who claimed he assaulted her in New York. Swalwell has denied the allegations.

A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office urged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at 212-335-9373. Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators and counselors are well equipped to assist you in a survivor-centered, trauma-informed manner.”

On Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a woman said she had sex with the congressman while he was her boss and claimed he sexually assaulted her twice while she was too drunk to consent. One of these incidents, according to the woman, took place in New York in 2024.

And later Friday, CNN reported sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell from three other women, including one who said he kissed her without her consent in public and two others who said the congressman sent them unsolicited photos or videos of his penis.

CNN was the first to report the investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

One of the women in the CNN report, Ally Sammarco, told NBC News that she was 24 and trying to find a job on Capitol Hill when she first met Swalwell. She said the congressman invited her to his office in Washington, D.C., to “meet the team,” but when she arrived with his resume, he was there alone.

Sammarco said she communicated with Swalwell via Snapchat. She described the messages as “pretty normal”, but said they had become more flirtatious. After they met at his office, Sammarco said he began sending photos of himself, including a photo of his penis that she said was “totally unsolicited.”

Sammarco said Swalwell also started jogging around her neighborhood and would ask her to come down to chat when he passed her apartment.

“I thought I was the only one who had this experience with him,” she said in an interview. “These people have authority, and they’re abusing it…I want to validate what these women are saying, and I feel like he needs a public decision one way or another, otherwise he’s just going to keep doing it.”

Swalwell’s office and campaign did not respond to requests for comment on the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation or Sammarco’s account. He denied all allegations of misconduct in a statement to CNN, calling them “false.”

NBC News has not independently corroborated the other women’s stories.

Swalwell denied the sexual assault allegations in a video posted to

The articles from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle were published just weeks before California voters began voting in the state’s gubernatorial primary, where Swalwell was a leading candidate among a crowded field of Democrats that included former Rep. Katie Porter, businessman Tom Steyer and former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.

On Friday and Saturday, several prominent figures and groups reversed their previous support for Swalwell, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

Democratic leaders in the House, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Democrat of Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, Democrat of California, on Friday called the allegations against Swalwell “troubling” and urged him to “immediately end his campaign to become California’s next governor.”

Swalwell’s senior staff, both for her congressional office and her gubernatorial campaign, said in a statement Saturday that they were “horrified” by the allegations in the CNN and Chronicle reports and “stand with our former colleague and the other women who have come forward.”

Senior managers wrote that they are working to provide support to their colleagues, who may not have the option to leave their positions and lose their income and benefits.

“Any decision by staff members to continue in their roles on an interim basis should not be viewed as support for Eric Swalwell,” the statement said.

“We, more than he, understand that we have obligations to the people we lead and to the voters of California’s 14th Congressional District. Those of us who remain on staff do so for the sole purpose of ensuring that as many of those obligations as possible are met,” the statement concluded.

On Saturday, two Republican lawmakers pledged to seek sanctions against Swalwell following the sexual assault allegations.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said in an article on X that she plans to force a floor vote this week on a resolution to censure Swalwell, which would require a simple majority to pass.

And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said in an article on X that she plans to introduce a resolution to expel Swalwell from Congress. This resolution would have a higher threshold for adoption, with two-thirds of the chamber having to vote in favor.