Disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell — already infamous for his entanglement with a Chinese spy — was caught sneaking out of his wife's Washington home on their 10th wedding anniversary, as Los Angeles prosecutors confirm they are reviewing a criminal rape case against him.
Six months after multiple women accused him of sexual assault, the onetime Democratic rising star has resigned from Congress, abandoned a gubernatorial bid, and gone to ground — emerging only to dodge questions. It's the kind of accountability dodge that defines a capital where insiders get cover and outsiders get the book thrown at them.
The California Post reported that Swalwell, 45, appeared harried just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, attempting to disguise himself in a cap and glasses as he hustled toward a waiting SUV outside the $1.2 million property he once shared with wife Brittany Watts and their three children. A source confirmed Swalwell no longer lives in D.C. and was only there for a fleeting business visit that happened to fall on his anniversary.
The scene was something to behold: Swalwell repeatedly jiggled locked door handles and muttered to the confused driver, who twice asked, "What's going on?" Video shows Swalwell leaning into the passenger side window, then the driver's side, before the back door was finally unlocked. He jumped in and slammed the door.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office confirmed Thursday they are reviewing the case involving Swalwell and Lonna Drewes, a 50-year-old Beverly Hills model who in an April press conference claimed the Democrat drugged, raped, and choked her in his West Hollywood hotel room in 2018. "I thought I died," Drewes said of the alleged attack, which she says occurred while Swalwell's wife was pregnant. Drewes and her attorney Lisa Bloom filed a report with the West Hollywood Sheriff's Department.
Watts, 41, was spotted without her wedding ring in May.
Swalwell's business ventures tell their own story. According to the California Post, he's involved in at least two California companies: Findraiser, an AI campaign tool he used to hit up congressional colleagues for cash, and Scrublin LLC, a media company he formed in July 2025 just before launching his aborted governor campaign.
Swalwell isn't the only member of the Washington class dodging scrutiny right now. Rep. Ilhan Omar has not been seen publicly since Homeland Security Investigations agents raided her D.C. residence Monday as part of a criminal fraud investigation into her immigration paperwork. Her cellphone and passport were reportedly seized.
Fox News reported that Omar's staff helped adjust her birth year from 1981 to 1982 in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library — a potentially critical change. If she was 18 rather than 17 when her father naturalized, the validity of her citizenship could be threatened, since she would no longer have been a minor. That altered birthdate was published throughout her time in the Minnesota House and for months into her congressional tenure.
Her husband, Tim Mynett, told Fox News Digital he has "no concerns" about what authorities will find. "My wife came here when she was 12 years old as a child war refugee," he said. At least two of Omar's relatives, including her sister Sahra Noor, have reportedly been subpoenaed.
Two politicians, two investigations, two people in hiding. The district attorney has yet to say whether Swalwell will face charges. Omar's case is still unfolding. The question isn't whether Washington protects its own — it's whether anyone inside the club ever really pays the price.
