Eric Swalwell resigns from Congress as Rep. Luna warns of criminal probe and 'more disgusting stuff coming'

Rep. Eric Swalwell announced Monday that he would resign from Congress, ending a career defined in recent months not by legislation but by mounting sexual misconduct allegations, and at least one Republican lawmaker says the worst is far from over.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted a series of reactions on X after the resignation, warning that Swalwell could face criminal exposure. She did not mince words about the grounds for the departure or what she expects to follow.

The California Democrat, once a high-profile Trump critic who sat on the House Intelligence Committee, issued a written statement acknowledging "mistakes in judgement" and apologizing for his conduct. But he also pushed back on the most serious accusations, including a claim by an ex-staffer who alleged he raped her. The resignation came as lawmakers from both parties had been weighing an expulsion vote, a step taken only six times in the House's 237-year history, the New York Post reported.

Luna: 'He may go to jail'

Luna's posts left little doubt about where she believes this is headed. In one, she acknowledged the resignation but refused to treat it as a clean exit.

"However, don't you dare say there weren't grounds for your expulsion because there absolutely were."

In a separate post, Luna went further, calling for law enforcement to pick up where the House Ethics Committee's investigation left off. Luna stated on X:

"He made the correct decision, but there still needs to be a full-fledged criminal investigation. Based on what I'm hearing, he may go to jail."

She also signaled that the public has not yet seen the full scope of the allegations. "I am being told there will be more disgusting stuff coming out," Luna wrote. In yet another post, she pressed Swalwell directly: "Eric, why dont you tell us a little about who was filming the video of the female sex worker."

The reference to a video aligns with reports of a recently circulating recording, though the source and provenance of that video remain unclear. No criminal investigation has been formally announced as of the resignation.

Democrats distance themselves

The fallout was not limited to Republicans. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, moved swiftly to put distance between himself and Swalwell. Gallego posted on X:

"I want to be clear: I had no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior against Eric Swalwell."

He added a personal note that read more like a eulogy for a friendship than a defense of a colleague. Gallego wrote: "I trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew."

That kind of statement from a sitting senator in Swalwell's own party tells you everything about how fast the political ground shifted. This was not a case where Democrats rallied around one of their own and accused the other side of a partisan hit job. They ran.

Swalwell's troubles have been compounding for some time. He had already been facing a separate federal investigation before the sexual misconduct allegations consumed his political standing. The Ethics Committee had opened its own inquiry prior to the resignation, and the bipartisan appetite for an expulsion vote was growing.

A career unraveling on multiple fronts

The resignation was not the only exit Swalwell announced. He had also dropped out of the California governor's race just the day before, a campaign that now looks like it was built on a foundation that was already cracking.

A woman claiming to have "serious sexual misconduct" allegations against Swalwell is scheduled to hold a press conference in Beverly Hills. The identity of the woman has not been publicly disclosed. Whether her claims overlap with the ex-staffer's allegations or represent an entirely new front remains to be seen.

The broader pattern on Capitol Hill is hard to ignore. The House Ethics Committee has been busy in recent sessions, and serious findings against Democratic members have become a recurring feature of congressional oversight. The last lawmaker actually expelled from the House was Long Island's GOP former Rep. George Santos in 2023, a move that required overwhelming bipartisan support. Whether Swalwell's resignation spared him a similar fate is now a moot point, but the question of criminal liability is not.

Resignation is not accountability

Luna is right about one thing: resigning from Congress does not make the underlying conduct disappear. A written statement admitting to "mistakes in judgement" is the blandest possible framing for allegations that include sexual assault, predatory behavior, and questions about a recorded encounter with a sex worker.

Swalwell pushed back on the most serious accusation, the rape allegation from a former staffer, but his written statement did not address the full range of claims swirling around him. The gap between the careful language of his apology and the severity of the accusations is wide enough to drive a congressional investigation through.

Congressional accountability has been a growing concern for voters across the spectrum. Lawmakers have faced scrutiny not just for personal conduct but for how institutions respond, or fail to respond, when allegations surface. The push by some in Congress for greater transparency around misconduct and victim hearings reflects a bipartisan frustration with the old practice of letting disgraced members quietly slip away.

And that is exactly what Swalwell appears to be attempting. Step down, issue a vague apology, and hope the news cycle moves on before prosecutors get involved.

Open questions that demand answers

Several critical facts remain unknown. No formal criminal investigation has been announced, despite Luna's call for one. The identity of the woman planning the Beverly Hills press conference has not been disclosed. The provenance of the video Luna referenced, who filmed it, when, and how it began circulating, is still murky.

Swalwell's written statement, beyond the phrase "mistakes in judgement," has not been released in full. His district and the voters he represented deserve more than a carefully lawyered exit. The Ethics Committee investigation that preceded his departure may or may not continue now that he has left office, and it is unclear whether any referral to the Department of Justice was made or is forthcoming.

The internal dynamics among House Democrats in the wake of this resignation also bear watching. Swalwell was not a backbencher. He was a vocal, media-savvy member who spent years positioning himself as a moral authority on matters of governance and oversight. His colleagues now face the uncomfortable question of what they knew, when they knew it, and why the party apparatus did not act sooner.

Gallego's statement, "it is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew", is the kind of line that sounds good on social media but raises its own questions. How close were they? What conversations happened behind closed doors? The senator's denial of any knowledge is on the record. Whether it holds up under further scrutiny is another matter.

The standard that matters

For years, Swalwell built a brand as a crusader for accountability, for other people. He sat on the Intelligence Committee. He lectured the country about fitness for office. He ran for president. Now he leaves Congress under a cloud of allegations so serious that a sitting congresswoman is publicly speculating about prison time.

The House came within striking distance of an expulsion vote. Both parties were weighing it. That alone tells you the evidence was not thin. Swalwell's decision to resign before that vote could take place may have saved him the historic humiliation of being the seventh member expelled, but it does not answer the questions that put him on that path.

Luna says more is coming. A press conference is scheduled. The Ethics Committee file exists. And somewhere, a woman, or women, are waiting to be heard.

Leaving office is not the same as facing consequences. If the facts warrant a criminal investigation, a resignation letter should not be the last word.