Eric Fartwell Forced Out of Gubernatorial Race by Post-Biden-Debate Coordinated Campaign; Apologizes for "Mistakes in Judgment I Have Made in My Life"

He was forced out after Democrats threatened to expel him from Congress if he didn't resign from the race.

Now that he's out of the race, I anticipate them defending him and permitting him to remain in the House. Just like they did with Biden -- they forced him out of a race for tactical and cynical political reasons, but then kept him in office for equally tactical and cynical political reasons.

Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, are expected to face an immediate expulsion threat when the House returns from a two-week recess on Tuesday.

Swalwell, who dropped out of California's 2026 gubernatorial race Sunday, is facing multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations, including at least one involving a former staffer. The Manhattan district attorney's office has also opened a criminal investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred in New York City.

Swalwell has repeatedly characterized the allegations as "false," though he acknowledged a lack of judgment on Sunday. He has pledged to vigorously defend himself.

Politico:

Swalwell suspends governor campaign amid sexual misconduct allegations

His exit came after allies and staffers abandoned him en masse.

...

"I am suspending my campaign for Governor," Swalwell wrote on X on Sunday. "To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I've made in my past."

He wrote, "I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made -- but that's my fight, not a campaign's."

The Democratic congressman's exit completed a stunningly swift collapse for a candidate who had shown signs in recent weeks of pulling ahead of a crowded Democratic field, with prominent interest groups and elected officials beginning to coalesce behind him.

But an ex-staffer's allegation that Swalwell had sexually assaulted her, detailed in a San Francisco Chronicle report and followed by more misconduct allegations in a CNN report, led those allies to abandon Swalwell en masse as high-level staffers departed his campaign.

Swalwell started last week vehemently denying accusations against him as nakedly political attacks on the race's frontrunner. He ended it politically isolated, his top campaign surrogates and prominent endorsers withdrawing their support or urging him to exit the race.

By Friday afternoon, Swalwell's two campaign co-chairs, Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, called on Swalwell to drop out, as did Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement saying the accusations "must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability," and that, "As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign."

Swalwell had come under enormous pressure not only in the governor's race, but in the House, too, where he now is facing calls for his expulsion. Meanwhile, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is investigating allegations that he sexually assaulted a former staffer in a New York City hotel room in April 2024.

I know that some of you object to this political hit based on the fact that there is no actual evidence of rape introduced against him yet, just allegations.

But I cannot help but apply Eric Fartwell's own evidentiary standards against him. Here is Fartwell repeatedly accusing Trump of being an "Agent of Putin," and when asked what the evidence is for this conspiracy theory, he just says "the evidence is right in front of your nose" and "the evidence is hiding in plain sight."

This turned out to be a line cribbed from Adam Schiff: When Schiff claimed he had secret evidence that Trump was a RUSSIAN ASSET, he only meant "you can just tell by looking at him."

So is it right to spare Fartwell by insisting on a higher evidentiary standard than the one he inflicts on whoever he's politically targeting?

I think I agree with the Boromir Principle here: "This is a gift... Why not use the enemy's weapon against him?"

I don't know if using the power of the Ring for one's own purposes works out because I haven't finished LOTR yet. But I'm sure it'll be fine. Why wouldn't it? It's just a Ring after all.

Speaking of Schiff: Here's Schiff endorsing his literal partner in crime just a short time ago.

Note that while the rape charges may or may not be ultimately proven, there is little doubt that he was behaving in a very "sloppy" way, as Black Conservative Perspective judged, sloppily sending his dicpics to any attractive women he came across.

California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell will find himself in more legal crosshairs if he or his team "disparages" one of his accusers of sexual misconduct, her husband warned on Saturday night.

Adam Parkhomenko, who is married to Ally Sammarco, said on social media he wished the congressman's family well and hopes he gets the help he needs.

"But if Eric Swalwell or his attorney makes a single statement that disparages my wife, I will be filing a lawsuit against him," Parkhomenko went on. "I've already made clear that if he believes anything I've said is untrue, he should sue me immediately."

He warned Swalwell "he should be very careful about what he chooses to say" before calling on him to resign from Congress.

...

In a report published by CNN, Sammarco alleged that Swalwell had sent her inappropriate messages on Snapchat in 2021, including unsolicited nudes.

Swalwell would also go for jogs in her neighborhood and ask her to come downstairs from her apartment to chat, she alleged.

"It made me feel gross and uncomfortable," she said of the nudes. "I didn't ask for that."

...

Other accusations made more serious claims, including alleged rape. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office in New York launched an investigation Saturday into the incidents.

"Movin' sloppy," as BCP says.

Nancy Pelosi said she had "no concerns" about Fartwell banging a Chinese spy when she put him on the tip-top secret clearance Intelligence Committee.

Maybe she should have had some concerns. In unverified video, Eric Fartwell supposedly videotaped himself attempting to kiss a woman who was plainly uninterested him, despite her allegedly being a sex worker. The video has been deleted but you might still see it here. The fact that it has been deleted suggests that it's an AI deep fake, but, as Boromir might say, "The evidence we should use the ring is right in front of your nose."

Grok says it looks real...

@grok

Apr 11

Modern AI-generated videos can be virtually indistinguishable from real ones, making definitive determination difficult or impossible from visual inspection alone.

That said, the short clip shows fluid movements, consistent lighting/shadows, natural skin textures, and no obvious artifacts like distorted hands or flickering faces. The man strongly resembles Eric Swalwell. It appears to be authentic footage rather than AI-generated, though external verification (e.g., source metadata or statements from those involved) would be needed for certainty.

But I have no confidence in AI answers about whether something is AI. I asked grok or chatGTP a year ago about very suspicious videos and it assured me they were real. I didn't believe it, and kept re-asking, and with each new answer the AI backed away from its initial confidence and eventually admitted "They're fake."

I think AI is good at figuring out what you want to hear and telling you just that.

OTOH, the Space Nerd Elon Musk thinks the video is real.

But there are other reasons he should never have been placed on the Intelligence Committee: A 2017 FBI report concluded he was guilty of leaking "a lot of leaked information."

Media "reporters" are now all saying "everyone knew" about Sloppy Swalwell but making excuses why they couldn't report the story. One woman says she knew but couldn't "chase down the story" because she was not on the politics beat nor the women's issues beat.

This excuse was so unbelievably bullshit that she deleted that post.

Others are also saying "Everyone knew."

There is talk of expelling not just Fartwell but the Republican who cheated on his wife -- seems less serious than rape -- and the Stronk Empowered Black Woman who embezzled millions of dollars in covid funds to use in her campaign and buy a big diamond ring for herself.

Bipartisan furor over sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is cascading into calls to expel not only him, but three other members -- two Republicans and a Democrat -- accused of wrongdoing.

The dynamic could upend the House in the coming weeks with forced votes, intense debate, and at least one public House Ethics Committee hearing on the books.

Swalwell ended his gubernatorial bid on Sunday after being accused of sexually assaulting a former aide and other instances of misconduct.

Lawmakers calling for his ouster from Congress immediately also pointed to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who admitted he had an affair with a former congressional staffer who later died after setting herself on fire, and is accused of sending sexually explicit messages to a former campaign aide.

Gonzales's affair was reported earlier this year, leading to an Ethics Committee referral and the Texas congressman ending his bid for reelection in March. It is against House rules for a member to have a sexual relationship with a member of their staff.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said over the weekend she will file a motion to expel Swalwell and is inquiring to see if she can pair that with a motion to expel Gonzales. It takes support from two-thirds of the House to expel a member from Congress.

A growing number of Democrats -- including Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) -- have said they would be in favor of expelling both Swalwell and Gonzales. On the Republican side, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) said he would vote to expel both.

But the demands for punishing lawmakers accused of wrongdoing aren't stopping there. Members are also pointing to Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.).

Mills -- whose former girlfriend obtained a restraining order against him last year for harassment, and whose other simultaneous girlfriend accused him of assault before quickly recanting -- is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for allegations of dating violence, campaign finance violations and more.

Happy New Week!

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:06 PM

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