By Helen Coster
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - A fifth woman accused U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct on Tuesday, after the embattled Democratic congressman announced his resignation from the House of Representatives and said he was suspending his campaign for governor of California.
At a press conference at her lawyer's offices in Beverly Hills, California, Lonna Drewes described a 2018 alleged encounter with Swalwell, accusing him of drugging her drink and raping her.
Drewes
said the lawmaker had previously invited her to two public events. The third time they met, she had a glass of wine that she believes he drugged. Drewes claimed that when they stopped at his hotel room, she was already incapacitated and he raped her. At one point, she said, he choked her and she lost consciousness.
"I thought I died, " Drewes said.
She said the incident had a profound effect on her mental health, and that she self-medicated, lost the will to live and cried constantly for years afterward.
"My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt. Fear of his political power,” Drewes said.
A representative for Swalwell, who is married and has three children, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Drewes’ attorney, Lisa Bloom, said that her firm will be filing a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office. The firm will be providing evidence including text messages, journal entries and witness information.
Swalwell, who had been a front-runner for the governorship of the U.S.' most populous state, ended his campaign shortly after The San Francisco Chronicle and CNN reported that a woman who previously worked in Swalwell's district office accused him of two nonconsensual sexual encounters. The woman told CNN that Swalwell raped her during the 2024 encounter in a New York City hotel.
The woman, whom the Chronicle and CNN did not name, was quoted as saying she had been too intoxicated on both occasions to consent, according to the report. The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Saturday confirmed it is investigating the sexual assault allegations.
CNN also reported that three other women made sexual misconduct allegations against Swalwell, who has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2013.
In a statement posted on X Monday, Swalwell apologized to his family, staff and constituents for “mistakes in judgments I’ve made in my past” and vowed to fight “the serious, false allegation” against him.
It was not immediately clear how soon Swalwell's resignation would take effect, but he said he would work with his staff to ensure his constituents are served in his absence.
Swalwell's absence from the gubernatorial race leaves billionaire Tom Steyer and former Representative Katie Porter as the top remaining Democratic candidates to replace Gavin Newsom, who is completing the maximum of two terms.
California has a primary system in which the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party.
(Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; editing by Donna Bryson and Alistair Bell)
