Eric Swalwell resigned from the House, but didn't take full responsibility for his behavior, and also played the victim on the prospect of an expulsion vote from the House.
He says he didn't do anything wrong, so I'm a bit confused. What responsibility should he take for behavior he says he didn't do? But I'm glad he did resign to spare the country, the state and the party from a godawful circus.
I’m probably gonna get a lot of pushback from this. I know that women, myself included, have been victims of sexual abuse by men since the dawn of human civilization. The men have almost always gotten away with it. And most women don’t make these accusations lightly. But when the circumstances are “he said she said” at least at first, I guess I wonder why sexual assault is the only crime in which men are guilty unless proven innocent. I do think he should stop his run for Governor, because he’s under investigation for a serious crime, and he’s become a distraction. I think he should be investigated by the House regarding the crimes he’s been accused of and be allowed to defend himself before losing his seat. The pendulum has swung so far in favor of accusers these days that little proof is needed before publicly accusing someone of sexual assault. After all, this woman did stay as an employee and possibly in a relationship with him for several years, and then became involved with him again, apparently. So it’s not as cut and dried as it appears. It’s definitely an imbalance of power and he made, at the very least, a terrible error in judgment by getting involved with her for a multitude of reasons. I dunno, I still think we’re tarring and feathering the guy before he’s had a chance to defend himself. Y’all keep saying “alleged”, but the truth is that everyone has decided 💯 that he’s guilty of rape. I think the truth may be a little less black and white. Either way, he’s likely a scumbag for engaging in a relationship with a staffer. But that doesn’t mean he raped her. What if they were both completely shitfaced and had sex? Women want to be treated as equals, rightly so, but we want to be protected in a way that men are not when it comes to these situations. I happen to know a couple of men who were falsely accused of rape, and the only way they were able to prove it was because the women admitted they had lied for various reasons. Don’t equate this with women being encouraged to shut up for fear of wrecking some spoiled rich preppy guy’s future. There are very occasional circumstances where women do lie or mislead about particular accusations for whatever reason, Not often, but it happens. It’s almost considered blasphemous to say so. And the statistics that say that women rarely lie about sexual assault only count as a lie situations where the women admitted the lie or were somehow proven to be lying. It’s notoriously hard to prove you didn’t do something like a sexual assault, that the woman was a willing participant, or that it never happened. Those cases never are counted. I say let the guy be brought up on charges and have him go through a trial. It is, after all, a crime she’s accusing him of. If he’s found guilty he would obviously have to resign. Unless there’s a tremendous amount of evidence, or he admits that he did it, I’m not sure he should resign. In the meantime, if he’s found guilty loses his seat in the midterms that’s fair. Whatever happened, he definitely fell short of his oath of office and I actually wouldn’t vote for him given that he clearly, at the very least, made some terrible decisions.
He sent explicit messages and dick pics. I believe he is credibly accused - which, obviously, doesn't mean guilty. The thing is - he's losing a government job, not his freedom. Justice moves very slowly, and often claims are settled out of court. We should have only the best candidates on the ballot to choose from. Someone who is credibly accused of sexual assault/rape shouldn't be a candidate for public office, and should not remain in public office.
When I first wrote this I wasn’t aware of this and some of the other details. My bad. 😖 If there’s proof of even some of these allegations, even the pics, yeah, he’s probably toast, and rightly so. Yecch. So tired of believing in the good guys who have such promising leadership positions who we place our trust in, who wind up being such hypocritical jackasses. They live a lie, and it’s impossible to trust them anymore or know who is an actual good guy vs. a pathological narcissist. I think they do more damage to us than the blatant creeps. I don’t understand for the life of me why so many men are so willing to throw everything away; not just for themselves and their families, but for everyone else who has placed their trust in them. They’re arrogant and foolish to think they can get away with this shit. More importantly, they should not be destroying people’s lives, including their own, their family’s and the lives of their victims. It’s just wrong, and makes everything they profess to believe in a lie. Pride goeth before a fall, I guess. I should’ve probably waited for things to unfold a little bit more before posting my original post. That said, he’s entitled to his day in court. And yes, he should resign at this point unless it’s all hearsay.
One thing that’s always struck me, though, is how women often seem to wait until the guy is running for some office before exposing him. Yes, I get that it’s hard to come forward, as we have a tendency to attack women who do, and yes, I understand the wanting to stop him from ascending to an even more powerful position and just wanting to stop him. I even understand the feeling of wanting revenge, or justice, or whatever. I think I just answered my own question. I totally believed Anita Hill, and remember even as a very young person how much men ridiculed and shamed her regarding Clarence Thomas. Even Joe Biden. We haven’t come a lot further than that since then, unfortunately.
I thought he was a great guy too. It is so disheartening and scary knowing we really don't know anybody like we think we do - like we need to. We need to believe there are "good guys (and gals)" or it all just seems hopeless.
…this country is horrible, the whole culture fucking stinks, bigoted misogynistic and deeply christian patriarchy
…”A significant number of reported rape cases are not investigated, with some cases deemed "unfounded" by police due to skepticism, bias, and the application of "rape myths," rather than a lack of evidence. While many victims do not report, police skepticism and victim-blaming attitudes can cause cases to be dismissed without thorough investigation, leading to low prosecution rates”
You do understand that you are applying statistics to a matter that is unrelated? When you do this, you diminish the separate issue of police inaction and due process for rape victims.
Have some courage and take on the seperate issue of women being denied due process of sexual assaultwhen it matters. The Congress member showed bad judgement so I'm glad he's gone. However, it's very dangerous to pass judgement without the facts and deny due process.
In fact, this would not be an issue if the woman did not get in bed with a married man. In fact, she does not know who is the cause of her "different" feeling private parts. In fact, her actions created a compromised Congressmember. Her unethical affair created job security. These are the facts. No wonder she didn't come forward before now.
Let's be real. If Eric was your son, you would say that the woman remembers nothing, except Eric had made sexal advances previously and she went back to his room and got in bed with him.
So please do not confuse the wrong action of two unethical, morally challenged concerning adults with the completely separate issue of women being denied due process for rape and sexual assault.
…”unrelated”?! …”statistics”? …those are real people, what the fuck are you talking about ? …it’s a CULTURE, you have absolutely no say on this bro, i am talking about victims who never come to tell this to anyone much less seek help from the fucking police, you think you know what you’re saying because you think as privileged, i didn’t even touch the his case and never mentioned his name, i don’t even know where to start on how wrong you are, it’s not about “due process” it’s about culture and attitude and trusting the victim, your patronizing tone says it all buddy
So the problem is not sexual assault victims who are denied due process? You believe the is a "culture" and "attitude" and "trusting the (alleged) victim problem?"
So you want to change the "culture" so that all alleged victims are believed? The problem with this is that justice is denied when fairness for both sides is denied. Maybe you should consider US history and sexual assault allegations?
You want to go back to the slavery and segregation days when a white woman told police that a black man said something to her or touched her, the police believed her and jailed, tortured or killed the man? I see the culture you want for alleged female victims. Thankfully, the justice system has a minimum of procedures to prevent the "culture" of believing women, irregardless of the facts, that you promote. I see the white "privilege" process that you long for. Who's acting like a privledged "bro" now?
You have an unsourced statistic that you are applying to any "he said she said" situation. That's wrong. I'm saying every case should be heard and treated fairly for both sides. You appear to believe every woman's statement should be believed, no matter how far-fetched the facts are. Good luck with that. Perhaps you side with justice and advocate for fair processing and due process, rather using a biased, unsourced statistic to strengthen all alleged actions?
Do you really think that if police believed all allegations from women, regardless of the facts, women would be safer? This is the solution you advocate so that more women come forward with allegations? Yeah, I guess more women would come forward if they were not subject to cross-examination.
What if a scorned woman abuses the process? You did know that it has happened in the past? Minority men were jailed or hanged. Sorry this is the culture you want. Of course you will deny that. But should admit that just believing alleged victims without the facts has a bad past in the history of US justice.
Yes, your unsourced and likely biased statistic is unsettling. The problem is some women are denied due process, not that all* women are not believed. I can assure you that "political hit jobs" happen. Sorry if think that we need a culture that believes one side, rather than a culture that's fair to both sides. That's very bro if you.
To me, this timing and this tale smells like Iran Contra, Whitewater, Swiftboat, Obama's Birth Certificate, Hillary's Emails, Al Franken and Sleepy Joe "media chum outrage baiting." Again!
Donald tRump, Melania tRump, Ghislaine Maxwell, Pam Bondi, RFK Jr, Pete Hegseth, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Howard Lutnick, Ron Eppenger, Matt Gaetz, and maga in general are SO HAPPY about the Eric Swalwell Show right now.
So sure, let's trust billionaire Pat Shiong, that owns the LA Times AND the San Diego Union-Tribune for his "honesty and integrity in news" since he is such a great pharmacists.
And you really believe that Women haven't offered up shots of Tequilla then slipped younger Men half a Quaack or a Mandy? All for twelve hours of sexual debauchery? Please. When you turn 18 you are an adult, and when you turn 21 you can legally get drunk. Humanity is full of "poor judgement" tales.
I’m reminded of the resignation of Senator Al Franken when accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. Similarly, he resigned shortly after the accusation. Eric Swalwell, like Franken, didn’t deny or challenge the charges. I can’t help but wonder why he is being pilloried, as was Franken, when our Republican friends fought such accusations with a ferocity, and until the end, proclaimed innocence. I make no judgment about either man’s innocence or guilt. I can think only of the behavior we have been forced to accept when there’s a huge “R” on the forehead instead of a “D”.
You're right. I'm most disappointed by Reps who deny anyone, including other reps, due process. IMO, all Reps should not comment except to say that they support an ethics investigation.
Let’s not forget that Dump hates Swalwell and sicced his corrupt DOJ on him with bogus mortgage fraud charges last November (same charges as Leticia James and Adam Schiff). Guilty or not, this all stinks.
Obviously, it shouldn't matter whether it's a D or R. But just because RepubliKKKcons won't hold their own responsible, doesn't mean dems should allow theirs to slide.
I am really blindsided by this. He's been a good Rep, and every time I've heard him on a talk show, he's home with his little kids & seemed very natural and dedicated to his wife & family... I see Kevin McCarthy dumped on him, lumping him in with Matt Gaetz, but McCarthy hates Gaetz & may just have a grudge with Swalwell over J6 and sees a chance to stick it... I saw somewhere that Roger Stone is involved, and that the main accuser is a " former" MAGA influencer so I guess we'll have to sit this out and see what shakes out. It's good that he quit -
Why are you being so hard on a Democrat!.. No one is hard on Trump and he came back people knowing what he did !.. he got convicted of RAP it was proven in court and he still ended up being President!.. the Republicans can just get away with everything..😡😡no questions asked!!
Definitely don’t condone the behavior, but he has shown better character than Trump and his Admin. Let’s ask Trump why he doesn’t resign like is expected.
Trump was accused of sexual assault by 29 women and actually convicted of sexual assault in a court of law. Why is he not also being asked to step down too?
he has been, he doesn't care ... the Rs aren't going to ask him to or make him because he's doing everything they want and he's not going to step down because his corruption in the WH is making him billions of dollars and keeping him out of prison. so, asking him to step down won't accomplish anything, the vile shits on the right never should have voted for him as it is and J6 should have kept him from even being able to run again ... shows you how broken our country is
Wow what ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? all accusations, he hasn't been arrested and if she was raped in 2019 why hook up with him again in 2024. Cheated on his wife yes but the president has does worse. Time will tell his story...I prefer the wait and see route. Oh and if you are going on CNN to accuse a sitting rep of sexual abuse show your face!
I've been wondering if it's a political hitjob/setup too because trump fears Swalwell ... but it's so difficult because so many women would choose the bear over the man because they have been sexually abused/assaulted/etc ... I can't help but wonder if part of it too is the fact that we're supposed to be better than Rs and we know that MAGA doesn't care how vile their elected officials are, including rape/pedophilia/corruption/etc and we're supposed to be better than that, so something like this was bound to have so many ppl say he has to go, otherwise we know what we'll hear from the right, they're straight on hypocrites ... always have been, always will be. I remember when that woman tried to accuse Biden of such things (inappropriate touching and such) and came out she was lying ... and then he's also from a generation that would put their hand on a woman's shoulder or back and think nothing of it and not mean it in a sexual way but with so much assault and abuse women have gone through for generations, it's turned into any little thing that doesn't mean anything to one person can turn into something bad and possibly job loseability ... we seem to have gone from one extreme to another. If you get touched on the shoulder and feel uncomfortable and you tell the person and they continue, I can see that as an issue. Anyway, I felt strange vibes from him when I went to a local town hall he put on a little while back where I live ... not that kind of strange vibe, but still one that didn't feel comfortable to me. Anyway, we still have some good Dems running for governor of CA, we just have to make sure we get at least one of them on the ballot and get someone in his seat in congress. I'm not saying anyone has lied about him where this is concerned, but ppl have had their reputations tarnished for good because of lies spread about them and false accusations. It's a damn shame we live in a world where you can't trust what ppl tell you and you really can't trust anything coming from the right (and I wouldn't put it past them to pay someone to lie ... I still remember when Pete was one of those trying to get the pick as the Dem Presidential candidate how it came out that someone from the right tried to pay someone to say they were sexually assaulted by Pete ... so yeah, I don't put anything past the right).
Doing a fact check of all the allegations against Eric Swalwell over his 16 year career as a public servant: one woman has accused him of sexual assault, one woman has accused him of unwanted physical contact/inappropriate touching, and two women have accused him of unsolicited explicit messaging (nude photos, explicit videos, graphic messages).
Yes, take all allegations seriously. But I am withholding judgment until this is fully investigated. Swalwell appears to have been proven guilty by the court of public opinion. If the same standards were applied to a place of employment, any man could be fired by allegations of misconduct without further questions.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states to justify firing, the employer should ideally demonstrate that the alleged conduct makes you unfit for your specific job. The EEOC encourages employers to consider the nature and gravity of the offense, the time passed, and the nature of the job before making a decision.
Most employees are "at will" employees and can be fired for pretty much any reason, or no reason at all. For so much as sexual harassment (unsolicited dick pics) - nevermind rape - it's good fucking bye. That shit can come back to bite the employer - and should, if the employer doesn't handle it swiftly and appropriately.
Related: Under threat of expulsion, TX Congressman Gonzales is also finally resigning. Let's hope this trend continues, across parties and at all levels.
Democrats always force resignation on claims like this. The accused may be innocent of charges but they need independence to work their investigations.
The important work of the Democrats in congress isn’t stopping and should not be hampered.
I read somewhere the Republicans were planning to use this as a loaded gun in Oct so its better in came out sooner rather than later. If that is the case we owe a debt of gratitude to these women for coming forward when they did
This is possible, but as a Californian, I am fretting about our June 2 primary. In the governor’s race, the top two vote-getters advance to the November election. Swalwell was leading in recent polling, followed closely by the two Republicans. The remaining Democrats (Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Javier Becerra and a few others) were trailing. Now that Swalwell has dropped out, we may end up with two Republicans on the November ballot: Steve Hilton (Trump-endorsed former Faux News host) and Chad Bianco (lunatic Riverside County sheriff). Talk about a nightmare scenario for the Golden State!
Believe me, that's my worry too ... if that happens, CA is going to be destroyed as they let trump do anything he wants to CA because trump hates CA ... probably not more than we hate him.
Yes. Our primary system is bizarre. To quote Californian Robert Hubbell in his Today’s Edition Newsletter this morning:
“I am upset that the eight major Democratic candidates were putting their own interests before those of the people of California. Because of California’s ‘jungle primary,’ the top two finishers advance to the general election. The proliferation of Democratic candidates raised the real possibility that two Republicans would advance to the general election, ensuring that Democrats would be locked out of the governor’s race in a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly 20 percentage points — with 45 percent of registered voters identifying as Democrats compared to just 25 percent as Republicans.
The right thing for those eight candidates to do would have been to look in the mirror and ask themselves whether their personal ambitions outweigh the interests of the largest voting bloc in California. Every one of the major candidates should have done that—Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Betty Yee, and Tony Thurmond.
It is not too late for the ‘vote splitters’ to drop out. They should do so this week.
It is time for the Democratic field to clear itself in California. Candidates with a realistic chance of making it to the top two in the primary should remain in the race in good faith. Otherwise, get out, now—please! And if any of those candidates are sitting on time bombs like the one concealed by Eric Swalwell, a moment of deep self-reflection is in order. The truth will out—at the worst time possible. Please don’t pull an Eric Swalwell on the people of California. We deserve better.”
Geez - I hope the are some big enough to step aside for the greater good. I know Katie Porter has been shown to lose her temper, but she knows her shit. There's a double standard there too. Men get a pass for getting shitty with people. Women get thrown under the bus. I don't know much about the other candidates. I hope it works out the way it should.
Ugh. The deadline to remove Swalwell's name from the June ballot has passed. People can still vote for him in the primary, which creates further chaos for Democrats.
Good one. Still can’t forgive her railroading Franken. She needs to be voted out and he needs to run again. He was an intelligent, thoughtful, rational and effective senator.
There is a saying that "boys will be boys". well these boys grupup yo be men, and show their disrepect for women as human being with the right to their own bodys. They thinkt they have the right to womens bodys regardless of what the women want or in this case do not want.
Dems need to distance themselves from odious behavior, period. He has no “right” to be in Congress; it’s up 🔝 to his constituents in the East Bay. Optics matter.
He says he didn't do anything wrong, so I'm a bit confused. What responsibility should he take for behavior he says he didn't do? But I'm glad he did resign to spare the country, the state and the party from a godawful circus.
I’m probably gonna get a lot of pushback from this. I know that women, myself included, have been victims of sexual abuse by men since the dawn of human civilization. The men have almost always gotten away with it. And most women don’t make these accusations lightly. But when the circumstances are “he said she said” at least at first, I guess I wonder why sexual assault is the only crime in which men are guilty unless proven innocent. I do think he should stop his run for Governor, because he’s under investigation for a serious crime, and he’s become a distraction. I think he should be investigated by the House regarding the crimes he’s been accused of and be allowed to defend himself before losing his seat. The pendulum has swung so far in favor of accusers these days that little proof is needed before publicly accusing someone of sexual assault. After all, this woman did stay as an employee and possibly in a relationship with him for several years, and then became involved with him again, apparently. So it’s not as cut and dried as it appears. It’s definitely an imbalance of power and he made, at the very least, a terrible error in judgment by getting involved with her for a multitude of reasons. I dunno, I still think we’re tarring and feathering the guy before he’s had a chance to defend himself. Y’all keep saying “alleged”, but the truth is that everyone has decided 💯 that he’s guilty of rape. I think the truth may be a little less black and white. Either way, he’s likely a scumbag for engaging in a relationship with a staffer. But that doesn’t mean he raped her. What if they were both completely shitfaced and had sex? Women want to be treated as equals, rightly so, but we want to be protected in a way that men are not when it comes to these situations. I happen to know a couple of men who were falsely accused of rape, and the only way they were able to prove it was because the women admitted they had lied for various reasons. Don’t equate this with women being encouraged to shut up for fear of wrecking some spoiled rich preppy guy’s future. There are very occasional circumstances where women do lie or mislead about particular accusations for whatever reason, Not often, but it happens. It’s almost considered blasphemous to say so. And the statistics that say that women rarely lie about sexual assault only count as a lie situations where the women admitted the lie or were somehow proven to be lying. It’s notoriously hard to prove you didn’t do something like a sexual assault, that the woman was a willing participant, or that it never happened. Those cases never are counted. I say let the guy be brought up on charges and have him go through a trial. It is, after all, a crime she’s accusing him of. If he’s found guilty he would obviously have to resign. Unless there’s a tremendous amount of evidence, or he admits that he did it, I’m not sure he should resign. In the meantime, if he’s found guilty loses his seat in the midterms that’s fair. Whatever happened, he definitely fell short of his oath of office and I actually wouldn’t vote for him given that he clearly, at the very least, made some terrible decisions.
He sent explicit messages and dick pics. I believe he is credibly accused - which, obviously, doesn't mean guilty. The thing is - he's losing a government job, not his freedom. Justice moves very slowly, and often claims are settled out of court. We should have only the best candidates on the ballot to choose from. Someone who is credibly accused of sexual assault/rape shouldn't be a candidate for public office, and should not remain in public office.
When I first wrote this I wasn’t aware of this and some of the other details. My bad. 😖 If there’s proof of even some of these allegations, even the pics, yeah, he’s probably toast, and rightly so. Yecch. So tired of believing in the good guys who have such promising leadership positions who we place our trust in, who wind up being such hypocritical jackasses. They live a lie, and it’s impossible to trust them anymore or know who is an actual good guy vs. a pathological narcissist. I think they do more damage to us than the blatant creeps. I don’t understand for the life of me why so many men are so willing to throw everything away; not just for themselves and their families, but for everyone else who has placed their trust in them. They’re arrogant and foolish to think they can get away with this shit. More importantly, they should not be destroying people’s lives, including their own, their family’s and the lives of their victims. It’s just wrong, and makes everything they profess to believe in a lie. Pride goeth before a fall, I guess. I should’ve probably waited for things to unfold a little bit more before posting my original post. That said, he’s entitled to his day in court. And yes, he should resign at this point unless it’s all hearsay.
One thing that’s always struck me, though, is how women often seem to wait until the guy is running for some office before exposing him. Yes, I get that it’s hard to come forward, as we have a tendency to attack women who do, and yes, I understand the wanting to stop him from ascending to an even more powerful position and just wanting to stop him. I even understand the feeling of wanting revenge, or justice, or whatever. I think I just answered my own question. I totally believed Anita Hill, and remember even as a very young person how much men ridiculed and shamed her regarding Clarence Thomas. Even Joe Biden. We haven’t come a lot further than that since then, unfortunately.
I thought he was a great guy too. It is so disheartening and scary knowing we really don't know anybody like we think we do - like we need to. We need to believe there are "good guys (and gals)" or it all just seems hopeless.
…a hundred percent
Spot on, sister Kit. Thank you. 🌹
…this country is horrible, the whole culture fucking stinks, bigoted misogynistic and deeply christian patriarchy
…”A significant number of reported rape cases are not investigated, with some cases deemed "unfounded" by police due to skepticism, bias, and the application of "rape myths," rather than a lack of evidence. While many victims do not report, police skepticism and victim-blaming attitudes can cause cases to be dismissed without thorough investigation, leading to low prosecution rates”
https://theuptake.org/most-sexual-assaults-go-unreported-unsolved-unpunished/
You do understand that you are applying statistics to a matter that is unrelated? When you do this, you diminish the separate issue of police inaction and due process for rape victims.
Have some courage and take on the seperate issue of women being denied due process of sexual assaultwhen it matters. The Congress member showed bad judgement so I'm glad he's gone. However, it's very dangerous to pass judgement without the facts and deny due process.
In fact, this would not be an issue if the woman did not get in bed with a married man. In fact, she does not know who is the cause of her "different" feeling private parts. In fact, her actions created a compromised Congressmember. Her unethical affair created job security. These are the facts. No wonder she didn't come forward before now.
Let's be real. If Eric was your son, you would say that the woman remembers nothing, except Eric had made sexal advances previously and she went back to his room and got in bed with him.
So please do not confuse the wrong action of two unethical, morally challenged concerning adults with the completely separate issue of women being denied due process for rape and sexual assault.
…”unrelated”?! …”statistics”? …those are real people, what the fuck are you talking about ? …it’s a CULTURE, you have absolutely no say on this bro, i am talking about victims who never come to tell this to anyone much less seek help from the fucking police, you think you know what you’re saying because you think as privileged, i didn’t even touch the his case and never mentioned his name, i don’t even know where to start on how wrong you are, it’s not about “due process” it’s about culture and attitude and trusting the victim, your patronizing tone says it all buddy
So the problem is not sexual assault victims who are denied due process? You believe the is a "culture" and "attitude" and "trusting the (alleged) victim problem?"
So you want to change the "culture" so that all alleged victims are believed? The problem with this is that justice is denied when fairness for both sides is denied. Maybe you should consider US history and sexual assault allegations?
You want to go back to the slavery and segregation days when a white woman told police that a black man said something to her or touched her, the police believed her and jailed, tortured or killed the man? I see the culture you want for alleged female victims. Thankfully, the justice system has a minimum of procedures to prevent the "culture" of believing women, irregardless of the facts, that you promote. I see the white "privilege" process that you long for. Who's acting like a privledged "bro" now?
You have an unsourced statistic that you are applying to any "he said she said" situation. That's wrong. I'm saying every case should be heard and treated fairly for both sides. You appear to believe every woman's statement should be believed, no matter how far-fetched the facts are. Good luck with that. Perhaps you side with justice and advocate for fair processing and due process, rather using a biased, unsourced statistic to strengthen all alleged actions?
Do you really think that if police believed all allegations from women, regardless of the facts, women would be safer? This is the solution you advocate so that more women come forward with allegations? Yeah, I guess more women would come forward if they were not subject to cross-examination.
What if a scorned woman abuses the process? You did know that it has happened in the past? Minority men were jailed or hanged. Sorry this is the culture you want. Of course you will deny that. But should admit that just believing alleged victims without the facts has a bad past in the history of US justice.
Yes, your unsourced and likely biased statistic is unsettling. The problem is some women are denied due process, not that all* women are not believed. I can assure you that "political hit jobs" happen. Sorry if think that we need a culture that believes one side, rather than a culture that's fair to both sides. That's very bro if you.
To me, this timing and this tale smells like Iran Contra, Whitewater, Swiftboat, Obama's Birth Certificate, Hillary's Emails, Al Franken and Sleepy Joe "media chum outrage baiting." Again!
Donald tRump, Melania tRump, Ghislaine Maxwell, Pam Bondi, RFK Jr, Pete Hegseth, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Howard Lutnick, Ron Eppenger, Matt Gaetz, and maga in general are SO HAPPY about the Eric Swalwell Show right now.
So sure, let's trust billionaire Pat Shiong, that owns the LA Times AND the San Diego Union-Tribune for his "honesty and integrity in news" since he is such a great pharmacists.
And you really believe that Women haven't offered up shots of Tequilla then slipped younger Men half a Quaack or a Mandy? All for twelve hours of sexual debauchery? Please. When you turn 18 you are an adult, and when you turn 21 you can legally get drunk. Humanity is full of "poor judgement" tales.
I’m reminded of the resignation of Senator Al Franken when accused of inappropriate sexual behavior. Similarly, he resigned shortly after the accusation. Eric Swalwell, like Franken, didn’t deny or challenge the charges. I can’t help but wonder why he is being pilloried, as was Franken, when our Republican friends fought such accusations with a ferocity, and until the end, proclaimed innocence. I make no judgment about either man’s innocence or guilt. I can think only of the behavior we have been forced to accept when there’s a huge “R” on the forehead instead of a “D”.
He did not resign, he was forced to without any desire for due process of any kind.
You're right. I'm most disappointed by Reps who deny anyone, including other reps, due process. IMO, all Reps should not comment except to say that they support an ethics investigation.
All I hear is accusations. There has been no proof of any of the charges at this point.
It looks like a political hit job at this point without any evidence.
Let’s not forget that Dump hates Swalwell and sicced his corrupt DOJ on him with bogus mortgage fraud charges last November (same charges as Leticia James and Adam Schiff). Guilty or not, this all stinks.
Obviously, it shouldn't matter whether it's a D or R. But just because RepubliKKKcons won't hold their own responsible, doesn't mean dems should allow theirs to slide.
I am really blindsided by this. He's been a good Rep, and every time I've heard him on a talk show, he's home with his little kids & seemed very natural and dedicated to his wife & family... I see Kevin McCarthy dumped on him, lumping him in with Matt Gaetz, but McCarthy hates Gaetz & may just have a grudge with Swalwell over J6 and sees a chance to stick it... I saw somewhere that Roger Stone is involved, and that the main accuser is a " former" MAGA influencer so I guess we'll have to sit this out and see what shakes out. It's good that he quit -
Why are you being so hard on a Democrat!.. No one is hard on Trump and he came back people knowing what he did !.. he got convicted of RAP it was proven in court and he still ended up being President!.. the Republicans can just get away with everything..😡😡no questions asked!!
Definitely don’t condone the behavior, but he has shown better character than Trump and his Admin. Let’s ask Trump why he doesn’t resign like is expected.
Trump was accused of sexual assault by 29 women and actually convicted of sexual assault in a court of law. Why is he not also being asked to step down too?
he has been, he doesn't care ... the Rs aren't going to ask him to or make him because he's doing everything they want and he's not going to step down because his corruption in the WH is making him billions of dollars and keeping him out of prison. so, asking him to step down won't accomplish anything, the vile shits on the right never should have voted for him as it is and J6 should have kept him from even being able to run again ... shows you how broken our country is
Wow what ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? all accusations, he hasn't been arrested and if she was raped in 2019 why hook up with him again in 2024. Cheated on his wife yes but the president has does worse. Time will tell his story...I prefer the wait and see route. Oh and if you are going on CNN to accuse a sitting rep of sexual abuse show your face!
I've been wondering if it's a political hitjob/setup too because trump fears Swalwell ... but it's so difficult because so many women would choose the bear over the man because they have been sexually abused/assaulted/etc ... I can't help but wonder if part of it too is the fact that we're supposed to be better than Rs and we know that MAGA doesn't care how vile their elected officials are, including rape/pedophilia/corruption/etc and we're supposed to be better than that, so something like this was bound to have so many ppl say he has to go, otherwise we know what we'll hear from the right, they're straight on hypocrites ... always have been, always will be. I remember when that woman tried to accuse Biden of such things (inappropriate touching and such) and came out she was lying ... and then he's also from a generation that would put their hand on a woman's shoulder or back and think nothing of it and not mean it in a sexual way but with so much assault and abuse women have gone through for generations, it's turned into any little thing that doesn't mean anything to one person can turn into something bad and possibly job loseability ... we seem to have gone from one extreme to another. If you get touched on the shoulder and feel uncomfortable and you tell the person and they continue, I can see that as an issue. Anyway, I felt strange vibes from him when I went to a local town hall he put on a little while back where I live ... not that kind of strange vibe, but still one that didn't feel comfortable to me. Anyway, we still have some good Dems running for governor of CA, we just have to make sure we get at least one of them on the ballot and get someone in his seat in congress. I'm not saying anyone has lied about him where this is concerned, but ppl have had their reputations tarnished for good because of lies spread about them and false accusations. It's a damn shame we live in a world where you can't trust what ppl tell you and you really can't trust anything coming from the right (and I wouldn't put it past them to pay someone to lie ... I still remember when Pete was one of those trying to get the pick as the Dem Presidential candidate how it came out that someone from the right tried to pay someone to say they were sexually assaulted by Pete ... so yeah, I don't put anything past the right).
Doing a fact check of all the allegations against Eric Swalwell over his 16 year career as a public servant: one woman has accused him of sexual assault, one woman has accused him of unwanted physical contact/inappropriate touching, and two women have accused him of unsolicited explicit messaging (nude photos, explicit videos, graphic messages).
Yes, take all allegations seriously. But I am withholding judgment until this is fully investigated. Swalwell appears to have been proven guilty by the court of public opinion. If the same standards were applied to a place of employment, any man could be fired by allegations of misconduct without further questions.
Your employer CAN fire you for being accused of a crime.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states to justify firing, the employer should ideally demonstrate that the alleged conduct makes you unfit for your specific job. The EEOC encourages employers to consider the nature and gravity of the offense, the time passed, and the nature of the job before making a decision.
Most employees are "at will" employees and can be fired for pretty much any reason, or no reason at all. For so much as sexual harassment (unsolicited dick pics) - nevermind rape - it's good fucking bye. That shit can come back to bite the employer - and should, if the employer doesn't handle it swiftly and appropriately.
Related: Under threat of expulsion, TX Congressman Gonzales is also finally resigning. Let's hope this trend continues, across parties and at all levels.
Democrats always force resignation on claims like this. The accused may be innocent of charges but they need independence to work their investigations.
The important work of the Democrats in congress isn’t stopping and should not be hampered.
I read somewhere the Republicans were planning to use this as a loaded gun in Oct so its better in came out sooner rather than later. If that is the case we owe a debt of gratitude to these women for coming forward when they did
This is possible, but as a Californian, I am fretting about our June 2 primary. In the governor’s race, the top two vote-getters advance to the November election. Swalwell was leading in recent polling, followed closely by the two Republicans. The remaining Democrats (Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Javier Becerra and a few others) were trailing. Now that Swalwell has dropped out, we may end up with two Republicans on the November ballot: Steve Hilton (Trump-endorsed former Faux News host) and Chad Bianco (lunatic Riverside County sheriff). Talk about a nightmare scenario for the Golden State!
Believe me, that's my worry too ... if that happens, CA is going to be destroyed as they let trump do anything he wants to CA because trump hates CA ... probably not more than we hate him.
Don’t talk dirty. I am pulling for Porter to be the candidate.
Unfortunately, Katie has a reputation for being nasty to her staff and reporters.
There will not be two republicons on the ballot. Primaries are to determine one candidate per party.
Not in California.
Holy fuckstick! Ya learn something new every day!
Yes. Our primary system is bizarre. To quote Californian Robert Hubbell in his Today’s Edition Newsletter this morning:
“I am upset that the eight major Democratic candidates were putting their own interests before those of the people of California. Because of California’s ‘jungle primary,’ the top two finishers advance to the general election. The proliferation of Democratic candidates raised the real possibility that two Republicans would advance to the general election, ensuring that Democrats would be locked out of the governor’s race in a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly 20 percentage points — with 45 percent of registered voters identifying as Democrats compared to just 25 percent as Republicans.
The right thing for those eight candidates to do would have been to look in the mirror and ask themselves whether their personal ambitions outweigh the interests of the largest voting bloc in California. Every one of the major candidates should have done that—Eric Swalwell, Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Matt Mahan, Betty Yee, and Tony Thurmond.
It is not too late for the ‘vote splitters’ to drop out. They should do so this week.
It is time for the Democratic field to clear itself in California. Candidates with a realistic chance of making it to the top two in the primary should remain in the race in good faith. Otherwise, get out, now—please! And if any of those candidates are sitting on time bombs like the one concealed by Eric Swalwell, a moment of deep self-reflection is in order. The truth will out—at the worst time possible. Please don’t pull an Eric Swalwell on the people of California. We deserve better.”
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/the-trendlines-are-good-but-we-should?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Geez - I hope the are some big enough to step aside for the greater good. I know Katie Porter has been shown to lose her temper, but she knows her shit. There's a double standard there too. Men get a pass for getting shitty with people. Women get thrown under the bus. I don't know much about the other candidates. I hope it works out the way it should.
Seriously? Weird.
The top two candidates can be Republicans.
Ugh. The deadline to remove Swalwell's name from the June ballot has passed. People can still vote for him in the primary, which creates further chaos for Democrats.
Omg. I wasn’t aware our primary ballots had already been printed. They should be mailed out to us in a few weeks. Most Californians vote by mail.
Oh, shit!
yes it is terrifying. interesting though the CA GOP hasnt endorsed either republican candidate... both are freaks IMO
Let me guess…gillebrand is leading the chart again on this one???
Good one. Still can’t forgive her railroading Franken. She needs to be voted out and he needs to run again. He was an intelligent, thoughtful, rational and effective senator.
There is a saying that "boys will be boys". well these boys grupup yo be men, and show their disrepect for women as human being with the right to their own bodys. They thinkt they have the right to womens bodys regardless of what the women want or in this case do not want.
Dems need to distance themselves from odious behavior, period. He has no “right” to be in Congress; it’s up 🔝 to his constituents in the East Bay. Optics matter.