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WASHINGTON — In the span of 10 days, the nation’s capital saw a cascade of ethical scandals that cut across party lines and branches of government, raising fresh doubts about whether Washington is capable of holding itself accountable.

Three members of Congress — two Democrats and a Republican — resigned within days of one another as they faced calls for their expulsion due to their alleged misconduct. A fourth lawmaker is facing the same pressure but has so far refused to step down.

A Cabinet secretary stepped down amid a months-long investigation into allegations that she pursued a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail, while her husband stood accused of sexually assaulting female staffers in her agency.

In a separate case, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed last week that it put a senior counterterrorism official on administrative leave as it investigates an ex-boyfriend’s allegations that she was seeking out wealthy men online to pay for luxury items.

The back-to-back resignations and investigations, spanning both parties and both the legislative and executive branches, have reignited a debate about whether Washington’s rules and institutions for self-oversight can keep pace with the misconduct unfolding within it. Even those charged with policing it say the system is failing.

“Clearly, we have an ethical problem,” Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, said in an interview.

DeSaulnier, who has served on the committee since 2023, said the panel is long overdue for an overhaul. He would like to see the committee speed up investigations and give it more authority to root out misconduct before lawmakers can resign to avoid accountability.

“It takes too long,” he said, drawing an analogy to law enforcement standards for officers facing misconduct allegations. “If you’re a law enforcement officer, there are standards for a suspension with pay or without pay. I think we need to take a look at things like that.”

The committee’s records show that since 1976, it has investigated 28 instances in which a House member was suspected of sexual misconduct. The outcome in 13 of those cases was a loss of jurisdiction, meaning the member resigned, retired or otherwise left the House before the committee could reach a conclusion on the allegations.

“Unfortunately, there likely exist matters never reported to the Committee,” the panel said in a rare statement last week. It added that its “greatest hurdle” in evaluating allegations of sexual misconduct is “convincing the most vulnerable witnesses to share their stories.”

Lonna Drewes, left, and her attorney, Lisa Bloom, arrive at a news conference in which Drewes accused U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) of sexual assault, on April 14 in Beverly Hills.

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

The two most recent cases in which the committee lost jurisdiction were the investigations into former California Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat accused of sexual assault who denied the allegations, and Republican former Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales, who last month admitted to a sexual relationship with a staffer who later died by suicide.

The committee is currently investigating Rep. Cory Mills, a Florida Republican, on allegations of “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence.” Mills has denied wrongdoing and declined to step down, telling CNN that House Speaker Mike Johnson told him not to resign and let the process play out.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has defended his stance on ensuring there is due process for House members, telling reporters last week that representatives should not be removed based only on allegations.

“There’s got to be an element of due process,” he said at a news conference, in which he also acknowledged that “sometimes it takes a long time” to achieve that and that he is open to suggestions on how to make the process better.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has also expressed hesitance in ousting members before they receive due process. He said that much in relation to Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who eventually resigned as she faced an ethics investigation and federal criminal charges of stealing $5 million in disaster relief funds. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord) speak to reporters after a hearing with the House Ethics Committee on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in Washington.

(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

The stance has drawn objections from 14 House Democrats in competitive swing districts, including California Reps. Mike Levin and Derek Tran.

In a letter addressed to Johnson and Jeffries, the lawmakers urged both House leaders to push the Ethics Committee to “expedite their investigation” with more transparency, including public hearings.

“We must demonstrate that no one is above the law and that serious misconduct will result in serious consequences,” the lawmakers wrote.

The calls for reform are not limited to the House.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Congress as a whole needs to increase transparency around how ethics complaints are handled and create a system that better protects junior staffers rather than members and senior aides who oversee them.

“The House of Representatives has an office that provides legal advice and representation to staff, but the Senate doesn’t appear to have such a thing,” Schiff said. “So that is also something I’m looking into.”

Schiff is also looking beyond Capitol Hill. He is pushing to install an inspector general inside the executive office of the President, a watchdog position that has never existed there despite being standard across the rest of the federal government.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz, left, chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, and David Smith, assistant director, Office of Investigations U.S. Secret Service, arrive for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing titled Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Rayburn Building on Feb. 1, 2023.

(Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Associated Press)

President Trump has fired at least a dozen inspectors general during his second term, according to the New York Times. The dismissals of those independent watchdogs across the executive branch are likely to complicate Schiff’s efforts, which he said will need to “overcome the instinctual opposition of many in the president’s party who may view [the bill] as an indictment of the president’s actions.”

“But if we are ever going to ensure that a president and his administration are not above the law, an inspector general in the executive office is critical,” he said.

Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, said he has long advocated for installing an independent watchdog in the White House but doubts that a Congress operating under its own cloud of scandal would take that step now.

“They are not complying with their own rules,” he said. “It is a big problem.”

Painter also argued that Trump’s own conduct is itself reshaping what members of his own administration and allies in Congress believe they can get away with.

Trump, for example, entered his second term as the first president convicted of a felony — for fraud in a sex scandal involving a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Separately, he was found liable by a jury for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in a decades-old incident.

The president’s past social ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have also received renewed scrutiny as his administration is criticized for the handling of the files. Trump has denied wrongdoing in all three matters.

“That sends a message to the entire administration and to Congress as to what is acceptable,” Painter said.

Trump, who is known for chiming in on myriad topics on social media, has not talked much about the sex scandals on Capitol Hill. But the president did call Swalwell a “sleazebag” in a recent interview with the Daily Mail.

“I don’t know anything about the charges, but he’s a bad guy,” Trump said. “He’s always been a bad guy, he’s a corrupt politician, and everyone knows it, so it’s happening to him, and we’ll see what happens. Right? Let him go defend himself.”

The president has not been as candid with his administration’s own controversies, but watchdogs in executive agencies have scrutinized some of his members.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer attends the world premiere of Amazon MGM’s “Melania” at The Trump-Kennedy Center on Jan. 29 in Washington.

(Taylor Hill / WireImage via Getty Images)

The White House declined to comment on the allegations against former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who stepped down last week after multiple allegations of abusing her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job.

The New York Times reported that Chavez-DeRemer was under investigation by the agency’s inspector general, and that an imminent report was likely to be unfavorable toward her. The investigation had been ongoing for several months before her departure.

In a separate case, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Julia Varvaro, the agency’s deputy assistance secretary, was put on administrative leave amid an investigation into allegations that she was seeking out so-called sugar daddies online.

The scandals come as recent polling shows Americans are growing more dissatisfied with Trump and Congress.

Congress’ approval rating has plummeted to 10%, according to Gallup polling released last week. Public approval of Trump has dropped to 28%, according to a Marquette University Law School poll released earlier this month. The president’s approval ratings are tightly linked to concerns about the Iran war and the economy.

Some lawmakers, like DeSaulnier, worry the scandals will continue to erode Americans’ confidence in the government and the people who represent them.

“If they don’t have trust in these institutions and the people who are in these positions, that’s a real, serious problem for American democracy,” he said.

Jada Pinkett Smith is asking a judge to make Bilaal Salaam cover the $49,000 in legal fees she racked up fighting claims he made in a December lawsuit.

According to a motion filed April 20 and obtained by The Times, Pinkett Smith is asking that Salaam pay $49,181.23, consisting of “reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred” in connection with Pinkett Smith’s successful special motion to strike Salaam’s complaint, “plus further fees and costs associated with this motion.”

Salaam — Will Smith’s former best friend of 40 years who also goes by Brother Bilaal — filed a lawsuit against the “Bad Moms” actor in December, alleging emotional distress and seeking $3 million in damages.

Salaam claimed that in September 2021, he attended a private birthday party for Will Smith at the Regency Calabasas Commons. According to his lawsuit, he was in the lobby of the movie theater when Pinkett Smith approached him with about seven members of her entourage and threatened him. Salaam’s suit claims that Pinkett Smith told him he would “end up missing or catch a bullet” if he kept “telling her personal business.” She also allegedly pressured him to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

In November 2023, Salaam appeared on the “Unwine With Tasha K” podcast and alleged that he walked into Duane Martin’s dressing room and saw Will Smith having a sexual encounter with the “All of Us” actor. He also made claims about Pinkett Smith’s sexual habits.

Pinkett Smith swiftly responded during an appearance on “The Breakfast Club” and said that Salaam started the rumors as part of a broader “money shakedown” and that his claims were “ridiculous and nonsense.”

“It’s not true and we’re going to take care of it,” she said. “We’re about to take legal action.”

Salaam beat Pinkett Smith to the courthouse and sued her in December, but Pinkett Smith asked the judge to toss the case in February.

According to the motion filed this week, the former “Red Table Talk” host argues Salaam should pay her hefty legal bills because she “prevailed on her anti-SLAPP motion” and the court struck all allegations relating to media statements “that formed the basis for Plaintiff’s three causes of action, as well as additional allegations regarding a cease-and-desist letter.”

Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor who has been accused by multiple women of rape and sexual assault, said his sexual flings amid the height of his fame in the early aughts included sleeping with a 16-year-old girl.

Brand confirmed the relationship to Megyn Kelly on the the latest episode of her eponymous podcast and YouTube show published Wednesday. “I did sleep with a 16-year-old when I was 30,” he said, “but when I was 30 I was a different person. I was a lot younger and I was an immature 30-year-old.”

The “Get Him to the Greek” actor, 50, emphasized that the age of consent in the United Kingdom is 16 and reflected on his behavior at the time, adding that he thinks having consensual sex as a famous person “involved exploitation.” He said he felt fame and addiction paved the way for “opportunity for endless consent which led me to be a hedonist and a fool and exploiter of women.”

“That is wrong and that is something that needs to be redeemed and addressed and atoned for,” he added.

Brand’s relationship with a 16-year-old girl became public in 2023 when the Times of London and Britain’s Channel 4 published a joint investigation detailing allegations of rape, sexual assault and other abusive behavior against the once-in-demand actor. One of the women who raised allegations against Brand said she became involved with the former actor when she was 16 and he was 31, and that he referred to her as “the child” in their relationship. According to the woman, Brand reportedly forced his penis down her throat, making it difficult to breathe, and she fought him off by punching him in the stomach. Brand denied the claims at the time.

The investigation centered on alleged incidents that occurred between 2006 and 2013 — the peak of Brand’s Hollywood fame — and laid the groundwork for additional complaints against the raunchy comedian to come to light.

In April 2025, the Metropolitan Police Service charged Brand with single counts of rape, indecent assault, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault connected to alleged attacks on multiple women between 1999 and 2005. U.K. authorities pressed additional rape and sexual assault charges against the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” actor in December. He will stand trail in October.

Brand, ex-husband to pop star Katy Perry (who is facing her own sexual assault scandal),fell mostly out of public favor within the past decade and pivoted his focus to religious and “free-thinking” content. Last year he appeared at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025.

At the beginning of the podcast episode, Kelly said that after learning about allegations against Brand she “felt anger for a couple years” toward the actor. However, Kelly said she grew open to speaking with him after some time and an “enormous amount of open-mindedness to [Brand] being railroaded and attacked by people.”

Notably, Kelly in November offered a flimsy definition of pedophilia when it came to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Citing “somebody very close” to Epstein’s case, Kelly said Epstein “ was into the barely legal type, like, he liked 15-year-old girls,” Kelly continued.

“I’m not trying to make an excuse for this, I’m just giving you facts — that he wasn’t into, like, 8-year-olds,” she added at the time. “But he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passer-by.”

Times staff writer Meredith Blake contributed to this report.

Their backgrounds stand out. And not in a good way.

Two bankruptcies and six law enforcement jobs in three years. An allegation of lying in a police report to justify a felony charge against an innocent woman — an incident that led to a $75,000 settlement and criticism of his integrity. A third job candidate once failed to graduate from a police academy, then lasted only three weeks in his only job as a police officer.

Their common bond: All were hired recently by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during an unprecedented hiring spree — 12,000 new officers and special agents to double its force — after the agency received a $75-billion windfall from Congress to enact President Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

The president put a premium on swift action, and for ICE that meant rapid-fire recruitment and hiring, which in turn led to new employees with questionable qualifications. Their backgrounds and training have come under scrutiny after numerous high-profile incidents in which ICE agents used excessive force.

“If vetting is not done well and it’s done too quickly, you have higher risk of increased liability to the agency because of bad actions, abuse of power and the lack of ability to properly carry out the mission because people don’t know what they are doing,” said Claire Trickler-McNulty, who served as an ICE official during the Obama, first Trump and Biden administrations.

The agency has said the majority of new hires are police and military veterans. But evidence is mounting that applicants with questionable histories were either not fully vetted before they were brought on or were hired in spite of their past, an investigation by the Associated Press found.

ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, said during a congressional hearing in February that he was proud of the hiring campaign, which drew more than 220,000 applications. “This expansion of a well-trained and well-vetted workforce will help further ICE’s ability to execute the president’s and secretary’s bold agenda,” he said.

AP finds legal issues in new ICE hires’ backgrounds

Unlike many local law enforcement agencies, ICE said it shields the identity of employees to protect them from harassment, making a full accounting of the new hires impossible.

The AP focused on more than 40 officers who recently made public their new jobs as ICE officers on LinkedIn pages, using public records to check their backgrounds. All but one were male.

While most of them had conventional qualifications as former correctional officers, security guards, military veterans and police officers, it’s unclear how many should have potentially been disqualified because AP did not have access to their full personnel files. But several had histories of unpaid debts that resulted in legal action, two had filed for bankruptcy and three others had faced lawsuits that alleged misconduct in prior law enforcement jobs, the AP found.

Marshall Jones, an expert on police recruiting at the Florida Institute of Technology, said it’s hard to get a full picture of ICE’s new employee pool without more data. But he said ICE has likely hired some “less than ideal candidates” who meet minimum requirements but would be passed over in a normal hiring cycle.

“If you’re hiring hundreds or thousands of people, even with the best of background processes, there are going to be outliers,” he said. “The question is, are these normal outliers from human beings doing things, or is there a systemic challenge in properly vetting folks if there are issues?”

DHS says ‘vetting is an ongoing process’

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, did not answer questions about specific hiring decisions. But it acknowledged some applicants received “tentative selection letters” and offers to begin working on a temporary status before they had been subjected to full background checks.

“ICE is committed to ensuring its law enforcement personnel are held to the highest standards and rigorously vets them throughout the hiring process,” the department said. “Vetting is an ongoing process, not a one-time occurrence.”

The process includes reviewing their criminal histories and credit scores and conducting background investigations that include interviewing prior employers and other associates, which can take weeks. But the deluge of hires has strained the agency, which promised signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and advertised that college degrees were not required.

An internal memo, first reported by Reuters in February, told ICE supervisors that if they receive “derogatory information about a newly hired employee’s conduct” they should refer the allegations to an internal affairs unit for investigation. Such information could include the employees’ termination or forced resignations, the memo said.

Two bankruptcies, six jobs before ICE hired him

Among the new hires is Carmine Gurliacci, 46, who resigned as a police officer in Richmond Hill, Ga., to join ICE in Atlanta in December, according to a resignation letter obtained by AP.

He filed for bankruptcy in 2022, saying he had no income and had been unemployed for two years after moving from New York to Georgia, court filings show. He said he was living with a friend and doing chores in exchange for housing, listing tens of thousands of dollars of unpaid loans, bills, child support and other debts. He also had filed for bankruptcy in 2013 in New York, when he listed $95,000 in liabilities, records show.

Serious financial problems are “a pretty big red flag” because they might make employees susceptible to bribes or extortion, which have been problems at ICE, Trickler-McNulty said.

After his 2022 bankruptcy petition was approved, Gurliacci rejoined the work force, hopping to six Georgia law enforcement agencies within three years, each time resigning before moving on, records obtained by AP show.

He left one campus security job in 2023, citing “unforeseen personal issues that render me unable to fulfill my duties,” a resignation letter shows. But he then began working for the Butts County Sheriff’s Office soon after.

He lasted months there before moving to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, where he quit after two months on the job, records show. The federal government recently obtained his Chatham County personnel file as part of a background check, two months after he started at ICE.

Reached by phone, Gurliacci told a reporter he would call back. He never did and did not respond to follow-up messages.

Critic says new ICE hire ‘abuses his power’

Another new hire is Andrew Penland, 29, who joined ICE after resigning in December as a sheriff’s deputy in Greenwood County, Kansas.

Penland had spent most of his career as a deputy in Bourbon County, Kansas, but left last year after facing a lawsuit alleging he arrested a woman on false allegations in 2022. The county’s insurer paid $75,000 to settle the case, the agreement shows.

The woman, June Bench, recounted in an interview what happened. One of her neighbors, a county official, claimed Bench had purposely made a wide turn and nearly hit him with her car.

Penland responded to the property. Body camera video shows he urged the neighbor to press charges and told the man Bench would go to jail but he would not have to testify in court because it would get resolved through a plea.

Bench denied the allegation and said it was part of a personal dispute. But Penland arrested her on a felony assault charge, took her to jail and seized her car. Penland wrote in a report that he watched surveillance video showing her neighbor jumping out of the way of her speeding car.

It took a week for Bench to get out of jail and more than a year to defeat the charge, which was dismissed for lack of evidence. When she obtained the video Penland cited as proof, it showed her car appearing to make a routine turn and no near-collision with the neighbor.

Bench said she was outraged to learn Penland had been hired by ICE.

“That’s scary to me. He abuses his power,” she said.

After being reached for comment, Penland deactivated his LinkedIn account and alerted ICE to the inquiry but did not respond to AP.

New hire struggled at police academy

A third new ICE hire, Antonio Barrett, initially failed to graduate from a Colorado law enforcement academy in 2020, one of two students who did not “complete portions of the academy” and received “an incomplete grade,” an email obtained by AP shows.

He finished the program after a community college arranged a special one-day training and test for him, and landed a job at the police department in La Junta, Colo., in July 2020. But he worked only three weeks before resigning and never worked in local policing again.

Previously, Barrett worked as a corrections officer at a Colorado prison.

He was accused in a lawsuit of excessive force for inflicting pain on a handcuffed inmate when he and another colleague forcibly removed the man from a wheelchair in 2017. But state officials argued their actions were not excessive and a court agreed, dismissing the case.

Barrett didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

Ex-ICE instructor says training is inadequate

ICE has denied removing any training requirements, saying new recruits receive 56 days of training and 28 days of on-the-job training. The agency said that most of the new officers have already completed law enforcement academies.

But former ICE academy instructor Ryan Schwank testified in February that agency leaders cut training on the use of force, firearms safety and the rights of protesters. He said the new recruits include some as young as 18 who lack college degrees and whose primary language is not English.

“We’re not giving them the training to know when they’re being asked to do something that they’re not supposed to do, something illegal or wrong,” he said.

Foley writes for the Associated Press.

Actor Ruby Rose’s public allegations of sexual assault against pop star Katy Perry have made their way to Australian officials, days after the former raised her claims on social media.

A spokesperson for the Victoria Police in Australia confirmed in a statement to The Times on Wednesday that its Melbourne Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team launched an investigation into a “historical sexual assault that occurred in Melbourne in 2010” but did not confirm the identities of the involved parties. The spokesperson said police were informed that the alleged assault occurred “at a licensed premises” in Melbourne’s central business district, a metropolitan hub that hosts a number of nightclubs among other cultural establishments.

“As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage,” the spokesperson said.

Representatives for Rose and for Perry did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment.

Rose, the 40-year-old Australian actor known for “Orange Is the New Black” and the CW series “Batwoman,” accused Perry, 41, of sexual assault in a series of Threads posts over the weekend. In the comments section of a Complex Music post about Perry’s reaction to Justin Bieber’s Coachella set, Rose wrote “Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne.” In other replies, Rose said the incident occurred when she was in “my early 20s” and alleged the “Teenage Dream” and “I Kissed a Girl” singer “bent down, pulled her underwear to the side and rubbed her disgusting” genitals on the actor’s face “until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomitted on her.”

Perry — via a representative — denied the allegations in a Monday statement shared with The Times. “The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous reckless lies,” Perry’s rep said.

“Ms. Rose has a well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals, claims that have repeatedly been denied by those named,” the statement said.

Rose, amid her departure from “Batwoman” in 2021, was accused by Warner Bros. Television of spreading “revisionist history.” When she publicly raised allegations of toxic working conditions against the series’ production team, the studio responded by noting it had parted ways with the actor after “multiple complaints” involving her workplace behavior.

Perry previously faced allegations of sexual assault in 2019 when an actor who starred in her “Teenage Dream” music video accused her of verbally bullying him during the video’s production and exposing his genitals to others without his consent during a party held separately from the shoot. Shortly after those allegations surfaced, a TV host in Georgia also reportedly accused the singer of harassing her that same year at an industry party.

During the weekend, Rose posted on Threads that she went to the police station to file a report about the alleged assault, despite expressing in an earlier post she had no interest bringing her allegations to officials. In another post shared Tuesday, Rose said she had “finalized all of my reports.”

“This means I am no longer able to comment, repost, or talk publicly about any of those cases, or the individuals involved,” she wrote, adding that she “can start the healing process now.”

WASHINGTON — California Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned his congressional seat on Monday under intense pressure from lawmakers of both parties after several women accused him of sexual misconduct, including a former staffer who alleged rape.

Swalwell, a Dublin Democrat who suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday, said in a statement that he was stepping down from the House, where he has served since 2013, and planned to continue fighting what he called “serious, false” allegations made against him.

“However, I must take responsibility and ownership of the mistakes I did make,” Swalwell wrote without specifying which mistakes those were.

His resignation came hours after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations against him and as lawmakers from both parties threatened to expel him from the House if he did not leave his post. He said he was aware of the expulsion efforts underway and said that it was “wrong” to expel a member of Congress “without due process, within days of an allegation being made.”

“But it is also wrong for my constituents to have me distracted from my duties. Therefore, I plan to resign my seat in Congress,” he said.

Asked about replacing Swalwell, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said in a statement that it is “reviewing the matter. Once the seat is officially vacant, our office will make an official announcement.”

The allegations, detailed in reports by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN last week, drew swift bipartisan condemnation, with lawmakers from both parties calling the accusations “disgusting” and demanding that he either resign or be removed from office.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) intended to lead the charge to expel Swalwell. In an interview Monday, Luna said she planned to file a motion as early as Tuesday on the grounds that he violated House rules over an alleged inappropriate sexual relationship with a subordinate. A House floor vote could have been held as early as Wednesday, she said.

Following Swalwell’s resignation, Luna said the Northern California lawmaker did “the right thing.” But she took issue with him saying that the allegations were not grounds for expulsion, noting that he was under criminal investigation.

In New York, the Manhattan district attorney’s office opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Swalwell by a former staffer and issued a statement over the weekend that urged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division.”

After the sexual allegations came to light, Democrats called on Swalwell to resign, but when it comes to expulsion, they said they would not move against Swalwell alone. They were also pushing to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who last month admitted to a sexual relationship with a staffer who later died by suicide.

Late Monday, Gonzales said he too was stepping down. “When Congress returns tomorrow, I will file my retirement from office,” he wrote on X.

The push to get Swalwell expelled had gained traction even among his friends.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote on X on Monday that Swalwell should be kicked out of Congress, saying he “trusted someone who I believed was a friend, but is now clear that he is not the person I thought I knew.” Gallego said the woman “deserves to be believed, to be supported, and to see justice served.”

Had Swalwell been expelled, it would have been the first such removal in congressional history on the grounds of sexual misconduct, and among the rare instances in the House’s 237-year history in which members ousted one of their own.

Only six members have been expelled from the House. Three were fighting for the Confederacy, two were convicted of bribery and one was the fraudster George Santos, whose sentence was later commuted by President Trump.

Now that Swalwell has resigned, he is still eligible for his pension and for a number of other perks extended to other former members, including the ability to enter the House floor and access to the congressional gym.

Swalwell said Monday that he is working with his staff to “ensure they are able, in my absence, to serve the needs of the good people of the 14th congressional district.”

While many of Swalwell’s staffers have already quit, remaining staffers not involved in constituent services would lose their jobs and receive no severance pay.

Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute, which is focused on congressional reform, argues that the practice is unfair.

“I think the House owes them a duty for what they’ve had to go through,” Schuman said.

Longtime ethics expert Meredith McGehee said that members have been reluctant to expel their colleagues in recent years because of the razor-thin majorities in the House, but that not doing so hurts the credibility of the institution.

“It’s really important at this moment that the House act to expel these men who have been seriously and credibly accused of wrongdoing,” said McGehee, a former executive director of the ethics watchdog Issue One. “To allow either one of them to stay in office and serve out their term would be a farce.”

The Swalwell scandal could still prompt an ever larger surge of expulsion calls. Some lawmakers called for two additional members to be swept into any expulsion vote: Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who has been accused of sexual assault, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.), who was indicted on charges that she laundered $5 million of federal disaster money and used it to fund a political campaign.

“Reps. Swalwell, Gonzales, Cherfilus-McCormick, and Mills should resign. If they refuse, they should be expelled,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) wrote on X on Monday. “Americans deserve better and Congress must hold our members accountable.”

Any expulsion would require a two-thirds majority vote, or 290 of 435 votes if every House member participates. The Senate would not be required to concur with the House vote to make the expulsion effective, but it remains to be seen whether the House could meet the two-thirds threshold.

Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez in Sacramento contributed to this report.

SACRAMENTO — The big-money backers and Democratic heavyweights who tried to crown Rep. Eric Swalwell as California’s next governor before his scandal-plagued exit from the political arena are now scrambling to find a new favorite among the candidates they either spurned or actively tried to undercut.

Swalwell (D-Dublin) announced Monday he would resign his seat in Congress. He faced potential expulsion and an ongoing criminal investigation after reports were made public Friday alleging he sexually assaulted a young female staff member and engaged in inappropriate behavior with three other women, including sending them nude photographs. Swalwell denied the allegations and, in his announcement Sunday that he was dropping out of the governor’s race, vowed to fight to clear his name.

The immediate beneficiaries of Swalwell’s fall are likely former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire financier Tom Steyer. Both were challenging Swalwell to be the top Democrat in the race even though each has faced attacks from within the party on various issues.

This new round of chaos only feeds the anxiety that has enveloped the California Democratic Party for months, stirred by fears that the lack of a singular party front-runner might lead to two Republicans winding up on the November ballot. Swalwell’s exit from the race also may revive candidates who have been languishing in the midsection of recent opinion polls — former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San José Mayor Matt Mahan — adding to the uncertainty.

“What happens now depends on what campaigns do to take advantage of this,” said Andrew Acosta, a Democratic political consultant who is not involved in any of the campaigns. The other candidates, he said, “can use this as an opportunity to make their case.”

They wasted no time.

Porter’s campaign on Sunday circulated internal polling showing that nearly half of Swalwell’s supporters listed her as their second choice. Steyer announced endorsements from lawmakers including Northern California Rep. Jared Huffman, who was among the first House Democrats to call on Swalwell to resign from Congress.

Others quickly used Swalwell’s departure as a fundraising tool.

“This changes the race,” Mahan’s fundraiser Stephanie Daily Smith wrote in an email blast to supporters on Sunday, adding that Swalwell “had been gaining real traction in the Bay Area media market and now that vote share is up for grabs.”

Former state Controller Betty Yee told her email list on Monday that “we can forget the polls” that showed Swalwell as a front-runner, suggesting he led because of an “obsession with who looks the part.”

“I’m not flashy, and I don’t ‘look the part’ of what the talking heads think wins,” she said.

Swalwell’s campaign had been gathering momentum over the last month. A poll released in mid-March by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times showed that Swalwell and Porter were both supported by 13% of likely voters, with Steyer not too far behind. The top Republicans in the race, former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, led with 17% and 16% support, respectively.

Elected officials, labor unions and other groups that had endorsed Swalwell abandoned him en masse after the allegations against him were publicized. But it’s unclear which candidate those influential voices will lend their support to next.

While many Democrats see Steyer and Porter as the next-most viable candidates, they each have their own baggage. Steyer has faced criticism on the campaign trail over his former hedge fund’s investments in a private prison company that is now housing people detained by federal immigration authorities, while Porter’s campaign is still haunted by embarrassing videos in which she berated a staffer and belittled a television reporter.

Primary election ballots will begin hitting California voters’ mailboxes in just a few weeks, and Swalwell’s campaign had been gaining steam and financial support that may now be up for grabs by other candidates.

Powerful organizations including the California Medical Assn. and SEIU California have poured millions into independent expenditure committees supporting Swalwell. But as the scandal unfolded, their leaders called emergency meetings to withdraw their support and pulled the plug on ads supporting him. Neither has indicated whether they would re-endorse in the race.

Over the weekend, Democratic members of the Legislative Women’s Caucus hastily organized calls with Porter and Yee — the only women left in the field of top candidates — according to two people familiar with the conversations. Though several of the lawmakers had not planned on backing either candidate, they’re reconsidering, driven by anger at Swalwell and frustration that other qualified women, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and former state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, previously dropped out of the race.

“Epstein files keep coming, Cesar Chavez rocked California and now this,” one lawmaker on the calls said. “If we cannot elect a woman to the state’s highest office in 2026, what is wrong with us?”

Swalwell reported raising more than $7.4 million in direct donations through April 9, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance data. About 60% of the contributions were from California donors.

Stephen Cloobeck, another Swalwell benefactor and longtime Democratic donor, said he is changing his party registration and is considering endorsing Hilton for governor.

“Don’t be surprised,” Cloobeck said in an interview on Monday.

“We agree on probably 90% of the issues,” he said, adding that he had met Hilton about a half-dozen times and appreciated his campaign message. “We are friends. I’m for unity. I come from old-school unity. I don’t cast aspersions.”

A protege of the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Cloobeck entered the gubernatorial contest but dropped out once Swalwell, with whom he had a long-term friendship, jumped into the contest. Cloobeck endorsed the congressman and put about $1 million into an independent expenditure committee backing him. Swalwell stayed at Cloobeck’s Beverly Hills mansion after the news of the allegations against him broke — until Cloobeck kicked him out.

Cloobeck said he knows all of the seven prominent Democrats who remain in the governor’s race and has long said he isn’t impressed by any of them. He said he wished the California Legislature would amend the state Constitution so he could file to reenter the race.

Donna Bojarsky, a longtime Democratic political insider in Los Angeles, attended Swalwell fundraisers this year thrown by Hollywood business leaders.

“People are horrified,” Bojarsky said. She said there have been rumors about sexual indiscretions, but nobody suggested allegations of sexual assault.

Swalwell has close ties to the industry and was set to be an executive producer on a film about the nation’s gun crisis before pulling his name over a labor dispute. He also maintains a real estate investment firm and media company geared toward producing television, film and online content.

Actors Sean Penn, Robert De Niro and Jon Hamm are among several Hollywood figures who donated to Swalwell’s campaign for governor.

Bojarsky hopes the silver lining of the scandal is that there “might be more of a race” as people scrutinize the field of candidates.

“People are paying attention,” she said.

SACRAMENTO — Embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell suspended his campaign for California governor on Sunday but continued to deny he sexually assaulted anyone.

His campaign to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom has all but collapsed as key Democratic supporters, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Adam Schiff, abandon him.

“To my family, staff, friends, and supporters, I am deeply sorry for mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past,” Swalwell wrote on social media Sunday.”

“I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made — but that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”

House ethics rules bar members from having sex with a subordinate, and House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries from New York is seeking an investigation into the allegations.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) announced plans to force a House vote to expel Swalwell, a motion supported by some House Democrats. Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat representing Northern California, is among those calling on him to resign.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Swalwell by the former staffer, and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office on Saturday said the office was in the process of evaluating “whether any alleged criminal conduct occurred” in the agency’s Bay Area jurisdiction.

The 45-year-old Democratic candidate established himself as a frontrunner in the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, despite not having a broad base of supporters in California.

A one-time member of the House Intelligence Committee and a savvy social-media user, Swalwell relished his role as a foil to President Donald Trump, using his many platforms to attack and taunt the twice-impeached, criminally convicted president.

He previously worked as a criminal prosecutor, and was elected to Congress in 2012 after he defeated Rep. Pete Stark, a fellow Democrat.

He cast himself as a centrist middle-class guy and featured his wife and three young children prominently in his campaign for governor. In an interview with the Times last year, he talked about his decision to continue in politics, despite the toll on his family.

Reports published in the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN offered a stark contrast to Swalwell’s wholesome image, alleging that he forced himself on a young staffer and sent women pictures of his penis and sexy messages.

CNN also reported on another woman’s alleged account of a sexual encounter with Swalwell that involved fending off his advances over drinks, and then waking up in his hotel room with no memory of how she got there.

Swalwell and his team threatened legal action against several individuals, Swalwell’s attorney Elias Dabaie confirmed to the Times. Swalwell himself took to social media on Friday night and called the allegations “lies” intended to hurt him in the race.

But campaign staffers resigned, his fundraising website went offline and even his self-described “best friend” in Congress, Sen. Ruben Gallegos from Arizona, withdrew his endorsement. Powerful labor groups, including the California Labor Federation, SEIU California and the California Police Chiefs Assn., withdrew their support.

Other Democrats in the race include billionaire Tom Steyer; former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter; State Supt. Tony Thurmond; former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra,; San José Mayor Matt Mahan; former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and former state Controller Betty Yee.

The top GOP gubernatorial candidates are Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

SACRAMENTO — The fallout over sexual misconduct allegations against Rep. Eric Swalwell grew Saturday as his fellow gubernatorial candidates faced a new race and Democrats were forced into a rapid test of how they respond to accusations of sexual misconduct.

Within hours of the accusations against Swalwell being made public, the Northern California congressman’s campaign began to unravel and a chorus of top Democrats urged him to drop out. Staff members resigned, his fundraising website went offline and allies moved quickly to distance themselves from a candidate who had been gaining momentum as a front-runner in the race to lead the Golden State.

The repercussions extended beyond Swalwell’s campaign for governor. The Manhattan district attorney’s office opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Swalwell by a former staffer and issued a statement Saturday that urged “survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) posted a video on X saying that she plans to force a House vote next week to expel Swalwell.

Swalwell has denied the allegations, calling them “flat [out] false.”

The upheaval has created an opening for lesser-known contenders to gain traction just as voters are beginning to turn their attention to the race — a spotlight now intensified by the controversy.

The speed and severity of the response underscores how quickly political support can erode — and reflects a broader shift in how such allegations are handled in the post-#MeToo era, which has been intensified by the scrutiny surrounding the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Ask any woman staffer over the age of 45 what her experience was like, and this was a fairly prevalent sort of situation,” said Elizabeth Ashford, a veteran Democratic strategist. “It was allowed. I really think it shows a lot of growth on the part of political professionalism, that these things are taken seriously.”

As of Saturday afternoon, Swalwell ignored calls to drop out of the race and resign from Congress, even as outrage and criticism swelled. A Bay Area fundraiser was canceled and major institutional backers abandoned the campaign. The California Labor Federation withdrew its endorsement, SEIU California rescinded its backing and urged Swalwell to exit the race, and the California Police Chiefs Assn. suspended its support.

Speculation swirled Saturday about Swalwell’s whereabouts after the congressman announced that he intended to spend time with his wife.

A man who opened the door of Swalwell’s rental home in Livermore early Saturday refused to talk to a Times reporter. Swalwell has claimed that he rents space in the one-story house, located on a quiet cul-de-sac. He also owns a home in Washington, D.C., but no one inside responded when a reporter rang Saturday.

Livermore residents couldn’t escape news of the scandal. “Swalwell faces assault claims,” read the front page of the East Bay Times, stacked up at the Lucky grocery story around the corner from Swalwell’s rental home.

The most serious allegation against Swalwell is from a woman who worked for the congressman who said their relationship was at times consensual, but that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Three other women have also accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including sending unsolicited nude photos, according to CNN.

The allegations prompted several members of his campaign to abruptly walk away from their jobs. One senior campaign staffer said they resigned after hearing the seriousness of the allegations, adding that they didn’t want to be put in a position where they were using their own credibility to defend Swalwell.

Former staffers in Swalwell’s congressional office traded messages in group texts after the news reports, with many expressing shock and horror at the allegations, according to two former employees.

A group of senior staff in Swalwell’s congressional office and campaign said in a statement Saturday that they “stand with our former colleague and the other women who have come forward” and that others “should stand with them, too.”

Kyle Alagood, an attorney who worked for Swalwell’s congressional office and his short-lived presidential campaign, told The Times he was “disgusted and pissed off.”

“I pray he has the decency to resign for the sake of his wife and kids,” said Alagood, adding that Swalwell must also “face the full legal consequences of his actions.”

Rob Stutzman, a longtime GOP strategist, said the impact of Swalwell’s political advisers quitting and his endorsements being yanked has sunk his chances in the governor’s race whether he stays in or not.

Stutzman advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the 2003 recall when The Times reported allegations of inappropriate behavior with women during his bodybuilding and film career. Stutzman said the severity of the allegations against Swalwell makes the situation very different from that involving Schwarzenegger, who didn’t lose endorsements.

“If this had been the circumstances … I would have quit,” Stutzman said. “They’re just not the same.”

While Swalwell’s political future hangs in the balance, political insiders are closely watching who will be the beneficiary of the chaos. There are eight Democrats running: billionaire Tom Steyer, former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, state schools Supt. Tony Thurmond, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, San José Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Controller Betty Yee and Swalwell. There are two GOP candidates: Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Loyola Marymount University law professor Jessica Levinson said that with key endorsements, such as labor, now back up for grabs, anyone can jump to the front of the pack. She said the safest bet on who will gain an advantage is Porter and Steyer, who with Swalwell have been the top candidates in recent opinion polls.

“But, I think this is a race where there is no heir apparent,” Levinson said. “You can’t rule out surprises anymore in this race.”

Paul Mitchell, a veteran Democratic strategist, agreed that the upheaval benefits Porter and Steyer, adding that Swalwell’s chances have been reduced to zero.

“First off, I think that staying in the race is not tenable,” Mitchell said. “And so if he does drop out of the race, what it means is that you’re going to have a lot of progressive voters looking for somebody else to go to and the primary beneficiaries should be Porter and Steyer right now, because they’re the other two that are in that kind of first tier of Democratic candidates that have been splitting up that progressive base.”

Allegations of inappropriate behavior by Swalwell had circulated for weeks on social media and in political circles. Once the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN posted stories with details from women accusing Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including rape, the swift rebuke was likened by one political strategist to a bomb detonating.

Those media outlets reported that the staff member accusing Swalwell of rape was 21 when she began working for him in 2019 in his Castro Valley district office. She said Swalwell, who is nearly two decades older, quickly began sending her messages and then nude pictures on Snapchat, a platform in which messages and images disappear after being viewed.

She said that in September 2019 she had drinks with the congressman, blacked out and could tell she had had intercourse when she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed, according to the report. In a separate encounter years later, she said he forced himself on her while she was too intoxicated to consent and despite her protests.

She said she did not report the incidents to police, citing fears she would not be believed and concerns about professional repercussions.

Another woman who began messaging with Swalwell about her interest in Democratic politics last year said she met him for drinks and that she was attempting to fend off his advances without hurting potential job opportunities when she began feeling “really fuzzy” and intoxicated, according to CNN. She told the outlet that she ended up in Swalwell’s hotel room without a memory of how she got there.

Social media creator Ally Sammarco said Swalwell sent her unsolicited nude pictures in 2021, when she was 24 years old. Another woman in her 20s, who works in marketing, said the congressman sent her unsolicited videos of his penis.

Swalwell, who is married with three young children, posted a video on Instagram on Friday in which he called the accusations of inappropriate behavior “flat [out] false,” while also acknowledging unspecified poor behavior.

“I don’t suggest to you in any way that I am perfect or that I am a saint,” he said in the video. “I’ve certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past. But those mistakes are between me and my wife. And to her I apologize deeply for putting her in this position.”

Elias Dabaie, an attorney representing Swalwell, sent cease-and-desist letters to at least two people demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault, according to CNN. Dabaie was asked by CNN whether the congressman’s comments can be construed as acknowledging that he cheated on his wife, while denying doing anything illegal.

“I’m not going to get into the details of that,” Dabaie said.

Times staff writers Melody Peterson and Gavin Quinton contributed to this report.

SACRAMENTO — An attorney for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.

Swalwell’s attorney Elias Dabaie of the law firm Dabaie Kelley, in Los Angeles, confirmed Friday that he sent the cease and desist letter, which tells the recipient that they could be sued for defamation. A copy of the letter was posted online by a social media influencer on Friday, and Dabaie confirmed it was authentic.

Swalwell (D-Dublin) and his representatives earlier this week denied allegations made by social media influencers and repeated by political insiders in recent weeks that he behaved inappropriately toward young staffers and others.

Dabaie’s letter sent Thursday states that it “has come to our attention that you have made false statements accusing Mr. Swalwell of sexual assault and non-consensual sexual encounters…”

“We write to demand that you immediately and permanently cease and desist from continuing your wrongful conduct, including by stopping any further publication of such information or allowing it to be disseminated in any form, whether oral, written, electronic or otherwise,” the letter stated.

Dabaie confirmed to The Times that he sent the letter via text. He declined to say whether other cease and desist letters had been sent.

“I can tell you that there have been multiple baseless allegations made against the Congressman and we are attacking them on all fronts,” he said.

A spokesperson for Swalwell’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group who has said she is helping organize a group of women who allege inappropriate behavior toward Swalwell, posted a screenshot of Dabaie’s letter online on Friday.

“This is the first page of the cease and desist letter from Swalwell’s team — it has has been shared with permission from the recipient,” she wrote on social media.

The name of the individual who received the letter was redacted.

Hunt told The Times on Friday that she was aware of two individuals who received cease and desist letters from Swalwell’s team.

Swalwell earlier in the week denied any inappropriate behavior, including allegations that his office required interns to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s false,” he told reporters.

Swalwell said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic front-runner in the hotly contested California governor’s race, was accused of sexual assault and misconduct by a former staff member and other women, according to reports published on Friday.

The woman who worked for the Northern California congressman said she had a consensual relationship at times, but that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too inebriated to consent, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. Three other woman also have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including receiving unsolicited nude photos from the Democrat, according to CNN.

The allegations against Swalwell has his campaign teetering on collapse, with powerful labor organizations and other major supporters pulling their endorsements and dropping political ads promoting the once-promising candidate. U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, one of many prominent Democrats who supported Swalwell, and others have called on him to drop out of the race.

Swalwell had been gaining traction in the crowded field, and the controversy completely upends the race just as voters are starting to pay attention.

“It’s like a bomb went off,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who runs the research nonprofit Latino Working Class Project.

Swalwell’s staff member was 21 years old when she started working for the congressman, who is nearly two decades her senior, and said she did not report the incidents to police because of fears she would not be believed.

“I have no skin in the game of who becomes governor of California, but I feel people have a right to know whether the person who leads a state that is a safe haven for so many women actually treats women with dignity and will protect their rights,” the woman, who was not identified because she is the alleged victim of sexual assault, told the Chronicle. “No one protected me from him, and so I have to protect the other young women like me who aspire to work in this field and he could prey upon.”

Swalwell on Friday denied the accusations.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” he said in a statement. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”

State Supt. Tony Thurmond and San José Mayor Matt Mahan, other Democrats running for governor, immediately called on Swalwell to drop out of the race. Multiple staff members working for Swalwell’s campaign have resigned, according to a source close to the candidate who was not authorized to speak about the matter.
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Allegations of inappropriate behavior by the congressman have been circulating on social media and in political circles for weeks. On Thursday, an attorney representing Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist letter to at least one person demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.

Two days earlier, the congressman denounced online claims that he had inappropriate relationships with young congressional staff members.

“It’s false,” he told reporters after a town hall in Sacramento, saying he had never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern, and denied allegations that his staff members were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements or entered into legal settlements.

In 2025, another woman said after drinking with Swalwell, she ended up in his hotel room without recollection of how she got there and that her memory of what happened is “a blur,” according to CNN. Two other women told the cable network’s reporters that the congressman sent them unsolicited photos of his penis and other sexual messages on Snapchat.

The allegations come at a pivotal time in the race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. The primary is June 2, but ballots start landing in voters’ mailboxes in less than a month.

The race to lead the nation’s largest state remains up for grabs, with eight prominent Democrats and two top Republicans jockeying to finish in first or second place in the primary and advance to the November election.

Swalwell, 45, is among the leading Democrats with the support of 13% of likely voters in a recent UC Berkeley poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. That places him tied for first place among Democrats with former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, with billionaire Tom Steyer not far behind.

Swalwell has won the support of powerful unions, including the California Teachers Assn., along with Schiff (D-Calif.) and many of his Democratic colleagues in Congress.

CTA President David Goldberg called the allegations “incredibly disturbing and unacceptable.”

“We are immediately suspending our support,” he said. “Our elected board will be meeting as soon as possible to follow our union’s democratic process to determine next steps.”

Rusty Hicks, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, said victims must be believed and also reiterated his call for Democratic candidates to gauge their viability.

“The allegations against Congressmember Swalwell are deeply disturbing,” he said in a statement. “Any person engaged in misconduct must take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions — including a Member of Congress and candidate for Governor. Finally, my call for all — repeat, all — candidates for Governor to ‘honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign’ still stands. In fact, that call is more important now than ever before.”

The woman told the Chronicle that she was hired in 2019 to work in Swalwell’s Castro Valley district office when she was 21. He quickly began sending her messages and then nude pictures on Snapchat.

In September of that year, she said she had drinks with the congressman, blacked out and could feel the effects of intercourse when she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed, according to the report. In 2024, when she no longer worked for Swalwell, she said she attended a charity event honoring the congressman and met him for drinks afterward. She was intoxicated, but recalled Swalwell forcing himself upon her, and pushing him away and saying, “No,” according to the Chronicle.

The Chronicle corroborated her report with texts she sent a friend at the time and interviews with the friend and the woman’s then-boyfriend. The Chronicle’s reporters also reviewed medical records about a pregnancy and tests for sexually transmitted diseases a week after the alleged assault. She told them she had kept quiet about the alleged assaults because of fears about professional and personal repercussions.

Concern began brewing among Democrats before the allegations were published.

Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group, and social media influencer Arielle Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled, are among those publicizing the allegations online. Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who has sparred with Swalwell in the past, has amplified the allegations on social media as well.

The Times has not independently corroborated reports of sexual misconduct.

Many politicians have survived serious allegations of sexual misconduct, including President Trump, who was accused of rape before winning the White House in 2016.

Others have seen a swift reckoning. In the hours and days after the late farmworkers rights leader César Chávez was accused of sexual abuse, his name and image were stripped from schools, streets and murals.

Two recent California governors have been accused of sexual impropriety; former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to behaving improperly during his movie career and Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged an affair with a married staffer while mayor of San Francisco.

Swalwell, a former prosecutor, is married and has three children. The Iowa native briefly ran for president in 2020. On Thursday, he canceled a town hall in Palm Desert, reportedly because he was sick.

He has previously spoken out against sexual misconduct, most recently in support of women who told the New York Times that they were assaulted by Chávez.

“The women who have come forward are carrying years of pain. Speaking about that takes real courage,” Swalwell wrote in a tweet last month. “Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas and Dolores Huerta are speaking with clarity and strength. I stand with them and condemn all instances of sexual assault.”

The congressman also defended women who accused Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, of sexual misconduct in 2018.

“The more and more cases that are separate and independent that look the same, pretty soon a prosecutor starts to say to a jury … that the arrows are pointing in the same directions and what are the chances that three or four women independently, who never met each other, would have similar experiences with one person,” he said on MSNOW’s Ari Melber in September 2018 amid Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings.

In Congress, Swalwell has been a prominent critic of President Trump, serving as a manager of the second impeachment of the president and frequently blistering Trump on cable news shows.

In late March, the Washington Post reported that FBI Director Kash Patel may release documents about a decade-old investigation about Swalwell’s connections with a suspected Chinese spy. Swalwell cut off ties with Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, in 2015 after intelligence officials warned him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate legislators’ offices. Swalwell was not accused of impropriety.

After news of the potential release of the files broke, Swalwell accused Trump of trying to sway the gubernatorial election and weaponizing the federal government against his political enemies.

Swalwell’s attorneys filed a cease-and-desist letter with Patel and the FBI. No documents have been released as of Friday.

He was previously accused of mortgage fraud by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. Swalwell sued Pulte last year but dropped the suit this month.

In the gubernatorial race, Swalwell has faced criticism from fellow Democrat Tom Steyer that he was ineligible to run for governor because he did not truly live in California. Earlier this year, a Sacramento County judge ruled against a similar claim made by a conservative filmmaker.

Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez in Sacramento contributed to this report.

For weeks, salacious talk swirled in campaign circles, ricocheted through email chains and was served up, like a buzzy side dish, over gossipy lunches from Sacramento to San Diego.

The talk revolved around Eric Swalwell, the 45-year-old congressman from the East Bay and one of the top Democratic contenders for California governor. The rumors involved allegations of inappropriate behavior with young staffers.

Pressed by rival camps, pursued by the political press corps, the claims were largely confined to unvetted corners of the internet until this week, when Swalwell’s campaign — knowing the whispers were getting louder — issued a public statement denying any wrongdoing.

The move was a prebuttal. Strategists figured it better to get out front of the chatter and address the online innuendo, even if it meant exposing the allegations to a much wider audience. The campaign’s statement was followed hours later by a categorical denial from the congressman.

“It’s false,” Swalwell told reporters Tuesday night in Sacramento. He said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with any staffer or intern. There were no quiet legal settlements, he said. No hiding behind nondisclosure agreements.

Then, on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a lengthy report — filled with highly specific and graphic details — quoting a woman who worked nearly two years for Swalwell, stating she had sexual encounters with him while he was her boss. Twice, she alleged, he sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent.

The woman, who is 17 years younger than Swalwell, said the congressman began pursuing her within weeks of her hiring at age 21 to work in his district office in the East Bay Area. That was in 2019.

The woman said she largely kept quiet about Swalwell’s behavior out of fear she would suffer personal and professional consequences. She told the Chronicle she did not share her account with authorities because she was afraid they would not believe her. The newspaper said medical records show the woman obtained pregnancy and STD tests a week after one of the alleged assaults.

Swalwell issued another categorical denial.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” he said in a statement, somewhat overstating his status in the neck-and-neck gubernatorial race. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women.

“I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action,” Swalwell said. “My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”

Even before the Chronicle published its article, once the privately bandied rumors were suddenly the open, you could almost hear the sound of a dam bursting. Swalwell’s competitors were quick to amplify the assertions, grappling for advantage in a race that remains stubbornly knotted up.

“Very, very troubling,” said fellow Democrat Katie Porter. “Deeply troubling,” echoed Betty Yee, another of the Democratic hopefuls.

A third Democrat running, Antonio Villaraigosa, was more inventive, accusing Swalwell “of skipping town” — he did not attend a Wednesday candidate forum in Sacramento — “as more and more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations.”

At that point no one with firsthand knowledge had come forward to contradict Swalwell’s denial of wrongdoing.

But with Friday’s article in the Chronicle, opponents escalated their attacks. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond both called on Swalwell to quit the race.

One of his highest-profile backers, Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, withdrew his endorsement and expressed regret he had defended Swalwell on social media prior to the Chronicle’s account. Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles also withdrew his endorsement and urged Swalwell to abandon his candidacy.

Behind closed doors, other major Swalwell backers were reassessing their support.

It’s understandable — and probably necessary — for the congressman to retreat, as he suggested, to spent time with his wife and family.

But in light of the Chronicle’s report, and its damning allegations, he’ll need to do more than issue strongly worded statements on threatened legal action if he has any hopes of salvaging his gubernatorial candidacy and political career. (Swalwell gave up his congressional seat to run for governor.)

If the allegations are false, he needs to refute each and every detail in thorough, incontrovertible fashion. If they’re true, then what could Swalwell possibly have been thinking — not just forcing himself on his alleged victim, but running for governor knowing what he’d done? Was he convinced his behavior would never come to light? Did he believe that adamant denials would allow him to brazen his way through?

Swalwell has a lot of explaining to do — about his behavior, his disclaimers, his judgment.

And even though the June primary is still many weeks away, he has very little time to do so.

Afrika Bambaataa, the influential rapper and DJ who helped shape the culture of hip-hop via his legendary Zulu Nation block parties in the South Bronx, has died.

Also known for his electro-funk records including “Planet Rock” and “Looking for the Perfect Beat,” the musician — born Lance Taylor — died Thursday “from complications of cancer,” according to TMZ. He was 68.

A Bronx native and former member of the Black Spades gang, Bambaataa was most known for establishing his activist organization Universal Zulu Nation and hosting its block parties through the late ‘70s, gatherings that helped elevate rap from a genre of music to a cultural movement. The first Zulu Nation block party was held in 1977, set against a turbulent time for New York City — one marked by a historic blackout and a series of blazes across the South Bronx. The celebrations welcomed graffiti artists, DJs, emcees and other street performers, offering former gang members a positive outlet and laying the groundwork for what would become the four elements of hip-hop: deejaying, B-boy/girl dancing, emceeing and graffiti painting.

“Rap is about the gangs and the killings that went on until rap music and break-dancing helped end the violence. It brought people together,” Bambaataa told The Times in 1985.

Bambaataa, often named alongside DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash as a founder of hip-hop, concerned himself with community-building after a prize trip to Africa for an essay competition in 1974 shifted his worldview. He told the Red Bull Music Academy in 2017 that he was greatly inspired by “seeing Black people controlling their own destiny, seeing them get up and go to their own work.” He returned home, his new name a nod to a Zulu chief, with a new rhythm to his work.

The sounds of Bambaataa’s South Bronx block parties soon reached mainstream avenues, spreading beyond the community and eventually beyond New York. In 1982, Bambaataa launched into further fame with the release of “Planet Rock,” a Kraftwerk-inspired creation from him and Soulsonic Force, a group he co-founded. By 2006, he had released more than 20 albums, including compilations, and counted James Brown, Yellowman, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols, Boy George and Bootsy Collins among his collaborators.

Bambaataa’s recording career tapered off in the aughts, but he continued working as a DJ until his death. Bambaataa, a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee, was appointed as a three-year visiting scholar at Cornell University in 2012. Years later, he faced controversy when multiple men in 2016 accused the musician of sexual assault. He denied the allegations at the time. Zulu Nation distanced itself from its founder as the allegations went public but has since remained committed to its mission of hip-hop unity.

Among the accusers who went public with their claims was Democratic Party community advocate Ronald Savage, who alleged Bambaataa assaulted him when he was 14. Savage walked back his claims in 2024, saying he met the musician at a club he had entered using a fake ID.

An anonymous accuser raised additional allegations of sexual abuse and trafficking against Bambaataa in 2021. That case ended last year in favor of the musician’s accuser after Bambaataa failed to appear for a court hearing in New York.

“Little House on the Prairie” alumna Melissa Gilbert remains steadfast in her support for husband Timothy Busfield, the Emmy-winning actor who has been embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal since earlier this year.

Gilbert, in her first sit-down interview since Busfield’s indictment in February, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos she trusts her husband “with my children’s lives, my grandchildren’s lives, my nieces and nephews” and said she expects the “Thirtysomething” star will be exonerated at trial next year.

“Believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison,” she said in part of the interview that aired Monday on “Good Morning America.”

In February, a New Mexico grand jury indicted 68-year-old Busfield on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child. A month prior, New Mexico officials accused Busfield of of inappropriately touching two child actors, who are brothers, during his time as an actor, director and producer on the Fox crime drama “The Cleaning Lady.”

One child actor alleged that Busfield had first touched his “private areas” multiple times on set when he was 7, according to the complaint. He said Busfield touched him inappropriately again several times when he was 8. The affidavit also detailed a police interview with Busfield in which he suggested that the boys’ mother might have sought “revenge” on the director for “not bringing her kids back for the final season.”

Busfield turned himself in to law enforcement days after the warrant was issued and denied the accusations. He was jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque but was released on his own recognizance Jan. 20.

For Gilbert, 61, the allegations and ensuing chain of events have been “hell.” Recent months have brought “the most traumatizing experiences of our lives,” she told Stephanopoulos, adding, “Our life as we knew it is done.”

The couple married in 2013. “The West Wing” actor Busfield has three adult children from two previous marriages and is the stepfather to Gilbert’s two adult sons from her two previous marriages. When the allegations first surfaced, a publicist for Gilbert said the actor would not comment on her husband’s case, denounced “any purported statements” and said that Gilbert was focused on caring for her and Busfield’s family.

During the Monday interview Gilbert said she and her husband are “grieving what we had: all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects.” She said her husband has become persona non grata — “canceled,” in her words — and that the allegations will continue to cast a shade over his career “even if he’s exonerated.” Busfield’s lawyer Larry Stein and Gilbert both told Stephanopoulos they are confident that will be the case.

When asked what justice for her husband might look like, Gilbert replied: “Exoneration and apology. Free him from this cloud.”

Elsewhere in the interview, attorney Stein doubled down on his belief that the child actors and their parents are “absolutely” making false allegations against Busfield. The actors’ parents did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Gilbert also told Stephanopoulos that before she married Busfield, she was aware he had been accused of sexual harassment twice by different women, once in 1994 and another time in 2012. Those two cases were mentioned in the January complaint against Busfield.

“I didn’t go into my relationship with him blind. I am neither naive nor am I complicit,” she said, adding she and her husband discussed those claims. “I heard his side of the story which no one has ever heard which is the truth. And when the time is right, and that is not now, Tim will tell the truth of all of these past allegations when he needs to.”

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs.

Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government for decades had not taken the issue of fraud seriously and that it needed to be tackled with “a whole-government approach.”

“This is not just the theft of the American people’s money,” Vance said. “It is also the theft of critical services that the American people rely on.”

President Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on fraud part of his chief domestic focus as voters have said they’re concerned about affordability ahead of November’s midterm elections. That effort comes after allegations of fraud involving day-care centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted a massive immigration crackdown in the Midwestern city, resulting in widespread protests.

Vance cited some of the Minnesota allegations on Friday. Last month, he held a news conference to announce a temporary halt of some Medicaid funding until the state took actions that federal officials said would address their concerns.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who faced Vance as a vice presidential candidate in 2024, has called it a “campaign of retribution” and said the Trump administration was “weaponizing the entirety of the federal government to punish blue states like Minnesota.”

The task force is also the most visible assignment to date that Trump has given to Vance, who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

Vance and the task force, which includes about half the president’s Cabinet, the leader of a new Justice Department division focused on prosecuting fraud and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, are set to meet regularly to look at rooting out potential fraud and waste in federal benefit programs.

Ferguson, who is vice chair of the task force, cast the issue of fraud as a dire crisis facing the country and said it “shreds the social trust on which these programs and our entire nation depend.”

“This fraud crisis is thus existential,” he said. “If we fail to address it, the fabric of our nation will swiftly unravel.”

Joining the task force was Colin McDonald, a top aide to the Justice Department’s second in command. He was recently confirmed as the assistant attorney general overseeing the new division at the department focused on prosecuting fraud.

The Justice Department has long prosecuted fraud nationally through its Criminal Division, but the Trump administration says the new division is needed to crack down on rampant fraud.

Price writes for the Associated Press.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into two California women’s prisons to determine if they unconstitutionally provided housing and preferential treatment to “biological male prisoners.”

In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assistant Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon — who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — said investigators will look into “widely reported allegations of deprivation of female prisoners’ rights” at the Central California Women’s Facility in Madera County and the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County.

The Justice Department said in a news release that there have been allegations “of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism and a pervasive climate of sexual intimidation due to the presence of males in the women’s prison.”

Newsom’s office referred The Times to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A spokesperson for the agency said it is “committed to providing a safe, humane, respectful and rehabilitative environment for all incarcerated people.”

The Department of Justice also notified Maine Gov. Janet Mills of an investigation into allegations that the state “has allowed a biological male inmate to remain housed with women despite complaints that the male inmate has assaulted or harassed several female inmates.”

Dhillon said in a video posted on X that the investigations are part of a new project called the “single-sex prisons initiative” to look for potential civil rights violations in which female inmates are forced “to be in the same rooms with men who are posing as women to get access to the female prisons.”

“In California there are reports of many dozen such men housed in women’s prisons which of course is exposing these women to sexual assault and other forms of violence and harassment that, if true, are extremely troubling and could violate the civil rights of these women,” Dhillon said.

In 2020, Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 132, which gives transgender, nonbinary and intersex inmates at state prisons the right to be housed at either men’s or women’s facilities. Opponents of the law sued the following year, alleging that it was unconstitutional and created an unsafe environment for women in female facilities, with some plaintiffs claiming they were assaulted.

At the time, LGBTQ+ advocates slammed the suit as baseless and damaging.

“The way they wrote [the complaint] is saying that trans women are men and they are putting men in women’s prisons, which is completely false,” Bamby Salcedo, president and chief executive of the TransLatin@ Coalition, which cosponsored SB 132, previously told The Times. “They’re making a claim that is not accurate and not respectful towards trans women specifically.”

In an interview with the Times Thursday, Salcedo said that while there may be instances in which people have abused the law, she stressed “it is the responsibility of the CDCR to protect people who are incarcerated.”

“They should be able to not just follow the law, but also to be able to screen people appropriately,” Salcedo said.

Salcedo said she was not surprised to hear about the new Justice Department investigation, calling it “an effort for this administration to continue to deny opportunities and access to trans people in our society.”

The Women’s Liberation Front, which brought the lawsuit, announced this week that a federal court had dismissed the case but that they planned to appeal. In an emailed statement, Elspeth Cypher, Women’s Liberation Front board president, called the Justice Department investigation “welcome and long overdue.”

“I hope that this investigation provides the women in prison with some hope that finally someone is listening,” Cypher said.

Under the bill enacted in 2021, 1,028 inmates housed at male prisons have requested to be moved to female facilities, according to data as of March 4. The department had granted 47 requests and denied 132. Another 140 applicants “changed their minds,” according to the department.

State officials said that 84 inmates sought to be transferred into men’s facilities from women’s prisons. Of those, seven were approved.

According to the corrections department, 2,405 inmates identify as nonbinary, intersex or transgender. Those populations are said to experience excessive violence in prison. A 2007 UC Irvine study that included interviews with 39 transgender inmates found that the rate of sexual assault is 13 times higher for transgender people, with 59% of those surveyed reporting experiencing such encounters.

The Justice Department said Thursday that its investigation was just getting underway and that it “has not reached any conclusions regarding allegations in these matters.”

“I’m very determined to ensure that no woman who’s incarcerated in the United States is subject to potential rape, sexual assault or other violations of her civil rights as a condition of incarceration to satisfy some woke ideology by the state,” Dhillon said. “If these states are violating these rights and they don’t stop, we will make them through litigation.”

Escorts. Surveillance. Blackmail. Sex parties?

Jessi Draper of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is accusing her estranged second husband, Jordan Ngatikaura, of being involved in pretty much all of the above.

Ngatikaura filed for divorce Thursday in Utah after five years of marriage to Draper. Though that was far from the start of their marital problems, she told Alex Cooper during Wednesday’s episode of “Call Her Daddy” — which was taped Friday — that the dissolution filing was something they had agreed to do together. Then he changed his mind, she said, and she got the news via TMZ.

“I’m the one who ended it. I told him on Friday the 13th, so not that long ago, and I just said I want a divorce. He definitely didn’t want it. And now he’s the one rushing to do it, which is a little strange,” Draper told Cooper.

Also strange, in her view, was his choice to state on the documents that she had had an affair, though they had agreed previously that the reason would be the tried-and-true and totally non-gossipy “irreconcilable differences.” Plus Draper had only kissed another man twice, she said. She never had a physical affair with Marciano Brunette of “Vanderpump Villa,” though their emotional affair was a big part of the third season of “Mormon Wives.” Also, Utah is a no-fault state when it comes to divorce.

The Times was unable to contact Ngatikaura on Wednesday for comment on Draper’s allegations.

During the chat, Draper called her estranged husband “calculated” and “emotionally abusive” and said he told her he had been advised by someone to file on his own. She also admitted to Cooper that their marriage most likely was what it was because she went too quickly from divorcing her first husband to starting a relationship with her second.

That said, Draper said that right before Season 1 of “Mormon Wives” dropped on Hulu in September 2024, she was given “proof” that Ngatikaura had been using an escort service in Texas. At the time, she presented her evidence to him, she said, only to have him say it had probably been generated by AI.

Draper also said she had heard rumors of “sex parties” that he allegedly attended, though her sourcing on that allegation was definitely of the friend-of-a-friend-who-was-there variety. She further claimed that Ngatikaura had listened in on her personal conversations via cameras in her house — cameras she said he unplugged when he moved back into the house and she moved to a hotel — and had blackmailed her, threatening to post texts between her and Brunette online.

“Any time he was mad at me, he’s like, ‘I’m going to post them. I’m going to ruin your life,’” Draper told Cooper.

One day, she said, Ngatikaura told her he believed in traditional gender roles and that he should be in his masculine and she in her feminine, and therefore she should do Pilates every day. That led to a fight, during which he threatened to post the texts he had been keeping in a draft in his phone. Nobody knew yet what had happened between her and Brunette, and she worried that exposing everything would hurt her business, where she employs dozens of people.

“I went to go grab his phone. I was like, ‘Jordan, no … This could ruin everything.’ And he goes, ‘OK.’ And I’m freaking out. So, I’m trying to get his phone. I’m kind of chasing him, trying to get it. He pulls out his phone, starts recording me, and he’s like, ‘What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Are you going to be like, “Taylor, should I call the cops?”’ (referring to her embattled co-star and best friend, Taylor Frankie Paul, whose season of “The Bachelorette” was nixed before it aired).

“I was like, ‘Whoa,’ ‘cause he’s friends with Dakota [Mortenson, Paul’s on-and-off boyfriend], so he’s like hearing things like that, obviously, and he’s baiting me and he’s trying to be like, ‘Oh, oh, what are you doing?’ And that was the moment where, for me, I was like, ‘What am I doing? I am chasing around my husband trying to get his phone so he doesn’t blackmail me. This is not healthy.’ And I literally left him the next day,” she said.

“I was like, this can’t happen anymore.”

Puka Nacua has denied a woman’s claim that he made an antisemitic comment, says the Rams wide receiver’s attorney.

Madison Atiabi made the claim this week in an application for a temporary restraining order obtained by The Times.

Atiabi asserted in the court filing that during a group New Year’s Eve dinner, Nacua said “f— all the Jews … in a manner audible to [her] and others at the table.” Atiabi added that Nacua’s “vulgar, threatening, violent and harassing conduct” escalated as the evening progressed.

After dinner, Atiabi said she was in a car with Nacua and others when the Rams star bit her on the left shoulder, leaving a substantial bite mark that was photographed. Nacua also is alleged to have bitten the thumb of Atiabi’s friend “so forcefully that she screamed in pain,” according to the filing.

Nacua’s attorney, Levi McCathern, said he has spoken to witnesses — including other Rams players who were present — who didn’t hear Nacua make the antisemitic statement. He also said the bite was innocent “horseplay.”

“Puka denies these allegations in the strongest possible terms,” McCathern said. “We will pursue all available legal remedies in response to these false and damaging statements.”

The request for a temporary restraining order was denied by a Los Angeles Superior Court judicial officer and a hearing is scheduled for April 14.

“Our office was contacted with demands of millions of dollars in exchange for not publicizing these allegations,” McCathern told TMZ. “This is not a legitimate claim — it is blackmail.”

In December, Nacua apologized for an antisemitic gesture he made while appearing on a livestream with Adin Ross and N3on.

The livestreamers, with Nacua out of earshot, discussed whether Nacua would get in trouble if he performed a move that references an offensive stereotype about Jewish people. Ross is Jewish, but he often performs the move in his livestreams.

They suggested Nacua, who led the NFL with 129 receptions and was named an All-Pro in 2025, perform the gesture the next time he scored a touchdown.

“At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated hateful stereotypes against Jewish people,” Nacua wrote in his post. “I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.”

The Rams distanced themselves from Nacua’s gesture in a statement.

“There is no place in this world for antisemitism as well as other forms of prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish people and people of any religion, ethnicity, or race,” the team said.

Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted a former waitress in 1972 after escorting her to one of his shows, a civil jury in California concluded Monday, awarding the woman $19.25 million in damages.

The verdict was the latest turn in a series of legal battles the disgraced entertainer, now 88, has faced since allegations that he repeatedly drugged and raped women exploded publicly about a decade ago. Since then, he served about three years in a Pennsylvania prison on sexual assault charges before the case was overturned in 2021.

Donna Motsinger, now 84, said in her lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court that Cosby had given her wine and a pill that left her unable to move, and that she woke up in her house wearing nothing but her underwear, according to court records, and that “she knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”

Cosby has denied the allegations, as well as those brought by dozens of other women who claimed they had been drugged and raped. Coming in the early years of the #MeToo movement, a broad social media-inspired campaign to name and prosecute men accused of sexual misconduct, Cosby’s attorneys painted him as an unfair target of mass vigilantism gone awry.

Motsinger sued Cosby in 2023, alleging that, at the time, she was working at a Sausalito restaurant called The Trident that was popular with celebrities, including Cosby, according to the complaint her attorneys filed Sept. 27 of that year. One night, Motsinger accepted Cosby’s invitation to go with him to his show at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos. Cosby picked her up at her home in a limousine, according to her complaint, and, on the way to the venue, gave her the wine and a pill that she thought was aspirin.

“Next thing she knew, she was going in and out of consciousness while two men attending to Mr. Cosby were putting her in the limousine,” the complaint said. “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls were flashes of light,” before waking up in her house in nothing but underwear.

Motsinger didn’t consent to Cosby’s sexual contact and, having been rendered unconscious by drugging, she couldn’t consent to it to begin with, according to the complaint. As a consequence of her ordeal, her complaint says she suffered lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff and a leading Republican candidate for governor, has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last November’s election as part of an investigation that he called a “fact-finding mission” to determine if they were fraudulently counted.

Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, the state’s top law enforcement official, has sharply criticized the probe, which he called “unprecedented in both scope and scale.”

In a March 4 letter to the sheriff, Bonta said the seizure of the ballots “sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections.” He threatened to seek legal recourse if Bianco does not halt his investigation.

Bianco said Friday that his investigators are looking into allegations by a local citizens group that “did their own audit” and found that the county’s tally was falsely inflated by more than 45,000 votes — a claim that local election officials have emphatically rejected.

Here is what we know.

Why were ballots taken?

According to Bonta’s office, Bianco’s department on Feb. 26 took about 1,000 boxes of ballot materials in Riverside County related to the November election for Proposition 50, which temporarily redrew the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats in response to partisan redistricting in Republican states, including Texas.

Bianco said that it’s his “constitutional duty” to investigate a potential crime and that he is not trying to change the election results.

The investigation includes all of the ballots cast in the county, where Proposition 50 passed with 56% of the vote, a margin of more than 82,000 ballots. Statewide, it passed with 64% of the vote, a margin of more than 3.3 million ballots.

Bianco said he had been contacted by “a group of citizen volunteers” that said it performed an audit finding that 45,896 more ballots were counted than were cast. He did not name the group, but the allegations match those made by a group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team.

In a February presentation to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco disputed the group’s allegations and said they were based on a misunderstanding of raw data that had not been fully processed.

The actual discrepancy, Tinoco said, was 103 votes — a variance of 0.016%.

How did the sheriff get the ballots?

Bianco said his department served the registrar with a warrant “approved and signed by a judge” on Feb. 9.

According to Bonta’s office, an additional warrant was issued on Feb. 23. Bianco said the warrants are now sealed.

In the March 4 letter to Bianco, the attorney general said he had “serious concerns” about whether the sheriff had probable cause to seize the election materials.

Bonta questioned whether Bianco had concealed information from the magistrate judge who approved the warrants, including details from the registrar’s analysis of the citizen group’s allegations.

An official from Bonta’s office told The Times that the attorney general “found out in the middle of the week that [Bianco] was going to execute the warrants on a Friday.” Bonta’s office asked the sheriff to slow down and share information about the investigation, but “instead of waiting, he actually moved it up” and seized the ballots sooner than planned, said the official, who would only speak on background.

Bianco said a Riverside County Superior Court judge ordered the appointment of a special master to oversee the ballot count. His investigators had already begun counting, but the tally would start over under the court’s guidance, Bianco said.

The ballots would have soon been destroyed

California law requires county officials to keep election materials — including ballots and voter identification envelopes — for 22 months for elections involving a federal office and for six months for all other contests.

The materials must be sealed and then destroyed at the end of the retention period.

The Proposition 50 election took place on Nov. 4, so the ballots are scheduled to be destroyed in May.

Why investigate now?

Political observers say that Bianco — a leading gubernatorial candidate — appears to be vying for attention from President Trump and his supporters.

Kim Nalder, a political science professor and director of the Project for an Informed Electorate at Sacramento State, said the investigation appears to be “an electoral ploy.”

“At this stage in the election, most voters haven’t really tuned into the gubernatorial race, and there are a ton of candidates,” she said. “People who don’t know his background will know now. This is clear signaling.”

Trump has repeatedly called on the federal government to “nationalize” state-run elections. He remains fixated on his 2020 election loss and has falsely claimed widespread fraud.

In January, the FBI raided the elections office in Fulton County, Ga., seizing 2020 presidential election records. And this month, the Republican leader of Arizona’s state Senate said he had handed over 2020 election records to the FBI, complying with a federal grand jury subpoena for records related to a controversial audit of the election in Maricopa County.

Bianco is an outspoken Trump supporter.

A poll released last week by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times showed Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton leading the crowded field of gubernatorial candidates by slim margins, with the Democratic vote split among multiple candidates in a left-leaning state.

The top two vote getters, regardless of party, will advance to the November election.

Bianco said the investigation was “not a recount” for Proposition 50 and had nothing to do with his campaign for governor.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, who is a leading Republican candidate for governor, has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last November’s election and is investigating whether they were fraudulently counted.

“This investigation is simple: Physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco said at a news conference Friday.

The unusual probe drew a sharp rebuke from California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, who said in a statement Friday that it is “unprecedented in both scope and scale” and appears “not to be based on facts or evidence.”

“There is no indication, anywhere in the United States, of widespread voter fraud,” Bonta said. “Counts, recounts, hand counts, audits, and court cases all support this.”

According to Bonta’s office, Bianco’s department on Feb. 26 seized about 1,000 boxes of ballot materials in Riverside County related to the November election for Proposition 50, which temporarily redrew the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats in response to partisan redistricting in Republican states, including Texas.

The sheriff said his investigators are looking into allegations by a local citizens group that “did their own audit” and found that the county’s tally was falsely inflated by more than 45,000 votes — a claim that local election officials have rejected.

President Trump, who remains fixated on his 2020 election loss, continues to amplify election conspiracy theories and has repeatedly called for the federal government to “nationalize” state-run elections to counter what he says is widespread fraud.

Bonta and California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, both Democrats, have vowed to fight federal interference that could affect voting in California, including efforts to seize election records, as the FBI recently did in Georgia.

Bianco is an outspoken Trump supporter who said in an endorsement video in 2024 that, after 30 years of putting criminals in jail, he figured it was “time to put a felon in the White House — Trump 2024, baby” — referencing Trump’s conviction by a New York jury for falsifying business records while paying hush money to a porn actor.

Bianco’s investigation, which includes all the ballots cast in Riverside County in November, raises questions about how he would handle the election denialism movement if elected governor.

A poll released last week by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times showed Bianco and conservative commentator Steve Hilton leading the crowded field of gubernatorial candidates by slim margins, in a left-leaning state.

Last fall, Proposition 50 passed in Riverside County with 56% of the vote — a margin of more than 82,000 ballots.

A citizens group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team has said it performed an audit finding that 45,896 more ballots were counted than were cast.

In a lengthy February presentation to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco disputed that figure, saying it was based on a misunderstanding of raw data that had not been fully processed.

The actual discrepancy, Tinoco said, was 103 votes, a variance of 0.016% that was far below what he said was the state’s preferred 2% margin of error for certifying results.

Bianco on Friday said that there “is no acceptable error, small or large, in our elections.”

The sheriff did not name the Riverside Election Integrity Team, but his description of the allegations brought to him by “a group of citizen volunteers” matched theirs.

Bianco said the investigation was “not a recount” for the Proposition 50 contest and was “just as much to prove the election is accurate as it is to show otherwise — we will not know until the count is complete.”

Bonta said his office has “attempted to work cooperatively” with the Sheriff’s Department to understand the basis for the probe. The sheriff, Bonta said, “has delayed, stonewalled, and otherwise refused to work with us in good faith” and failed to provide most of the requested documents.

“We’re concerned that there is not sufficient justification for seizing every ballot that was cast in this very largely populated county,” an official in Bonta’s office said in an interview Friday night.

In a March 4 letter to Bianco, the attorney general cited Bianco’s plan to use Sheriff’s Department staffers, “who are not trained and have no experience,” to count the ballots.

“Let me be clear: this is unacceptable,” Bonta wrote. “Your decision to seize ballots and begin counting them based on vague, unsubstantiated allegations about irregularities in the November special election results sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections. You are also flagrantly violating my directives.”

At his news conference Friday, Bianco fired back by calling Bonta “an embarrassment to law enforcement.”

A Riverside County Superior Court judge, Bianco said, has ordered the appointment of a special master to oversee the ballot count.

In a statement Friday, Secretary of State Weber said “the Sheriff’s assertion that his deputies know how to count is admirable. The fact remains that he and his deputies are not elections officials and they do not have expertise in election administration.”

The United Farm Workers said it would not participate in celebrations of its founder Cesar Chavez amid what the labor union described as “troubling allegations” against the iconic Chicano figure.

The union, in a statement released Tuesday, did not detail the accusations against Chavez but said they were concerning enough for the organization to take action. But several events around the country honoring Chavez including events in Tucson, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and San Bernardino have been canceled in recent weeks, with little explanation given by organizers.

The claims against Chavez “are incompatible with our organization’s values. Some of the reports are family issues, and not our story to tell or our place to comment on. Far more troubling are allegations involving abuse of young women or minors. Allegations that very young women or girls may have been victimized are crushing. We have not received any direct reports, and we do not have any firsthand knowledge of these allegations,” the union said.

Canceling events, the union said, would “provide space for people who may have been victimized to find support and to share their stories if that is what they choose.”

Chavez is a towering national figure credited with organizing and raising the lives of migrant farmworkers in California and beyond and giving voice to the struggles of Mexican Americans.

Bursting into national prominence in the mid-1960s in the San Joaquin Valley, Chavez galvanized public support on behalf of them after organizing community groups across Central and Southern California. For decades, agricultural laborers had lived in substandard housing and were paid terrible wages. Efforts to organize migrant laborers were usually crushed violently by farmers and local law enforcement.

Chavez and his associates joined a grape pickers’ strike in 1965 launched by Filipino organizers centered around Delano, the heart of California’s table grape crop. Those early years were marked by bitter and sometimes brutal incidents involving picketing farmworkers who screamed “Huelga!” — “Strike!”—and growers who vowed never to give in to Chavez and his movement.

Sen. Robert Kennedy and Cesar Chavez as Chavez ended a 25-day fast.

(Bettmann Archive)

That eventually transformed into a boycott that earned international attention. Chavez, drawing on his Catholic faith, fasted for 25 days in 1968 to draw attention to the violence swirling around the effort, ending it by sharing bread with then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Two years later, the UFW was able to secure contracts for more than 10,000 grape pickers.

Those successes made Chavez an almost mythic figure. The UFW flag — a stylized black Aztec eagle against a red background — became synonymous with the Chicano movement that was emerging at the same time. Posters and murals featuring Chavez’s beatific face sprouted in the Southwest and beyond. He traveled across the United States espousing his philosophy of nonviolence, union and dignity for farmworkers.

A 1983 poll of Latinos by The Times found Chavez to be the most admired leader.

But Chavez’s legacy became increasingly tarnished as the years went on. Labor victories became fewer and fewer. His fierce criticism of illegal immigration — Chavez argued that they undercut his unionization efforts — put him at odds with immigration activists. A 2006 Times investigation detailed how dozens of former associates and workers left the UFW because of what they described as Chavez’s increasingly autocratic ways.

Cesar Chavez talks to striking Salinas Valley farmworkers.

(Sakuma / Associated Press )

When the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors decided to change the name of Brooklyn Avenue in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights to Cesar Chavez Avenue after the labor leader’s death in 1993, many in the community opposed it, citing the economic burden businesses would undergo to update their addresses and the erasure of the community’s history on the street.

Yet his standing among Latinos nationwide was such that schools, streets and parks were renamed in his honor in the years after his death. In 2012, President Obama went to tiny Keene, Calif. — where Chavez had set up both his home and the operational headquarters of the United Farm Workers — to dedicate the César E. Chávez National Monument.

It’s unclear the source of the new allegations or when they might become public. But there has been rumbling for weeks among activists that something about Chavez was coming.

A Corpus Christi march was called off last week after labor leader Dolores Huerta withdrew, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Huerta is not commenting on the issue at this time, said Eric Olvera, spokesperson for Huerta.

The news comes two weeks before Cesar Chavez Day, observed March 31.

Local organizers in Los Angeles haven’t announced whether they will cancel their events.

The UFW was vague about the claims but suggested they were serious enough for extreme action.

“These allegations have been profoundly shocking. We need some time to get this right, including to ensure robust, trauma-informed services are available to those who may need it.

“We understand this will be tremendously painful for many and we encourage our community to seek mental health support if they experience distress.”

Tuesday morning, the Cesar Chavez Foundation said in a statement that it had “become aware of disturbing allegations that Cesar Chavez engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with women and minors during his time as President of the United Farm Workers of America.”

The foundation said it was working with leaders in the farmworker movement to be responsive to these allegations and support the people who might have been harmed.

“In partnership with the UFW, we are establishing a safe and confidential process for those who wish to share their experiences of historic harm, and, if they choose to, participate in efforts toward repair and reconciliation,” the statement said. “In addition, we are investing time and resources to ensure the Foundation promotes and strengthens a workplace culture that is safe and welcoming for all.”

In the 48 hours before the UFW and Cesar Chavez Foundation made their statements, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, a community-based union and nonprofit in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, which was founded by Huerta and Chavez, erased the names and affiliation with the leaders from its website.

The new allegations could have implications beyond Chavez’s place in history. If he has been accused of sexual abuse, a legal expert said it could spark legal claims against the union he ran for so long.

In California, Assembly Bill 250 opened a two-year window to file sex assault claims beyond a previous statute of limitations. The Catholic Church, Scouting and public school districts, as a result, have been hit hard with lawsuits.

“It is [a] matter [of] who knew what and when,” said John Manly, a sexual abuse attorney, adding that Chavez’s leadership role could create liability for the UFW.