Former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell was confronted by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport over the weekend and had his electronic devices seized as part of a federal criminal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations, according to a new report.
Agents were reportedly waiting for Swalwell when he landed in California on Saturday after flying from Washington, D.C., where he still maintains a residence with his wife and three children.
The FBI presented the former congressman with a court-approved search warrant and seized several electronic devices, including his cellphone, according to sources cited by the Daily Mail.
Swalwell was cooperative during the encounter, the report said.
The federal activity did not stop at the airport.
The following day, agents reportedly executed additional search warrants at Swalwell’s Washington home and seized undisclosed potential evidence from the property.
Neither Swalwell nor his wife, Brittany Watts, was reportedly home when agents arrived.
The searches mark a major escalation in the federal investigation surrounding the former California Democrat, who has denied wrongdoing.
🚨 JUST IN: FBI agents CONFRONTED ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell at San Francisco Airport and promptly seized his cellphone as part of the criminal investigation into his alleged s*xual misconduct — Daily Mail
Then they searched his HOUSE and seized more files.
Don’t forget that… pic.twitter.com/gHKkCnemQ8
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 20, 2026
At least four women have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including a former staffer who alleged he raped her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, once in 2019 and again in 2024.
Another woman has alleged that Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018.
Two women have also accused him of sending unsolicited explicit photographs.
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The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the allegations in April, according to the report.
Swalwell has vehemently denied the accusations and has not been convicted of any crime connected to the claims.
The allegations nevertheless dealt a devastating blow to his political career, forcing him out of the California governor’s race and prompting his resignation from Congress.
Eric Swalwell acknowledged making ‘mistakes in judgment’ while rejecting the sexual assault allegations and apologized to his wife.
The controversy has also placed new scrutiny on his marriage.
Photos published in May showed Watts leaving the couple’s Washington residence without her wedding ring while Swalwell remained out of public view.
The former lawmaker’s problems have unfolded alongside renewed attention on his past relationship with Christine Fang, the suspected Chinese intelligence operative widely known as Fang Fang.
Recently declassified records released by the White House Transparency Task Force reportedly showed Swalwell telling the FBI that he ‘occasionally hooked up’ with Fang.
Fang spent years developing relationships with rising California politicians and helped bundle donations for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign. She also reportedly helped place an intern in his congressional office.
Swalwell has not been accused by law enforcement of wrongdoing in connection with Fang.
The newly released records came as federal authorities were already investigating the separate sexual misconduct allegations that ended Swalwell’s political career.
One former staffer told CNN that after a night of heavy drinking in New York City in April 2024, she awoke in Swalwell’s hotel bed while he was allegedly having sex with her.
‘I was pushing him off of me, saying no,’ she said. ‘He didn’t stop.’
The former staffer has also accused Swalwell of assaulting her on another occasion.
A family friend later described the fallout surrounding the allegations.
‘Eric has been accused of horrible things. How do you live with that?’ the friend said.
The FBI searches represent the most serious publicly reported investigative step yet against Swalwell, but the execution of a search warrant does not itself establish guilt.
The former congressman has continued to deny wrongdoing as federal investigators examine the allegations and the evidence seized from his devices and Washington residence.
