L.A. County Prosecutors Weigh Charges Against Ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell After Sheriff’s Investigation; No Charges Filed, Lawyer Says He Is Innocent
Los Angeles County prosecutors are weighing whether to bring criminal charges in a case involving former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, after a sheriff’s department investigation, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office told NBC News on Thursday. No charges have been filed, and Swalwell’s attorney says he is innocent.
The district attorney’s sex crimes unit received the case on Sept. 21 after an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s victims’ unit, according to the spokesperson. The office has not said whether or when it will decide on charges.
WHAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE CONFIRMED
The New York Post’s California Post also reported that the district attorney’s office confirmed Thursday that it is reviewing the case involving Swalwell and Lonna Drewes, a Beverly Hills business owner who publicly accused him at a news conference in April. Drewes alleged that Swalwell drugged, sexually assaulted and choked her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, according to both outlets. Los Angeles authorities confirmed at the time that they had opened a criminal investigation, NBC News reported.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April and dropped out of the race for California governor after several women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. He has denied all of the allegations.
ERIC SWALWELL’S LAWYER: ‘THESE ALLEGATIONS ARE FALSE’
“The reported referral to the Los Angeles County District Attorney is a standard procedural step. It is not a charging decision. It is not a finding of wrongdoing. It changes nothing about the facts,” Swalwell’s attorney, Sara Azari, told NBC News in an email Thursday. “We welcome a fair, independent review, and we are confident it will vindicate him.”
Azari also said Swalwell is “innocent,” adding that “these allegations are false, and the facts will bear that out.”
In a video posted on social media on April 10, Swalwell said, “These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything I have,” according to NBC News.
A SEPARATE FEDERAL SEARCH IN AUGUST
The Los Angeles County review is separate from a federal investigation. In August, FBI agents executing a search warrant stopped Swalwell at San Francisco International Airport and seized an iPhone and a MacBook Pro, according to NBC News, which said it obtained a copy of the warrant. The New York Post’s California Post also reported the airport stop, citing security footage it obtained.
Swalwell has not been charged with any crime in either investigation.
Swalwell served in Congress for 13 years. Democrat Aisha Wahab won a June special election to finish his term.
Sources: NBC News (Oct. 15, 2026), the left-leaning outlet that first reported the district attorney’s statement and Swalwell’s lawyer’s response; New York Post / California Post (Oct. 15, 2026); Just the News (Oct. 17, 2026).
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