CNN 4/10/2026

Exclusive: Four women describe sexual misconduct by Rep. Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her

1/8(Finally, posting all of it. He will never be Governor of anything!)

By Allison Gordon, Isabelle Chapman, Casey Tolan, Pamela Brown, CNN Fri April 10, 2026

A former staffer of Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, says thatthe congressman raped herwhen she was heavily intoxicated and left her bruised and bleeding, an allegation Swalwell strongly denies.

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman told CNN of the incident, which she saidhappened in 2024after she had stopped working in Swalwell’s office. “He didn’t stop.”

She said it was the second time Swalwell had nonconsensual sexual contact with her while she was drunk. In 2019, when she was still working for him, she said she woke up naked with him in a hotel room after a night of heavy drinking. She saidshe had no memoryof what happened but could feel physically that they’d had sexual contact.

Three other womenwho spoke with CNN also alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by the Democratic congressman – including Swalwell sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

One woman who connected online with Swalwell over her interest in Democratic politics says she ended up extremely drunk inside his hotel room after a night out with the congressman,with little memory of what occurred. Earlier in the night at a bar, he kissed her and touched her leg without her consent, she said.

Another woman, who described receiving unsolicited nude messages from Swalwell, was social media creator Ally Sammarco. She said she initially reached out to the congressman on Twitter to discuss politics. “I truly never thought he would respond – I had like 1,000 followers at the time,” she said. “And he actually responded.”

Swalwell denied the women’s allegations.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” Swalwell said in a statement to CNN. “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.”

An attorney for Swalwell sent two of the women CNN spoke with cease-and-desist letters on Thursday, a day after CNN first reached out to his campaign to request comment, according to copies of the letters they provided CNN. The letters called the women’s accounts “false,” ordered them to retract their statements and warned of potential legal action if they continue speaking out.

The letters said the women’s claims were “undermined” by their “voluntary and cooperative relationship with Mr. Swalwell over the course of many years” following the alleged incidents, including the former staffer asking him for job references.

His attorney also sent CNN a letter denying that Swalwell has ever had nonconsensual sex with any woman or ever had sexual relations with any member of his staff.

One member of Swalwell’s staff said they quit immediately after receiving CNN’s detailed list of questionsabout the allegations.

CNN found corroboration for key elements of each of the women’s claims, including the former staffer who said she was sexually assaulted. Two family members and a friend said in interviews with CNN that she told them about the alleged 2024 assault in the following days, and CNN also reviewed text messages she sent two friends describing her allegations at the same time. “I was sexually assaulted on Thursday,” she wrote to one of her friends, adding: “By Eric.”

The woman also shared medical records related to her receiving STD and pregnancy testing after the alleged assault.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487436

2/7 or 8

For the woman who connected online with Swalwell over Democratic politics, a family member and two friends confirmed she told them last year about the incident where she ended up intoxicated in his hotel room. CNN also reviewed messages between her and Swalwell, including a photo he sent her that matches footage of him during a CNN interview in her city on the night they met in person.

Thewomen described a similar pattern of events: Swalwell, who is married and has three children, showed close interest in their lives when they were in their twenties and finding their footing professionally, making them feel special and even starstruck. Then, they said, he would send them increasingly sexual messages. Many said they reciprocated and engaged with him in part because of his position of power. In some cases, those inappropriate exchanges escalated to alleged unwanted physical touch or sexual assault, often tied to episodes of heavy drinking.

The women asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation by Swalwell or professional consequences for speaking out against him.

CNN reviewed screenshots of dozens of messages Swalwell exchanged with the women, many of which are flirtatious in nature. None of the messages reviewed by CNN are sexually explicit. The women saidSwalwell generally sent more graphic messages via Snapchat, where messages are automatically deleted after short periods of time. Snapchat also warns senders if screenshots are captured.

The allegations come as Swalwell – a congressman from the San Francisco Bay Area, former presidential candidate, and fixture on cable news – has ascended in the polls in California’s competitive governor’s race.

Rumors aboutmisbehavior by Swalwell have circulated on social media in recent weeks, broadcast by a group of progressive social media influencers. Most of the women who spoke to CNN initially reached out to one of these influencers, and said that before the social media attention, they had assumed they were alone in their experiences with Swalwell.

Three key influencers told CNN that they were not being paid by other campaigns and had not coordinated directly with them in publicizing claims about Swalwell.

“This has always been about getting justice for these women and exposing the truth,” said Cheyenne Hunt, a lawyer and former congressional candidate who has shared messages highlighting allegations about Swalwell on social media.

CNN also spoke to other women who worked for Swalwell and said that they had never had any inappropriate interactions with him, with some of them describing him as a supportive and caring boss.

But several of the women who made allegations aboutSwalwell said that the congressman’s actions had long-term implications on their lives, leaving them confused, distraught and scared. They said they decided to come forward after hearing rumors that they were not alone in their experiences with the congressman.

“I always felt like if I came forward, I was going to suffer the consequences because he was so powerful,” the former staffer who accused Swalwell of assaulting her said, adding, “I’ve lived in fear every single day.”

‘It just became a secret that I lived with’

The former Swalwell staffer said she started interning for him in 2019 when she was 20 years old, before she graduated from college. At the time, Swalwell was a rising star in the Democratic party. A former prosecutor who had defeated a 40-year incumbent to win his suburban San Francisco Bay Area congressional seat, Swalwell made a name for himself as a member of the House Intelligence Committee and an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487436

3/7 or 8

In April 2019, Swalwell launched an underdog presidential bid, pitching himself as a generational change agent. Inspired by his focus on gun control, the woman moved to California to join Swalwell’s campaign as a junior staffer. “I just believed in what he had to offer so much,” she said.

After Swalwell dropped out of the presidential race in July 2019, she moved to a job in his district office.

As the woman, who was by then 21, began to work more closely with Swalwell, planning events, arranging his travel, and driving him around his district, he struck up a personal relationship with her. She said that Swalwell, who was 38, praised her work in the office, bringing her to meetings and introducing her to political figures.

“When he talked to you, it was like the sun was shining on you,” she said. “You felt like the coolest person in the room.”

The two began messaging each other on Snapchat, she said. On that platform, she said, Swalwell began making sexual comments and sent her photos of his penis and of him shirtless. He also asked her to send him photos of herself, including nude photos, which she did. She said she found the attention flattering, but also felt nervous because he was her boss.

The woman’s mother told CNN that her daughter told her some months later that Swalwell was communicating with her over Snapchat, and she and her husband found it inappropriate. But the woman didn’t tell her parents at that time that the messages were sexual, the mother said.

Because the messages on Snapchat were automatically deleted, she said she has no screenshots of their exchanges on the app.

“There was Eric the Snapchatting guy, and then there was Eric my boss,” the former staffer said. “It was like two different people completely.

In 2019, when she was driving Swalwell around his district as part of her staff duties, he told her to stop in a parking lot, pulled out his penis, and asked her to give him oral sex, she said. She said she briefly complied, before stopping and telling Swalwell she was uncomfortable.

“He said to me, ‘You’re right, it’s probably not good for a congressman to be caught with his pants down,’” she told CNN.

In September 2019, she was alone with Swalwell at a bar in his district after a casual gathering with staffers, she said. “I was really, really drunk,” she said.

She said she remembers getting an Uber, and then the next thing she remembered, she woke up in Swalwell’s hotel room the following morning, naked in bed with him.

“I know that there was sexual contact because when I woke up in the morning, I could feel that there was,” she said. Swalwell told her that “last night was great” but she should get going, she said.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487466

4/7 or 8

That day, she was scheduled to accompany Swalwell to a “hike with your congressman” event at a local park; a listing for the event appears on Swalwell’s congressional Facebook page. At the event, she remembered, “I could still feel physically what had happened to me,” but she said Swalwell ignored her, treating her like “someone who he had never seen before in his life.”

Later on Snapchat, she said, Swalwell was much friendlier, telling her how nice their sexual encounter was. “I said to him, ‘I really don’t remember it at all,’” she said. “And he was like, ‘Well, next time, we have to make sure you remember it.’”

The former staffer said that she didn’t tell anyone about either of the incidents with Swalwell at the time. “I just felt so dirty and gross, and it just became a secret that I lived with,” she said. She said it wasn’t clear to her at the time that she had been sexually assaulted, but that she later realized that the encounter was not consensual because she had been so intoxicated.

Swalwell gradually began Snapchatting her less frequently, she said. She moved to a new job in Swalwell’s Washington, DC, office, and left for a new job about a year later. But Swalwell stayed in touch with her, she said, recommending her for jobs and messaging with her from time to time. The former staffer said she tried to stay in touch with Swalwell because of his status as a congressman.

Then in April 2024, when the former staffer was 25, Swalwell was invited to speak at a gala in New York City that she attended. CNN reviewed video of Swalwell’s speech at the event, and a photo of the woman there. The woman said she decided to get drinks with Swalwell because he was a powerful person in her field.

The two got drinks at Swalwell’s hotel and a nearby bar, and Swalwell was totally professional, she said. Federal campaign spending records show that Swalwell’s congressional campaign frequently made purchases at both locations she named.

After the gala, she said met up with some colleagues and then sent Swalwell a Snapchat message inviting him to get another drink. One of the colleagues she was with told CNN that she told them at the time that she was going to get a drink with Swalwell. The colleague asked not to be named.

When Swalwell came in a car to pick her up, he put his hand on her leg. “I said, ‘No funny business, like, that’s not what this is,’” she remembered. “And he was like, ‘Okay, okay.’”

But then over drinks, Swalwell told the former staffer that he’d been obsessed with her and he’d never cheated on his wife except with her, she said. “I guess I liked the attention, but I never wanted to sleep with him,” she remembered.

As the night progressed, she said, the two went to another bar and continued drinking. She said she was heavily intoxicated and doesn’t remember leaving the bar.

The next thing the former staffer remembered, she was in bed with Swalwell in his hotel room and he was having sex with her, she said. She said she remembers “flashes of that evening, of him on top of me, me pushing him off, him grabbing me.”

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” she said. “He didn’t stop.”

The former staffer woke up in Swalwell’s hotel room the next morning alone and “completely confused,” she said. She had been wearing a dress she needed someone else to zip, so she wrapped herself in a blanket, ran out of the hotel, and took the first cab she saw back to her own hotel, she said. She said she quickly called her mother, who confirmed her account in an interview with CNN.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487474

5/7 or 8

“My vagina was bleeding the next day after the sex, I had cuts and bruises on my body,” she said. When she looked in the mirror later, “I could see the bruises of where his hand had been on my rib cage and on my legs and near my thighs,” she remembered.

Swalwell messaged her on Snapchat that day saying that the previous night was great and that he hoped she remembered it this time, and telling her not to tell anyone, she said.

She told her partner that Swalwell had assaulted her when she returned home that day, her partner confirmed in an interview with CNN, saying that “she was just so distraught.” She also told two other friends about being assaulted by Swalwell over the following days, according to screenshots of text messages she shared with CNN and an interview with one of the friends. In both text message chains, she referred to the same thing happening to her in the past, writing in one message, “this happened one other time when I was working for him… same pattern: I blacked out and he had sex with me.” Her partner, mother and friend asked not to be named.

Several days later, she went to a health clinic and got an STD test, and provided screenshots showing that appointment to CNN. She said she told her medical provider that she had been assaulted by a congressman, and the provider at the clinic referred to her as “a survivor” in an online message about her test results, a screenshot shows.

She said she never confronted Swalwell directly about the assault or reported it to the police in part because she believed him when he told her he hadn’t made sexual advances toward other women.

“I kept figuring out ways to blame myself: I shouldn’t have reached out to him at all, I should have left, I should have done this,” she said. “Well, Eric shouldn’t have raped me.”

In February, as his campaign for governor was picking up steam, Swalwell and his campaign manager both texted her, offering her work for his campaign, screenshots she provided to CNN show. She declined.

“I’ve always lived with a huge secret,” she said. “I’m not speaking up because I’m looking to ruin Eric Swalwell. The only person who could ruin Eric Swalwell is Eric Swalwell.”

‘All you did was harm me’

Another woman, who had an interest in Democratic politics, said she began messaging with Swalwell online in 2025 after responding to one of his Instagram stories, joking that she might run for office herself. A couple days later, she said, Swalwell followed her and encouraged her to get involved in politics. He later sent her his phone number.

The woman and Swalwell began texting over several weeks, including late at night, discussing politics and their previous work experience as bartenders, screenshots of messages she shared with CNN show. She said she was shocked that a congressman was paying her attention. “I kind of almost felt like I was getting catfished,” she said.

In spring 2025, Swalwell said he happened to be coming to her city and asked to meet. He asked for her suggestions for a hotel and places to go, the messages show.

Swalwell and the woman met for dinner and drinks at a steakhouse. She said she told her mother about the meeting with Swalwell in advance, and her mother confirmed that in an interview with CNN. Swalwell asked her about her work history in what seemed almost like a job interview, she recalled.

Partway through their conversation, Swalwell told her that he had to do a CNN interview, and went back to his hotel room. As he was waiting for his live TV hit, Swalwell texted her a photo asking her how he looked, according to a screenshot she provided to CNN. That photo matched Swalwell’s appearance in the interview, and Swalwell also told the CNN anchor that he was visiting the city where the woman lived, according to CNN’s recording.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487483

6/7 or 8

Afterward, Swalwell took the woman to another bar, where they sat in a back booth, she said. “He was sitting against me, and so I kind of moved away from him, and every time that I would move away from him, he would get closer to me,” she remembered. He touched her leg and ordered a drink for her.

The woman said she tried to turn the conversation to her partner and Swalwell’s wife and children, but Swalwell continued to touch her. She began to get more intoxicated and felt “really fuzzy,” even accidentally walking into the men’s bathroom in the bar, she said.

After she returned to the booth, Swalwell kissed her, she said. “I was shocked that he would do that right in the middle of a public bar,” she said. She said she told him it was wrong, but didn’t want to burn a bridge with a prominent congressman, so she stayed at the bar even as she was getting more intoxicated.

The woman said she then ended up in Swalwell’s hotel room without any memory of how she got there. She said that her memory of what happened in Swalwell’s hotel room is “a blur.” She ended up leaving the hotel at 5:41 a.m., according to a screenshot of an Uber receipt she provided to CNN.

The next day, she said, Swalwell sent her disappearing iPhone voice messages saying that he wanted to ensure that his wife didn’t find out about what happened, she said.

She felt emotionally vulnerable and distraught in the following weeks, she said, telling her mother about a month after the fact about what had happened, and later telling two close friends. All three confirmed to CNN in interviews that she had shared her story with them. One friend said that she told them about her experience with Swalwell in December 2025, while the other said she could not remember when specifically she was told.

She said she told Swalwell that she felt “really disgusted and ashamed” about what happened, but he continued contacting her, including offering to use his position to help her renew her passport or saying he could write her a letter of recommendation for her law school applications.

A few days before he announced his gubernatorial bid in November, he texted her, asking how she was, according to screenshots she provided to CNN. The following month, she sent him a long message telling him that “all you did was harm me,” and asking him not to contact her again.

“I won’t bother you again!” Swalwell responded. “Sorry.”

The woman said she continued to stay in touch with Swalwell after that, however, exchanging some friendly messages with him, in what she likened to Stockholm syndrome.

In the cease-and-desist letter to the woman, Swalwell’s lawyer argued that some of these text messages, including one in which she said “you would be an amazing governor,” raised doubt about her account.

The woman told CNN she decided to speak out about what happened to her after hearing rumors about other women accusing Swalwell of misconduct, and realizing she wasn’t alone.

“I suffered a lot in silence… I had no desire to ever come after him or ever come out saying something,” she said. But she concluded that Swalwell “used my vulnerabilities and the fact that I looked up to him to be able to get something from it,” she added.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

>>24487490

7/8

Explicit messages and nudes

Two other women told CNN that Swalwell had sent them unsolicited photos of his penis and other sexual messages on Snapchat after connecting on social media in 2021.

Sammarco said she first connected with Swalwell after messaging him on Twitter in August 2021, asking him about his history of growing up in a Republican family.

Swalwell sent her friendly messages on Twitter, screenshots she provided to CNN show, asking her about her life and work in politics, and sent her his phone number. They began texting, and he offered to share her resume with other congressional offices to help her get a job on Capitol Hill.

Eventually, Sammarco said, Swalwell started texting her late at night to ask personal questions. He sent her a photo of himself drinking wine at home, she said. One screenshot she provided to CNN shows Swalwell musing whether he should “pour a nightcap,” and telling the influencer “now you’re the bad angel tempting me” when she said he should. In another message she showed CNN, he asked, “are you on snap?”

Starting in September 2021, Sammarco said, she and Swalwell exchanged messages on Snapchat almost every day. Swalwell “became very inappropriate, like saying about how hot he thought I was, insinuating we should get together and hook up,” she said. “He was always like drunk texting me, saying, ‘Oh, I’m having a drink. What are you doing?’ And I’m like, ‘I am out with my friends.’ Like, I’m 24.

The congressman sent Sammarco selfies of himself in bed or shirtless, as well as unsolicited photos of his penis, she said.

Swalwell asked Sammarco where she lived, she said, and then ran by her apartment building several times, stopping to say hi and giving her hugs but not coming inside. Swalwell also gave her a personal tour of the Capitol, she said.

Their contacts fizzled out when Sammarco met her boyfriend, now her husband, in December 2021, she said. Swalwell “tried multiple times to message me on Snapchat again… and I just, like, won’t respond,” she said. They maintained some contact in the subsequent years, according to messages reviewed by CNN.

Then in November 2025, the same month Swalwell announced his gubernatorial run, he messaged Sammarco again, congratulating her on her “social media dominance,” according to a screenshot she provided to CNN.

Another woman, who works in marketing, said Swalwell first reached out to her on Twitter in April 2021, when she was in her late twenties, after she liked several of his posts. “When someone like him starts to talk to you – it’s like, why is he interested in me?” she said.

They began messaging on Snapchat, and the conversation became flirty and sexual after about a month, she said. Swalwell often requested swimsuit or nude photos of the woman, which she sometimes sent. He sent her several videos of his penis, which she did not ask for, she said.

The two never met in person, but messaged on and off for four years, she said. She said Swalwell usually initiated contact. At some points, Swalwell offered to help her with her career, though she said she never took him up on it.

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-inv

>>24487495

8/8

In one flirty exchange reviewed by CNN, Swalwell complimented her on a swimsuit photo she’d shared on Instagram and said it had been too long since they’d last messaged, according to screenshots she provided to CNN. “That swimsuit. Fuck,” he wrote.

CNN spoke with two friends who said the woman told them about Swalwell sending her images of his penis and sexually explicit messages at the time it was happening. One friend also said they reviewed a Snapchat video that wasn’t sexually explicit that Swalwell sent to her.

The woman said she felt “embarrassed and kind of ashamed” about her exchanges with Swalwell.

“When you’re getting unsolicited dick videos sent to you, it just makes you feel like I’m lesser than a person,” she said. “I just wish I’d never answered him.”

https://lite.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

Dear God, bring the full and complete judgement on this perve Swalwell, and also bring Schitt to the highest legal judgment of America. Thank you God Amen

>>24487520. I know, California will not be electing a stupid pervert I hope

>>24487515. Good it’s one good thing they’ve done in 10 years

>>24487502. Cool Q agrees

First phone contact between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington

This marks the firstdirect contact between the two countries since 1983.

L'OLJ / By L'Orient Today staff, 10 April 2026 16:

BEIRUT — The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington held their first phone conversation on Friday,marking the first official contact between the two countries since 1983. The Lebanese presidency issued a statement on the matter.

“On the basis of the initiative launched by President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun, which is focused on diplomatic efforts toward the announcement of a cease-fire and the start of direct negotiations with Israel, and following recent international and Arab contacts made by President Aoun in response to the escalation of Israeli attacks against Lebanon, the U.S. administration has decided to task the State Department with playing a mediating role between Lebanon and Israel,” the presidency said.

“Within this framework,and in accordance with President Aoun’s instructions to the Lebanese ambassador in Washington, a phone call took place at 9 p.m. Beirut time — the first of its kind between Lebanon, represented by its ambassador in Washington Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israel, represented by its ambassador in Washington Yechiel Leiter, with the participation of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, who was present in Washington,” the statement added.

“During this exchange, an agreement was reached to hold an initial meeting next Tuesday at the U.S. State Department headquarters to discuss the announcement of a ceasefireand the date for launching negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under American auspices,” the presidency concluded.

Following a day of deadly Israeli strikes on the capital and across the country, along with statements from Tel Aviv and Washington indicating that Lebanon would not be involved in cease-fire negotiations with Tehran, the situation shifted.By early Thursday evening, Israel agreed to enter into direct negotiations with Lebanon.

https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1503096/first-phone-contact-between-lebanese-and-israeli-ambassadors-in-washington.html

Jeffries, Pelosi and other Democrats call on Eric Swalwell to end governor campaign

The former speaker said the sexual assault allegations “must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability.”

By RILEY ROGERSON04/10/2026 08:06 PM EDT

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi headlined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers called on Rep. Eric Swalwell Friday to withdraw his campaign for California governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

“This extremely sensitive matter must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability,” Pelosi said in a statement. “As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign.”

In a joint statement with other elected House Democratic leaders,Jeffries called for a “swift investigation” as well as the end of his pending campaign.

“This is unacceptable of anyone — certainly not an elected official — and must be taken seriously,” the leaders said.

The San Francisco Chronicle reportedFriday that a former congressional aide accused the congressman of two sexual encounters without her consent, beginning in 2019. CNN later reported that four women allege that Swalwell has committed sexual misconduct, including one former staffer who accuses Swalwell of rape.

Swalwell denied the allegations in a statement.

“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the frontrunner for governor,” he said. “I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action.”

Key backers of Swalwell’s governor bid swiftly revoked their support after the Chronicle’s story was published, including Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) and Adam Gray (D-Calif.), who served as campaign co-chairs.

“Today’s reports about Eric Swalwell’s conduct while in office are deeply disturbing,” Gray said in a statement. “Harassment, abuse, and violence of any sort are unacceptable. Given these serious allegations, I am withdrawing my support and Eric Swalwell should end his campaign immediately.”

But nothing underscored the peril for Swalwell’s nearly two-decade political career as vividly as Pelosi’s statement. The former speaker included Swalwell in her inner circle of favored Democratic members for years, tapping him for junior leadership roles and to serve as a manager in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021.

The situation presents a predicament for the sitting House Democratic leaders, who have insisted on letting a full Ethics Committee investigation play out before supporting formal discipline against another House Democrat accused of misconduct, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.).

Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California did not speak directly to consequences in the House in a joint statement.

But House Republicans were already discussing by Friday evening the likely scenario that one of their own members will bring a censure effort against Swalwell, according to three people granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said in an interview that she was weighing a censure and other action against Swalwell based on the reports of sexual assault allegations against him.

Luna said she would act “if there is evidence brought forward.”

The internal consequences could start playing out as soon as the House returns to session Tuesday, but a wave of topCalifornia Democrats immediately dropped their endorsements of Swalwell, including Rep. Ted Lieu, the No. 4 Democrat in House leadership.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) likened the situation to his push for transparency around disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and called for “appropriate” House and law enforcement investigations.

“No one in a position of power should be allowed to act above the law or with impunity,” he said in a statement. “It doesn’t matter what office you hold, how wealthy you are, or which political party you align with. The same rules must apply to Eric Swalwell.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/10/eric-swalwell-house-democrats-00867951

Trump wished Vance 'luck' with peace talks, says Strait of Hormuz will open 'automatically'

Trump told reporters this evening that he wished the U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, luck as they departed to engage in peace talks with Iran in Pakistan.

“We'll see how it turns out. So it's JD and Steve and Jared. We have a good team, and they meet tomorrow. We'll see how it all works out,"Trump said on the tarmac ahead of boarding Air Force One.

The president said that he will not allow Iran to toll the Strait of Hormuz.

"It’s international water. If they're doing that, nobody knows if they're doing that, but if they're doing that, we're not going to let that happen," he said.

Trump added that the strait will "open up automatically," despite the fact that limited traffic has been able to pass through the critical trade route since the temporary ceasefire was called earlier this week.

"The strait will open up. If we just left the strait, otherwise they make no money. So the strait is going to open," Trump said. He added that the U.S. doesn't use the strait, so "other countries" will "help out."

"It won't be easy. It won't be, I would say this, we will have that open fairly soon," the president said.

When asked if he has a backup plan if the strait does not open, he replied,"You don't need a backup plan."

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/live-blog/live-updates-trump-iran-hormuz-israel-lebanon-ceasefire-talks-rcna273610#rcrd107557

US sends additional forces to Middle East ahead of Iran talks - WSJ

5 hours ago

The United States is deploying more military forces to the Middle East ahead of planned talks with Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The report said the buildup includes additional troops and military assets positioned for possible operations, as Washington pursues diplomacy while maintaining pressure on Tehran.

"US deployments in recent weeks have included Marines, warships and other assets, part of a broader reinforcement of its regional presence," the report added.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202604109440

This is NOT the agreement we have!: Trump puts Iranian leaders on blast

Fox News Report: The latest news surrounding Artemis II’s return to Earth, Middle East peace talks and more.

1:33

https://youtu.be/kYQRPnLiJd4

Gutfeld: Trump speaks in a language rogue nations understand

Fox News host Greg Gutfeld expresses disbelief over the media’s ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ on ‘Gutfeld!

13:24

https://youtu.be/CXEc2HZrws4

The Five' on Iran negotiations…

(Uh Oh they didn’t get rid of Jessica! You have to admit that when the President says you need to get rid of Jessica, even though she deserves it, that must be embarrassing)

'The Five' panelists discuss the Trump administration's talks with Iran amid concerns over nuclear capabilities.

12:44

https://youtu.be/p3QsmRajW-s

‘The Five’: Stop the bus…

1:33

https://youtu.be/G_W8zhqb744

Dana Perino: I was FOOLED by this…

‘The Five’ co-hosts analyze the latest Republican and Democratic approval ratings.

7:36

https://youtu.be/pmPdSXS4uOw

‘The Five’: Big, beautiful ceasefire?

‘The Five’ discusses possibilities surrounding the ceasefire with Iran

12:14

https://youtu.be/QTo121huYqA