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Congressman Eric Swalwell now faces a second rape accusation. The California Democrat resigned from Congress Tuesday. From member station KQED, Marisa Lagos has more on the disturbing allegations, and we'll note that this report includes descriptions of sexual violence.
MARISA LAGOS, BYLINE: Swalwell dropped out of the California governor's race Sunday, two days after a former staffer accused him of sexually assaulting her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent in 2019 and 2024. NPR has not independently verified the allegations, which Swalwell denies.
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ERIC SWALWELL: These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have.
LAGOS: On Tuesday, he resigned from Congress. Also Tuesday, a Southern California woman named Lonna Drewes said at a news conference in Los Angeles that Swalwell drugged and raped her in his West Hollywood hotel room in 2018. Swalwell denied the latest accusation through his attorney and called all of the accusations, quote, "a calculated and transparent political hit job." Drewes says she met Swalwell socially and saw him three times. On their third meeting, she says, Swalwell told her he needed to get some paperwork from his hotel room. She had drunk just one glass of wine, she says.
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LONNA DREWES: I arrived at his hotel room. I was already incapacitated, and I couldn't move my arms or my body. He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. And I thought I died.
LAGOS: Drewes says she's reporting the alleged assault to law enforcement and pledged to cooperate with any investigation. Drewes says she disclosed the assault to people close to her at the time and documented it in her calendar and during therapy at a sexual assault center. She says she was interested in Swalwell's promises of professional connections and help.
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DREWES: My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt. Fear of his political power, his background as an attorney.
LAGOS: Swalwell is a well-known figure in Democratic politics who was emerging as a top contender in the race for California governor until allegations surfaced Friday in the San Francisco Chronicle and on CNN. In addition to the accusations of rape, three other women have accused him of harassing them with unwanted advances and lewd text messages - allegations he denies.
For NPR News, I'm Marisa Lagos in San Francisco. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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