What are you doing, man? It makes sense this would happen, since Eric Swalwell’s attorney is just as reckless. The former congressman, whose career fell apart in a 72-hour span last month after being accused of sexual misconduct and rape by multiple women, is still using Snapchat, which caused him trouble. To make matters worse, he’s using the app to contact his accusers.
The New York Times published an extensive article about how the congressman used social media to increase his following, but it also contributed to his downfall by highlighting past interactions with his accusers: Annika Albrecht, Ally Sammarco, Lonna Drewes, and an unnamed staffer who alleges Swalwell raped her twice—once in 2019 and again in 2024, the latter at a New York City charity event. She had left his employment before the second alleged assault. Ms. Drewes claimed the California congressman raped her in 2018. These stories were compiled by a liberal influencer, Cheyenne Hunt. Yet, the piece cites other instances in which people messaged lefty content creators, warning them to stay away from Swalwell when he announced his now-dead gubernatorial bid. Oh, and the guy allegedly made some sexually aggressive and graphic gestures on this app too; not that we could have guessed (via NYT) [emphasis mine]:
Former staffer who accused former California Rep. Eric Swalwell of raping her is cooperating with Manhattan DA investigation. Swalwell said at the time that "these allegations are false," and vowed to "defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action."… pic.twitter.com/06E2hc6X3R
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 24, 2026
Swalwell is STILL on Snapchat. Specifically, he is using the app to contact and intimidate women he once preyed upon. https://t.co/hG8HP2IBWm
— Cheyenne Hunt (@CheyenneHuntCA) May 2, 2026
Mr. Swalwell had developed a reputation as a digital native, a person who seemed to have a deep understanding of how to harness the power of social media.
In the end, social media would also play a critical role in his undoing.
It was on social media where early whispers of sexual misconduct accusations against Mr. Swalwell swirled after he entered the California governor’s race last year. After hearing similar chatter and allegations directly from women, two Democratic influencers built a network using some of the same platforms that his accusers said he had used to connect with them.
Cheyenne Hunt, one of the influencers, said she connected some of the accusers with one another. She also told the former aide who eventually alleged in news reports that Mr. Swalwell had sexually assaulted her in a New York hotel that other women were preparing to come forward. The content creators later used social media to collect stories from the women and generate interest online.
[…]
Mr. Swalwell entered the governor’s race in November, hoping to capitalize on his national image as a Democratic attack dog and his ability to reach voters on social media. He invited several influencers to a kickoff meeting on Zoom last year, recognizing their power in the modern era.
Among the content creators Mr. Swalwell won over was Arielle Fodor, known online as “Mrs. Frazzled.” Ms. Fodor, a former teacher who posts about Democratic politics, promoted Mr. Swalwell to her audience, hailing him as “a politician who acts like a normal human and not a robot.”
Almost immediately, Ms. Fodor received several private messages warning her to stay away from him, she said in an interview. She said she wanted to find out more.
[…]
Mr. Swalwell is still using Snapchat. As recently as this week, Mr. Swalwell communicated directly with a former intern on the app and asked her why she had taken a screenshot of their chat history, based on images provided to The Times, though the messages were not sexual in nature.
Eric Swalwell is the Louis C.K. of Jeffrey Toobins. https://t.co/QHgtyHoRcA
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) May 4, 2026
Oh god he went full Toobin https://t.co/PMztJcHBiV
— Dr. Richard Harambe (@Richard_Harambe) May 4, 2026
Sara Azari, an attorney for Swalwell, is cited numerous times, claiming the accusations against her client are without merit or corroboration. Additionally, the more salacious tales were consensual. Maybe her next move is to tell Eric to stop using social media to contact his accusers. The creepy Eric narrative is not dead; it is reconfirmed here.
Again, what is it with this guy? I wish I could say this counsel is better than Elias Dabaie, but that’s not saying much. You need to be a special sort of awful to have a trainwreck this bad on CNN:
CNN’s Elex Michaelson put on a journalistic masterclass interviewing Eric Swalwell’s attorney, Elias Dabaie,
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) April 11, 2026
Eric Swalwell’s attorney, Elias Dabaie on the other hand may be the worst attorney on the planet or a mole for Katie Porter’s campaign because dude did not help at all. pic.twitter.com/PBsJqCukFn
Swalwell withdrew from California's gubernatorial race on April 12 and officially resigned from Congress two days later, the same day Drewes held a press conference regarding the rape allegations against him.
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