More than 200 donors are requesting refunds totaling over $1.5 million from former Representative Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign following allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple women, according to an internal campaign document viewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The refund requests come after Swalwell’s political career collapsed earlier this month. The Chronicle published an investigation on April 10, detailing allegations from a former staffer who said Swalwell sexually assaulted her twice when she was too drunk to consent. Following that report, several additional women came forward with similar allegations. Many of his campaign staffers resigned and called for him to drop out of the race.
The California Democrat ended his gubernatorial bid on April 12, and announced his resignation from Congress the following day.
In the weeks since, campaign staffers have been overwhelmed with refund requests but lack clear direction on how to process them. The Chronicle reviewed multiple emails exchanged among people working for the Swalwell campaign discussing the hundreds of refund requests and the absence of an authorized procedure.
Mike Hsieh, an El Sobrante man who donated $250 to Swalwell’s campaign in early February, has been attempting to recover his contribution since shortly after the allegations surfaced. He reached out to both the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue and the Swalwell campaign. Only ActBlue responded initially, directing him to a general campaign email.
Hsieh became more frustrated after reading a Chronicle report Friday revealing that Swalwell had used $40,000 in campaign funds to pay attorney Sara Azari, who has been appearing on television on his behalf. “I was very much incensed. It feels truly unjust because it has nothing to do with the campaign,” Hsieh told the Chronicle. “This seems to me to be illegal, or at least it should be.”
A former Swalwell staffer responded to Hsieh on Monday morning, explaining they could not help. “We have not received an authorized procedure or clear direction on the refund process,” the former staffer wrote. “We apologize, as this is not the update we were hoping to provide. If it were up to me and my former colleagues, refunds would be the top priority.”
A lawyer advising the Swalwell campaign on campaign finance issues did not respond to questions from the Chronicle about the refund requests or whether the campaign had begun issuing any refunds.
Swalwell’s most recent financial disclosure report for his gubernatorial campaign account, running through April 18, shows $4 million in cash on hand and approximately $200,000 in unpaid debts. The report also shows the $40,000 payment to Azari, whom Swalwell hired days after the Chronicle published its investigation.
Azari declined to comment on whether Swalwell is using campaign funds for his legal defense. “The scope and nature of an attorney’s representation of a client — including fees, costs, and the financial structure of the engagement — are privileged and confidential,” she wrote in an email.
California campaign finance rules permit the use of campaign funds for litigation costs only when they are directly related to campaign committee activities or the candidate’s duties and status. This includes compliance with election laws and “action to halt defamation,” according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. Candidates are separately allowed to raise money into a legal defense committee for expenses related to sexual assault claims, but they must reimburse those funds if found liable. Swalwell has not opened a legal defense fund, according to state campaign finance records.
Campaign finance records show Swalwell’s 2018 re-election campaign made two payments totaling $361 at the Montrose hotel in West Hollywood on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, the same location and date where accuser **Lonna Drewes** claims Swalwell sexually assaulted her. Drewes, a former model, told Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies that Swalwell allegedly drugged and raped her at the hotel.
Several law enforcement investigations into Swalwell are now underway. The woman interviewed by the Chronicle confirmed she is cooperating with an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office into an incident in April 2024 in which she said Swalwell sexually assaulted her after a charity gala. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Drewes’ allegations from 2018.
The House Ethics Committee announced Monday it had opened its own probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against Swalwell.
Swalwell has denied all allegations. “I will fight the serious, false allegations that have been made,” he wrote on X Sunday. “But that’s my fight, not a campaign’s.”
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