Eric Swalwell briefly held as feds seize his phone at Bay Area airport

Key Points:

• Federal agents seized electronic devices and raided former Rep. Eric Swalwell's Washington home amid a civil rights investigation related to sexual assault allegations, briefly detaining him at San Francisco International Airport for search purposes.
• Swalwell, a Democrat who resigned from Congress and dropped out of the California governor’s race following multiple sexual misconduct allegations, denies all wrongdoing and claims the accusations are politically motivated.
• One accuser, Lonna Drewes, alleges Swalwell drugged and raped her in 2018, while a former staffer claims Swalwell sent inappropriate messages and assaulted her; Swalwell’s attorney refutes these claims as consensual or fabricated.
• Separate investigations are ongoing in New York and Los Angeles County, with federal prosecutors examining whether Swalwell violated laws against depriving individuals of their constitutional rights under color of law.
• Declassified documents revealed Swalwell had a past sexual relationship with Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese spy, but he cut ties after being briefed by intelligence officials and was never accused of wrongdoing in that matter.