The FBI seized Eric Swalwell's electronics at San Francisco International Airport and searched his Washington, D.C., home, but the attorney for the former congressman's most public accuser says federal agents never reached out to his client first.
Arick Fudali, the attorney representing accuser Lonna Drewes, told NewsNation's "Jesse Weber Live" on Thursday that the FBI's move caught him completely off guard. Drewes alleges Swalwell drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2018. She held a public press conference, named witnesses, and filed a report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office. Yet no one from federal law enforcement has contacted her or her legal team, Fudali said.
Federal agents confronted Swalwell at the airport on Saturday, produced a search warrant, and seized his cellphone and other electronic devices. The next day, agents executed a second warrant at his Washington, D.C., residence, where they collected additional materials. Swalwell reportedly cooperated throughout.
The former California Democrat resigned from Congress in April amid mounting sexual misconduct allegations and a congressional ethics investigation. At least four women have now publicly accused him of misconduct, including a former staffer who alleges he raped her on two occasions, once in 2019 and again in 2024, the Washington Examiner reported. Swalwell has maintained his innocence.
Fudali made clear he found the silence from federal investigators difficult to explain. Drewes is not an anonymous tipster. She put her name and face in front of cameras and laid out allegations of drugging and sexual assault. She gave the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office evidence and the names of potential witnesses. Fudali's firm has also provided what it describes as corroborating material to law enforcement, though he declined to detail that evidence publicly.
On NewsNation, Fudali put the disconnect bluntly:
"One would think if the FBI was investigating Swalwell, at least to the level that they would get a warrant to seize his computer, his phone, stop him in an airport, that they would want to speak to the most vocal of his accusers. But so far, it's been radio silence from the federal law enforcement."
That gap raises an obvious question. A federal judge signed off on a warrant significant enough to intercept a former member of Congress at an airport and search his home. The investigation has plainly reached a serious stage. So why hasn't the bureau contacted the woman who went public with the most detailed allegations?
Fudali offered one possible explanation. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is running its own investigation into Swalwell, and the two probes may be sharing information behind the scenes. "Perhaps there's been a sharing of information. I have seen that in my line of work as well," he said.
Drewes took a significant personal risk by identifying herself publicly. As the FBI investigation escalated, her attorney described her reaction as mixed, encouraged that the probe appears to be intensifying, but confused about being left out of the loop.
The scope of the legal trouble facing Swalwell has widened considerably since April. What began with one accuser's public press conference has grown into a multi-front investigation spanning federal and local law enforcement, with at least four women now on the record with misconduct allegations.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office confirmed it is also investigating Swalwell after a former staffer alleged he raped her at a New York City hotel in 2024. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg encouraged "survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division," National Review reported.
Swalwell had also suspended his California gubernatorial campaign when the allegations first surfaced. His fall from a seat on the House Intelligence Committee to the subject of federal search warrants took roughly four months.
That Intelligence Committee seat carries its own baggage. Declassified FBI files revealed that Swalwell admitted in a 2015 bureau interview to having a physical relationship with suspected Chinese spy Christine Fang, something he had never previously acknowledged publicly. Despite the FBI's own warnings about Fang's intelligence activities, Swalwell remained on the committee for years.
The White House simultaneously declassified additional records related to Swalwell's past association with Fang, adding another layer of scrutiny to a former lawmaker already facing criminal probes on multiple fronts.
Fudali told NewsNation he anticipates the investigation will move quickly from here. "It's always hard to tell, but I would expect a pretty robust escalation after this and things to start moving very quick," he said. Drewes, for her part, is not pursuing a civil lawsuit against Swalwell at this time. Her immediate focus, through her attorney, is on the criminal investigation and seeking accountability.
She is ready to cooperate. "She is absolutely prepared to testify under oath," Fudali said.
The FBI, for its part, declined to comment on the investigation. Neither Swalwell nor his wife was at the D.C. residence when agents arrived Sunday, Breitbart noted, citing the Daily Mail.
No charges have been filed. No arrests have been made. But the trajectory is clear: a federal judge found enough probable cause to authorize warrants targeting a former member of Congress, and at least three separate jurisdictions, federal, Los Angeles County, and Manhattan, are now looking at Swalwell's conduct.
The broader pattern around Swalwell's political career deserves scrutiny as well. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi kept him on the Intelligence Committee even after the FBI flagged his ties to a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, a decision that looks worse with every new revelation. Declassified documents have only deepened questions about how long senior Democrats shielded Swalwell from consequences.
Drewes came forward publicly, gave evidence to local law enforcement, and offered to testify under oath. The FBI obtained warrants, searched a former congressman's home, and seized his devices. And somehow the accuser who started it all is still waiting for a phone call.
When the most vocal accuser in a federal investigation learns about a raid from the news rather than from investigators, the question isn't whether the probe is serious, it's whether the people running it are treating the accusers with the same urgency they brought to the airport.
