Is Swalwell being rat fucked? (Poll)

[orangecrush]

Don't have enough information to take a hard side, but the timing seems suspicious.

If true, he should own this

If not, we are being Frankened again.

181 votes, 8 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes, this is the same Roger Stone play book
	48 (27%)
	No, he should leave politics completely
	19 (10%)
	Not enough information to call
	114 (63%)
	8 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[ultralite001]

1. Food for thought...

]

[leftstreet]

2. Option 5: Did he ratfuck himself?

Did he plan and coordinate a campaign for Governor without once asking himself, "uh...is there anything in my past...?"

Extra marital affairs are risky enough to be a red flag to yourself

[Attilatheblond]

7. If he and his wife made nice after whatever it was he did

then whatever he did probably wasn't nice.

Loved him in the House. He was effective in his way and should have stayed put.

[Wiz Imp]

52. He's still in the House.

[Attilatheblond]

54. Short timer, so not really still in

[Bluetus]

9. Option 6: When this shit comes up in the middle of a campaign, we should be very skeptical

[leftstreet]

10. "this shit." You mean like rape?

Sexual assault, sexual abuse, exploitation of an authority/power position for coercive control?

We're not talking about allegations of a dodgy mortgage or something

[Bluetus]

14. No. I mean like character assassination

Anybody can make a charge. Everybody is entitled to a fair trial if the charges are seen to have any merit.

This is obviously not about a rape. If it was, then the charges should have been filed at the time. When they are brought up in an obvious attempt to alter the outcome of an election, we should all be very skeptical.

Why was this not brought up on 2019?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

16. "This is obviously not about a rape." I...would not say that's obvious.

Everybody is entitled to a fair trial if the charges are seen to have any merit.

Party units and members are free to act without relying on court proceedings.

Why was this not brought up on 2019?

There are many, many reasons victims do not speak up in the moment, or tell only a few people.

[Bluetus]

29. I understand there are reasons people don't like to speak up.

But that does not seem to be the case here. They have had nine years to speak up and they chose this particular moment to bring a charge? Are they even asking for criminal charges or are they just trying to destroy the candidacy? When the timing is such it makes me highly skeptical.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

34. "They have had nine years to speak up and they chose this particular moment to bring a charge?"

The first accuser has not brought a charge. The San Francisco Chronicle, which reported the original story, reached out to her first.

https://archive.ph/IDj4E

The Chronicle is not identifying the woman in this story in compliance with its policy against naming alleged victims of sexual assault. Reporters looking into the broader allegations against Swalwell reached her while contacting dozens of his former staffers.

The woman began speaking with a Chronicle reporter last month as she considered whether to make her allegations public. When rumors about Swalwell’s conduct began circulating online, the woman said she was confused because she had told only a small circle of family and close friends about what had happened to her. She said she was “petrified” that Swalwell had told people about their encounters or that her name had appeared in an opposition research file compiled by a rival campaign.

She said she called the Swalwell campaign in late March to find out whether her name had surfaced among rumored victims. A staffer on the campaign, she said, asked her to vouch for Swalwell.

She said the staffer asked her whether Swalwell had ever been inappropriate with her, and then, when she hesitated to answer, said, “Actually, I don’t want to know.” When the campaign staffer told her that Swalwell was not afraid of the rumors because he had not done anything inappropriate, the woman said she felt determined to speak out.

[stopdiggin]

19. You are seriously asking a question regarding why sexual assault is (commonly/frequently) not reported?

Have you not been paying any attention - past 20-30 years?

You are quite within your rights to 'hold your fire' on this particular incident/set of accusations ...
But, really - THAT old canard .. ?

[Bluetus]

30. Don't be a reactionary, putting words in my mouth.

I said nothing of the sort. I simply said that when people have a choice to bring charges and they wait for 9 years and then spring the charges in the middle of a campaign, I am skeptical.

[pnwmom]

44. At least one of the alleged assaults was in 2024. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

50. He is being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's office

That same office that successfully prosecuted Trump. It's highly unlikely they're in cahoots with MAGA. They also opened up a tip line for other alleged victims to come forward.

[leftstreet]

20. Sigh n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

39. He allegedly sent unsolicited dick picks

[Bluetus]

46. If true, that should be disqualifying

But it does not answer the question why, if a person had this evidence (and receiving a dick pic means one has clear evidence in their possession), this was not brought out when it happened.

That suggests:
1) the evidence was fake -- you know there are a lot of fake pictures these days
2) it wasn't unwelcome at the time
3) the recipient decided rather than taking immediate action, they would rather save this for a time that could do more damage.

If it is #3, that is not the way our justice system is supposed to work. That would be a variation of WEAPONIZING the justice system.

There are many real cases of sexual abuse against women. When a person seems to be using charges for political reasons rather than for justice for the original crime, this makes it harder for women who are truly violated to get their justice.

[pnwmom]

43. There are some related facts that appear to have been corroborated.

For example, at least one of the accusers did work for him. And there is more:

CNN found corroboration for key elements of each of the women’s claims, including the former staffer who said she was sexually assaulted. Two family members and a friend said in interviews with CNN that she told them about the alleged 2024 assault in the following days, and CNN also reviewed text messages she sent two friends describing her allegations at the same time. “I was sexually assaulted on Thursday,” she wrote to one of her friends, adding: “By Eric.”

The woman also shared medical records related to her receiving STD and pregnancy testing after the alleged assault.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/10/us/eric-swalwell-sexual-misconduct-allegations-invs

[onenote]

47. Jean Carroll didn't bring up her being assaulted until years lster

Were you skeptical of her charges when they were made?

[Bluetus]

48. And that weighed heavily against her charges

We all understand that there are strong reasons why women do not come forward, especially when a powerful person is involved.

By the same token, it is fair to ask why the claims were not brought out at the time and are now brought out when this is certain to affect the gubernatorial election.

Rather than torches and pitchforks, we should all be asking for evidence from both sides.

[tulipsandroses]

32. Christine Blasey Ford

I'm sure republicans were skeptical of the timing as well.

[MustLoveBeagles]

3. Not enough info

I just find it interesting this happened to one of our most effective Democrats.

[FoxNewsSucks]

6. Yeah. What a coincidence!!

[FoxNewsSucks]

4. Not enough VERIFIED info yet.

This style of ratfucking seems to be the most effective for them and unfortunately, their practice has paid off and made them good at it.

[mike_c]

5. Mr Swalwell knows what he did and didn't do

If the allegations are true, then he knows it. In that case, what do YOU think he should do? I think finding another line of work would certainly be an honorable choice, under those circumstances. I would hope he does so voluntarily, with promises to be a better person in future, hopefully sincere.

If they're not true, he knows that too, and should mount a vigorous defense. However, we should acknowledge that the accusations will still reduce his chances of winning even if he's innocent. That's an unfortunate fact of life.

On edit: What leftstreet said, #2.

Edit 2: and if the allegations are true, we should be glad they emerged now, rather than after he was anointed the Dem candidate.

[PATRICK]

8. I have no idea

except it has been suggested to me that the Democratic leadership(?) would rather have a Republican win than certain Dem candidate(s). This does not seem to have come up in any discussions. Hope this notion is completely false.

[mvd]

11. Can't be sure. I always take such allegations seriously

But after Franken, I know RW shenanigans exist. I’ll leave it up to people more in the know to decide.

[mcar]

13. I am suspicious of the timing

That said, these are serious allegations.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. "The timing seems suspicious"

Victims in cases like these will often come forward when they see that someone they know as a predator or pest is about to get even more power. It's why Christine Blasey Ford came forward, and why Anita Hill agreed to testify.

[SocialDemocrat61]

17. Excellent point

[RandomNumbers]

18. I'm leaning to No. But not enough information yet.

The situations described either are, or are not, like situations he is known to get into by his staff and colleagues. By "situations" I refer to the drinking with staffers until they are plastered ... and not making sure they are safely home (as opposed to winding up in bed with some guy they didn't necessarily want to be with, especially in that state).

It's pretty simple, really. He either acts that kind of way, or he doesn't. It's freakin' hard to believe that this type of behavior - short of the sexual aspects - wouldn't be known, if he is like that.

If he IS like that, frankly I don't want him on the Dem ticket in any new election. It's not proper behavior for an adult who is a position of public responsibility. This behavior alone - even if nothing sexual actually happened - would open him up to EXACTLY the accusations he's now facing.

And if he ISN'T like that - where are his colleagues and staff loudly asserting that? Instead I see staffers jumping ship. I think that speaks volumes ... but will wait to hear more. I am sure more is coming.

[stopdiggin]

22. there are people with inside knowledge (within his own campaign?) that appear to be

conceding to the fact that this fits a pattern ....
Which is what you are correctly pointing to.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Ninga]

21. Hey DU peeps who are smarter than me re the internets. I caught a brief statement supposedly made by Roger Stone

1 day ago on Alex Joneses program. Because I do no have X I couldn’t fin the entire post.

“Out of curiosity... Why did Roger Stone tell Alex Jones that Democratic ...

1 day agoOut of curiosity… Why did Roger Stone tell Alex Jones that Democratic House Rep. Eric Swalwell's "campaign will be blowing up today" hours before the release of the San Francisco Chronicle article where an ex-staffer accuses Swalwell of sexually assaulting her (claims Swalwell denies)? Smells” snip

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. Because journalists were reporting out the allegations. It takes weeks to months to nail a story like this down, and it

requires talking to a lot of people, many of whose names or even presence aren't even mentioned in the final article. Those people talk to other people, and word gets around. The first victim saw that rumors were going around so she called the campaign to see if her name was out there.

https://archive.ph/IDj4E

The woman began speaking with a Chronicle reporter last month as she considered whether to make her allegations public. When rumors about Swalwell’s conduct began circulating online, the woman said she was confused because she had told only a small circle of family and close friends about what had happened to her. She said she was “petrified” that Swalwell had told people about their encounters or that her name had appeared in an opposition research file compiled by a rival campaign.

She said she called the Swalwell campaign in late March to find out whether her name had surfaced among rumored victims. A staffer on the campaign, she said, asked her to vouch for Swalwell.

She said the staffer asked her whether Swalwell had ever been inappropriate with her, and then, when she hesitated to answer, said, “Actually, I don’t want to know.” When the campaign staffer told her that Swalwell was not afraid of the rumors because he had not done anything inappropriate, the woman said she felt determined to speak out.

“He was so confident that I would stay silent that he wasn’t scared,” she said of Swalwell.

[Ninga]

26. Ok I understand. Appreciate your response. I still

feel rather ill though….and will always wonder about the timing….

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. better now than after the primary

[JI7]

24. I don't know but I do think the response should be to look into

the allegations and give the accused a chance to respond if they want.

I think our side immediately calling for resignations has hurt us .

The media went after Biden on that one accusation which was easily shown to be fake when it was proven he never even attended the event where it happened. Yhe media could have easily done the research on that but they didn't.

So do an investigation, ler info come out and let the accused present their side and let voters decide.

[LudwigPastorius]

25. You need an option for "He should drop out of the Governor's race, but stay in his Congressional seat until...

a full investigation has determined his culpability".

[pinkstarburst]

28. I would like to see some evidence released

If this is true, and it may very well be, they can surely release some text messages or something like that.

My concern is that we not set a precedent that there can be an accusation made and BOOM, the candidate drops out. Let's think this through. Right now it's our frontrunner for the governor of California. What happens 6 months from now when we only have one dem candidate in the running for CA governor (that could easily happen!) and there's mysteriously a round of accusations that happen right before voting starts, accusing our candidate. Do they drop out? Do we rush to drop support?

What happens when republicans learn from how quickly we will burn someone with zero evidence (it hasn't even been 24 hours) and decide this would be a cool trick to pull in our 2028 primary, taking out our frontrunner for president? They control most of the media now, and the billionaires are on their side, too. What happens when after they take out our frontrunner, and we get a nominee no one is excited about, they wait until October and release "damning information" about our nominee, that later turns out to be untrue, but it takes months to figure that out, and we are so quick to condemn that we've already lost?

I think we need to be careful, especially given what happened with Franken, not to get ahead of ourselves. I would like to see evidence.

[SheltieLover]

31. Absofuckingloutely! He was very vocal against slob post 1/6 & beyond.

[hunter]

33. Throw him off the bus. Let his next potential employer figure it out.

I don't want him working for me.

We've all been rejected by potential employers for much, much, less -- even frivolous or random reasons...

This shit is serious. He needs to go away.

Franken arguments do not impress me either.

I'm not looking for any fucking heroes or celebrities..

Heck, if Cesar Chavez had been exposed immediately we might have ended up in a better place. Now we have to wonder if he was somehow compromised for thinking with his dick.

Zero tolerance for this kind of crap doesn't make Democrats losers, it's what distinguishes us from the modern Republican party.

If we can't win on a solid ethical platform, then fuck it all, this nation ain't worth saving.

[Nanjeanne]

35. Im just curious on those believing this is a set up - have you read the SF Cheonicle and/or CNN reporting

on the various allegations?

Do I know the whole story? By no means. But there is clearly at the very very very least, some very bad behavior on the part of Swalwell. And unfortunately it appears to be typical behavior of men in power positions preying on young women. And the responses of young women who become enamored of men they perceive of as being in positions of power. That women in their early 20s, who have gotten drunk with men who have some control over their careers, real or perceived, and then tell family and friends (as these women appear to have done) but do not come forward and claim rape to police is not unusual. And if they think they were the only one that this happened to — it is perfectly believable that they didn’t come forward earlier. These kinds of encounters would typically leave women feeling guilty, responsible and unsure of culpability. That’s how men are able to take advantage of these situations.

[Kid Berwyn]

36. Swalwell has a sterling record.

Be a shame if something happened to it.

[Fiendish Thingy]

42. Does he?

He’s been soliciting customers/investors for his AI campaign software startup company on Capitol Hill, despite the clear ethical conflict of interest.

[Kid Berwyn]

45. He did that in the open.

Unlike so many in Congress.

ETA: Going by the shitstain billionaires currently running the show, it’d be good more Democrats to get into AI.

[ColoringFool]

37. 1.) Al Franken Was About A Photo. 2.) Eric's Defense Is 2-Fold:.....

a.) "I didn't do these things"; and

b.) "You know me."

a.) We should believe him, why?

b.) No, no we do not.

Don't misconstrue; I am a big fan of the political Swalwell.

But I'm not in a cult.

And I go back to the days when I defended the National Enquirer when they printed the TRUTH about John Edwards and Rielle.

[Bobstandard]

38. Serious allegations. Skepticism warranted.

The timing is an important consideration.

[Orangenero]

40. The timing makes me suspicious

He seems like a good guy..

[Fiendish Thingy]

41. To believe this is ratfuckery is to suspend reality

The earliest allegation dates to 2019, which means Stone or other republicans would have had to plant an operative on Swallwell’s staff six years before he decided to run for governor.

Then Stone/republicans would have had to plant three more operatives to work on his staff faithfully until this week, then suddenly make “false” accusations.

Then, Stone/republicans would have also had to plant four operatives on his staff to to work faithfully, then resign in disgust once the news broke.

Or, there is truth to the accusations, but they are difficult to prove criminally due to the passage of time, but the women involved nevertheless spoke out to achieve some sort of accountability and closure.

If there is ratfuckery, it is far more likely that the allegations are true, and someone “encouraged” the women to go public to winnow the field of candidates, so that this would not be a ticking time bomb for November.

[mr715]

51. Fiendish Thingy

I am consistently impressed by the quality of your analysis and your obvious intellect.

[TexasBushwhacker]

53. Tom Steyer is a billionaire

He's trailing Swalwell and he certainly has the money to do some digging.

[W_HAMILTON]

49. If it's not ratfucking, the accusers should go to the authorities rather than the media.

[onenote]

55. Double standard?

Should e Jean Carroll have gone to the authorities instead of waiting decades to reveal what had happened to her decades earlier?