The Swalwell Files: Fake News Reuters Scrambles to Save Swalwell, Still No California Address, Still Dead Broke

California Congressman Eric Swalwell has accumulated an extraordinary record of controversy: his well-documented association with the Chinese intelligence asset known as “Fang Fang,” his removal from the House Intelligence Committee over national-security concerns, and his unforgettable on-air incident during a 2019 Hardball with Chris Matthews interview.

These episodes alone raise questions about judgment. But recent disclosures expose something even more fundamental.

Eric Swalwell appears unable to meet the basic legal, financial, and residency requirements of the office he now seeks, Governor of California.

As I reported in The Gateway Pundit (‘DISQUALIFIED! – Congressman Eric Swalwell Names Washington DC Home as ‘Principal Residence’), Swalwell’s own mortgage filings designate his Washington, D.C. property as his principal residence.

Under Article V, Section 2 of the California Constitution and California and Elections Code §349, that admission alone disqualifies him from running for governor.

Five years of residency prior to an election is a constitutional requirement, and Swalwell’s Deed of Trust in D.C. and lack of any California address disqualify him.

The situation escalated when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred Swalwell to the Department of Justice for potential mortgage fraud.

Swalwell responded by filing a civil lawsuit against Pulte and FHFA, absurdly claiming in the lawsuit that his mortgage listed on the public database mytax.dc.gov was private, while falsely claiming he included an affidavit with his mortgage claiming it was only his wife’s home.

Fake News Reuters Desperate to Save Swalwell

Last week, I received an email from Reuters news agency reporter Christine Prentice. She wrote, “I’m a reporter with Reuters, working on a story about the FHFA Director’s referral of mortgage fraud allegations. We are seeking your comment.”

I have been through this many times with the fake news media, including the Washington Post and New York Times.

They send a professional and sincere sounding email inquiry, I provide them with information since they don’t do their own research, and then they publish hit pieces. And, they typically misquote me.

Knowing this is what Reuters was probably up to, I provided only a short response with links to my five recent Gateway Pundit articles on Eric Swalwell.

I wrote, “Hi Chris – I am happy to see more coverage of Swalwell’s residency problems. Read my Eric Swalwell articles linked below.”

The next day, as predicted, the Reuters article was a hit piece against FHFA Director Bill Pulte. Christine Prentice was desperately trying to save Swalwell, given the mortgage fraud referral to the DOJ and the evidence I’d presented that Swalwell was ineligible to run for California governor.

And on queue, Prentice used only half of my one sentence to try to create the false impression that I was happy about her criticism of Pulte.

She wrote, “Ethics experts have criticized Pulte’s tactics in seeking to target individuals for mortgage misstatements, historically rare prosecutions.

The Gateway Pundit contributor who wrote the article said he is ‘happy to see more coverage’ of the issue.”

 I responded by emailing a correction request to Prentice. I was surprised to get a quick response from Brian Moss, in charge of “Ethics and Standards” at Reuters news agency.

He wrote “After our review, the article was corrected to reflect more clearly the context of your comment included in the story.”

My quote was corrected in the article to “I am happy to see more coverage of Swalwell’s residency problems”.

I believe President Trump’s successful lawsuits against the Fake News media have prompted them into making quick corrections to biased stories.

Still No California Address, Still Disqualified

Despite repeated opportunities, Eric Swalwell still cannot identify a legitimate California residence.

On his Form 501 candidate disclosure, signed under penalty of perjury, Swalwell listed his “home address” as 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 2400, Sacramento, CA, an office suite belonging to his attorneys at Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

That address is appropriate for campaign filings, but falsely listing it as a personal residence is not only improper, it is potentially criminal.

Last week I called Swalwell’s congressional office in Washington, D.C., identified myself as a reporter, and asked for his California home address.

After being placed on hold, I was instructed to email his communications director, Cassie Baloue, who is the former Miss District of Columbia USA 2023. I emailed Baloue and got no response.

A search of Alameda County property records likewise shows no property ever owned by Eric Swalwell, past or present.

Swalwell Still Dead Broke

Leadership requires competence, discipline, and basic financial responsibility. On this front, Swalwell’s record is alarming.

Unlike President Trump, who built and managed complex enterprises long before entering public office, Swalwell’s personal finances resemble a prolonged state of disorder.

His 2010 divorce filings read like a catalog of dysfunction with an exhaustive itemization of kitchen objects, disputes over napkin rings, a toaster, and a can opener.

The document reflects not merely pettiness, but financial fragility, suggesting a man so cash-strapped that even trivial items became points of contention.

That pattern continues today. Swalwell’s 2025 Financial Disclosure Report reveals that after more than a decade earning a congressional salary of $174,000 per year, he remains buried in debt.

His student loans, up to $100,000, remain unpaid. Credit-card balances with American Express and Chase Bank still range up to $ 100,000.

Even more troubling, Swalwell has cashed out his pension, a move typically associated with financial distress rather than long-term planning. It makes sense that Swalwell cannot afford to maintain a home in California.

Eric Swalwell is not merely controversial, he is fundamentally unfit. He cannot establish legal residency in California to run for governor.

He cannot reconcile his own mortgage filings. He cannot explain why his “home address” is a law firm office. He cannot demonstrate basic financial stability after thirteen years in Congress.

And when confronted, he sues, deflects, and relies on a compliant media like Reuters and fake news reporters to run interference.

This is not the profile of a governor. It is the profile of a political mess, overextended, evasive, and chronically mismanaged. California already suffers under leadership plagued by incompetence and denial.

Handing a nearly $500 billion state budget to a man who cannot manage his own finances, cannot tell the truth on sworn forms, and cannot even say where he lives would be reckless.

Eric Swalwell is not a reformer, and not a victim of political persecution as he claims. Swalwell is a carefully staged illusion, a cardboard cutout that looks okay from a distance but is an absurd individual up close.

Joel Gilbert is a Los Angeles-based film producer and president of Highway 61 Entertainment. He is the producer of the new film Roseanne Barr Is America. He is also the producer of: Dreams from My Real Father, The Trayvon Hoax, Trump: The Art of the Insult, and many other films on American politics and music icons. Gilbert is on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.

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