EXCLUSIVE: Eric Swalwell hit with fresh complaint over alleged use of House office to boost his business
Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is facing a fresh ethics complaint urging the Justice Department to investigate whether he leveraged his position in Congress to promote a startup business he was running on the side with his chief of staff.
The complaint comes as Swalwell has also been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct in recent weeks, allegations he has denied despite conceding he has made poor choices in his past with women.
The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative ethics watchdog, filed a complaint Wednesday calling on the Justice Department's Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate allegations Swalwell was personally pitching Findraiser, an artificial intelligence political fundraising tool, to Democratic lawmakers, staff and campaigns.
Included in FACT's complaint is Yardena Wolf, Swalwell's former chief of staff and also the co-founder of Findraiser. Wolf eventually left her chief of staff role to lead Swalwell's now defunct gubernatorial campaign.
Swalwell already is facing multiple investigations related to sexual misconduct allegations, including from the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Manhattan District Attorney and the Justice Department.
But, prior to sexual misconduct allegations against him coming to light earlier in April, the former member of Congress also was facing heat for his behavior on Capitol Hill as it pertained to promoting Findraiser.
One Democratic operative reportedly told news outlet NOTUS that Swalwell was "peddling the s--- out of" Findraiser on Capitol Hill.
NOTUS released a pair of reports in March, one of which cited Federal Election Commission data that showed the artificial intelligence-powered political fundraising tool was getting business from some of Swalwell's longtime political allies, including Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.
NOTUS published a follow-up days later based on interviews with a half dozen Democratic Party political operatives and other unnamed sources and reviews of emailed communications and texts. Both Swalwell and Wolf allegedly would send texts to Democratic staff and lawmakers about their company, according to the subsequent report, in addition to promoting it during in-person interactions.
FACT's ethics complaint seeks to have the allegations revealed by NOTUS and substantiated by other outlets investigated.
"Public office is a position of trust, and no individual should be able to skirt accountability for potential abuses of power simply by resigning," FACT's Executive Director Kendra Arnold said in a press release accompanying the group's complaint.
"The reported actions using an official position to promote a personal business and potentially misusing government resources raise serious legal concerns that warrant a thorough investigation by the Department of Justice. Ensuring accountability in cases like this is essential to maintaining public confidence in government."
Fox News Digital reached out to Swalwell's legal team, Wolf and Findraiser for comment but did not receive any responses.
The Justice Department also did not provide any comment on whether it plans to look into FACT's complaints.
While lawmakers on Capitol Hill are legally allowed to earn passive income through businesses they own, House rules do prohibit lawmakers and their staff from using their "political influence, the influence of (their) position ... to make pecuniary gains."
According to the 2022 House Ethics Manual, lawmakers and their staff are expected to avoid even an appearance that they may be using their political influence for financial gain.
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"In any event, the Standards Committee routinely advises Members and staff to avoid situations in which even an inference might be drawn suggesting improper conduct," the manual states.
In addition to allegedly pitching the company in-person, Wolf, while still working as Swalwell's chief of staff on Capitol Hill, allegedly emailed congressional campaigns offering demos for Findraiser and texted congressional staff below her to set up business meetings with her and Swalwell to discuss their startup company, according to the accusations reported by NOTUS.
Democratic operatives described Swalwell's promotion of Findraiser on Capitol Hill as "relentless" and said he "aggressively" peddled it to Democratic candidates for office and senior campaign officials, according to NOTUS. One of the operatives told NOTUS that being approached by Swalwell or his staff about his company has been "surprisingly universal" in some Democratic circles.
"They were really hitting up everyone," a source with knowledge of the situation told the New York Post. "I bet every California member probably got outreach."
The New York Post also reported it had spoken to sources who indicated Swalwell allegedly would use his company as a legislative negotiating tactic.
"The only way you get Swalwell to sign on to your bills is if you take this weird call from his chief of staff," a source reportedly told the New York Post.
According to NOTUS' reporting, Findraiser received about $60,000 from more than a dozen Democratic campaigns. Meanwhile, Swalwell's congressional financial disclosures have listed his company as being worth between $200,000 and $500,000.
NOTUS did indicate that it was informed by a former Swalwell spokesperson in March, who has since left his position, that both Swalwell and Wolf consulted with the necessary House Ethics personnel about Findraiser. The spokesperson also claimed that Swalwell receives no income from the company.
"These alleged facts deserve to be criminally investigated," FACT's complaint to the Justice Department argues. "This is just one issue of many during Swalwell’s problematic tenure in Congress, which among others includes being accused of using campaign funds to pay for a Brazilian nanny in our country illegally and being removed from the House Intelligence Committee over his association with a Chinese spy."
Fox News Digital previously reported on the other ethics complaints Swalwell has faced that are mentioned in FACT's letter to the Justice Department.
Swalwell was accused of paying his nanny, Amanda Barbosa, with campaign funds for roughly two years while she allegedly did not have valid work authorization. Following multiple complaints against Swalwell over the matter, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed to Fox News that it has referred the matter to the Department of Homeland Security for investigation.
Swalwell's removal from the influential House intelligence committee in 2023 involved concerns about the former congressman's actions related to a decade-old scandal over his ties to a suspected Chinese spy.
The matter gained new life amid sexual misconduct allegations that came to life earlier in April as FBI officials weighed whether to release documents about Swalwell's relationship with the alleged spy, Christine "Fang Fang" Fang.