Swalwell’s attorney sends out cease and desist notice over unverified sexual assault allegation
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- Rep. Eric Swalwell’s attorney sent a cease and desist letter threatening defamation lawsuits against an individual accusing the gubernatorial candidate of sexual assault.
- Unverified social media allegations that the congressman behaved inappropriately with staffers have circulated for weeks; Swalwell denies all claims as baseless.
- The legal action arrives ahead of California’s June primary, where Swalwell is among the leading Democratic candidates.
SACRAMENTO — An attorney for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.
Swalwell’s attorney Elias Dabaie of the law firm Dabaie Kelley, in Los Angeles, confirmed Friday that he sent the cease and desist letter, which tells the recipient that they could be sued for defamation. A copy of the letter was posted online by a social media influencer on Friday, and Dabaie confirmed it was authentic.
Swalwell (D-Dublin) and his representatives earlier this week denied allegations made by social media influencers and repeated by political insiders in recent weeks that he behaved inappropriately toward young staffers and others.
Dabaie’s letter sent Thursday states that it “has come to our attention that you have made false statements accusing Mr. Swalwell of sexual assault and non-consensual sexual encounters...”
“We write to demand that you immediately and permanently cease and desist from continuing your wrongful conduct, including by stopping any further publication of such information or allowing it to be disseminated in any form, whether oral, written, electronic or otherwise,” the letter stated.
Dabaie confirmed to The Times that he sent the letter via text. He declined to say whether other cease and desist letters had been sent.
“I can tell you that there have been multiple baseless allegations made against the Congressman and we are attacking them on all fronts,” he said.
A spokesperson for Swalwell’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group who has said she is helping organize a group of women who allege inappropriate behavior toward Swalwell, posted a screenshot of Dabaie’s letter online on Friday.
“This is the first page of the cease and desist letter from Swalwell’s team — it has has been shared with permission from the recipient,” she wrote on social media.
The name of the individual who received the letter was redacted.
Hunt told The Times on Friday that she was aware of two individuals who received cease and desist letters from Swalwell’s team.
Swalwell earlier in the week denied any inappropriate behavior, including allegations that his office required interns to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s false,” he told reporters.
Swalwell said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern.
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