Another Criminal Politician, Eric Swallwell , Resigns from gubernatorial Race

"That ride to the airport more than 13 years ago, when Swalwell was about to miss his flight to Washington for his new membership orientation, was no one-off. As an ascendant Democratic House member, he would push his staff to drive so dangerously from one appointment to the next that one former congressional aide said she racked up numerous tickets for speeding or running red lights and was once chewed out by Capitol Police after an especially reckless maneuver. As a candidate for California governor, he’d say of the navigation app, “Waze is just the start of a negotiation,” and encourage his driver to disregard traffic laws, according to a staffer familiar with his campaign travel.

Throughout it all were the rumors that persisted about Swalwell and women. Female staffers on the Hill quietly warned each other about his late-night texts or his pursuit of subordinate employees. His reputation for being overly-familiar was well-established.

Fellow members acknowledged hearing rumors about partying or indiscretions, but several said that nothing they heard rose to the level of a House Ethics infraction or, worse, criminal behavior. Nor would it be something they’d want to put on the radar of Swalwell’s most powerful ally, Pelosi.

He became especially close with Stephen J. Cloobeck, a billionaire timeshare magnate who often hosted Swalwell at his Beverly Hills estate. Swalwell often taped media hits from Cloobeck’s home, displaying an access to wealth a working-class kid from “Scrublin” could only imagine."

~ Politico

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