(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Legal troubles for Eric Swalwell may be far from over, despite his decision to end his campaign for California governor and resign from Congress amid sexual abuse allegations.
The Fair Political Practices Commission, the state agency overseeing campaign finance enforcement, is examining whether Swalwell’s campaign illegally paid defense attorney Sara Azari roughly $330,000, according to numerous news reports.
The Swalwell campaign described one payment, totaling $40,000, as compensation for “professional services” in campaign filings. However, the services reportedly related to personal legal matters involving allegations from two women who accused Swalwell of sexual abuse, as well as other claims of sexual misconduct.
The allegations ultimately derailed Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign despite being viewed as the race’s early front-runner.
Swalwell withdrew from the governor’s race on April 12 amid mounting pressure from fellow Democrats.
Critics argued party leaders turned on him out of concern that a crowded Democratic field could clear a path for a Republican victory in the 2026 election.
Two days later, on April 14, Swalwell resigned from Congress as the scandal continued to gain momentum.
According to the California Post and The Sacramento Bee, investigators within the FPPC are now focusing on a series of recurring payments made to Azari.
The agency is California’s equivalent of the Federal Election Commission and has authority to impose fines and make criminal referrals.
Kendall Bonebrake, a chief in the Fair Political Practices Commission’s enforcement division, initially demanded information about a $40,000 payment made by Swalwell’s campaign to Azari.
The campaign disclosed the payment in an April 23 filing. Bonebrake said her letter stemmed from a complaint received by the agency.
A separate campaign filing dated May 21 showed that Swalwell’s campaign paid Azari an additional $273,351, this time for purported “campaign legal compliance.”
Seven days later, on May 28, Fair Political Practices Commission Deputy Director Christopher Burton informed Swalwell that the agency had launched a formal investigation into potential violations of California campaign finance law.
“We have not made any determination about the possible violations,” Burton wrote, as quoted by the Post and the Bee.
Headline USA has reached out to Bonebrake for comment on the scope of the investigation.
Swalwell’s departure from the race cleared the way for Xavier Becerra, a former Biden-era HHS secretary and California attorney general, to emerge as the leading Democratic contender.
California’s open primary was held on June 2.
