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Federal agents searched the Beverly Hills estate on North Roxbury Drive early on October 27 as part of an active probe into former California Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The property belongs to Stephen Cloobeck, a wealthy developer and one-time political supporter who allowed Swalwell to stay there during his gubernatorial campaign and hosted events for him. FBI spokesperson Lourdes Arocho confirmed that agents were executing a search warrant with sealed court documents and that no arrests were planned at this stage.
The operation marks the latest step in a multi-month federal inquiry that began after at least five women, including a former staffer, accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct or rape, according to an Associated Press account that drew on law enforcement officials and people familiar with the case. In August federal agents seized Swalwell’s iPhone and MacBook Pro after confronting him at San Francisco International Airport and followed up the next day with a search of his Washington home, court records reviewed by The New York Times show. Prosecutors have pursued the matter under a civil rights statute that prohibits those acting under color of law from depriving individuals of constitutional rights, a person close to the investigation told the AP.
Swalwell resigned from Congress in April after the allegations surfaced in reports by CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle, and he withdrew from the California gubernatorial race where early polls had placed him as a front-runner, Fox News reported. Cloobeck, who had contributed more than $1 million to Swalwell’s campaign, cut ties with the former congressman once the accusations became public. “I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women. I support women’s rights,” Cloobeck told the New York Post.
The Beverly Hills search comes days after the White House declassified documents from a prior FBI assessment of Swalwell’s ties to Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative who had cultivated relationships with him and other politicians in the 2010s, according to Fox News sources. Swalwell has denied any wrongdoing in both the misconduct allegations and the earlier foreign contacts matter. The current criminal investigation is being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in San Francisco and the FBI’s field office there, court filings indicate.
Cloobeck had previously run for California governor himself before stepping aside and backing Swalwell, a move that included lending the mansion for campaign activities, the Los Angeles Times noted. Agents were seen at multiple points around the property Tuesday morning, with aerial footage broadcast by local stations showing law enforcement activity. The development adds to parallel inquiries by the Manhattan district attorney’s office and Los Angeles state investigators into the same set of accusations against the former lawmaker.
Swalwell represented two California districts in the House for more than a decade before his resignation, building a profile that included service on the House Intelligence Committee, according to congressional records. The federal probe has focused on whether his conduct as a member of Congress violated statutes protecting individuals from deprivation of rights, USA Today reported after reviewing the August warrants. No additional details on what agents sought at the Cloobeck property have emerged because the underlying affidavit remains under seal.
