FBI agents confront Eric Swalwell at San Francisco Airport, seize electronics in sexual misconduct probe
Newly released security footage captures the moment FBI agents surrounded former congressman Eric Swalwell at a San Francisco Airport departure gate, executing a federal search warrant tied to sexual misconduct allegations from at least four women.Swalwell, 45, was waiting for a flight home to California on August 15 when multiple FBI agents approached him at the gate. Dressed in a baseball cap, hoodie, and sneakers, the former seven-term Democrat was escorted away from the terminal, down an escalator, and through a hallway marked "restricted area" into a private room, the Daily Mail reported.
There, agents seized his white Apple iPhone, an Apple MacBook Pro, a charging cable, and a wall charger, all catalogued in a warrant that had been filed two days earlier, on August 13.
The warrant was filed under Section 242 of Title 18 of the United States Code, a federal statute that prohibits officials from using their authority to deprive someone of constitutional rights. How that law applies to Swalwell's case remains unclear, but its invocation signals that federal prosecutors are examining whether the former congressman leveraged his office in connection with the alleged misconduct.
The confrontation at the airport was only the beginning. The following day, FBI agents arrived at Swalwell's residence in northeast Washington, D.C., armed with additional court-approved search warrants. Neither Swalwell nor his wife, Brittany Watts, 41, was home.
The New York Post reported that agents seized additional undisclosed potential evidence from the home. The warrant from the airport encounter was signed by FBI Special Agent Kyle R. Biebesheimer, who certified the inventory under penalty of perjury.
Read about Swalwell...
The warrant was filed under Section 242 of Title 18 of the United States Code, a federal statute that prohibits officials from using their authority to deprive someone of constitutional rights. How that law applies to Swalwell's case remains unclear, but its invocation signals that federal prosecutors are examining whether the former congressman leveraged his office in connection with the alleged misconduct.
The confrontation at the airport was only the beginning. The following day, FBI agents arrived at Swalwell's residence in northeast Washington, D.C., armed with additional court-approved search warrants. Neither Swalwell nor his wife, Brittany Watts, 41, was home.
The New York Post reported that agents seized additional undisclosed potential evidence from the home. The warrant from the airport encounter was signed by FBI Special Agent Kyle R. Biebesheimer, who certified the inventory under penalty of perjury.
Read about Swalwell...
