Exclusive | Eric Swalwells attorneys threatened Tom Steyer campaign just before scandal erupted

Eric Swalwell launched a campaign of threats and intimidation to stop the sordid details of his alleged rape and sexual assaults from being spread wide.Records obtained by The California Post show the disgraced politician used a team of high-powered lawyers to fire off legal threats to a rival campaign in an effort to suppress rape and sexual assault allegations — just weeks before his own campaign imploded over those same claims.Attorneys representing Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter on March 20 to Ryan Hughes — general counsel for progressive billionaire Tom Steyer’s campaign — accusing him of spreading false and defamatory claims after the lawyer contacted former Swalwell staffers about rumors of extramarital affairs and sexual misconduct.The letter from Swalwell’s attorneys asserted there was “no truth” to allegations involving inappropriate relationships between Swalwell and interns, and it demanded that the Steyer campaign cease making inquiries.“This type of campaigning — where your staff suggests, without one iota of detail, let alone evidence, that Congressman Swalwell has engaged in improper conduct — is precisely the kind of spreading of misinformation that we should all be united against,” attorney Stephen Shackelford wrote.“What’s more, given the nature of your campaign’s false claims, we are concerned that you are weaponizing a very serious subject matter to serve your own political purposes, to the detriment of actual victims of such wrongs.Again, we should all be united in not behaving in such a manner.”Shackelford concluded, “This is all the oxygen that the Congressman and his campaign intend to give to this sad and dishonest behavior at the moment.

But again, you are on notice that these claims are false.They are also defamatory.

And the tactics are beneath what we would hope to see from you and your campaign.”But the pressure campaign didn’t stop with the lawyers’ letter.Yar...