Disgraced former Rep.Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., paid one of his attorneys over $360,000 combined from his congressional and gubernatorial campaign accounts just weeks after dropping out of the gubernatorial race and resigning from Congress, a Fox News Digital review found.A $50K payment, which was made on April 24 to celebrity lawyer Sara Azari for "Legal [and] Accounting Services," raises questions about what the payment was for and whether Swalwell was intending to try to salvage his public image amid the sexual abuse allegations that had derailed his gubernatorial campaign and ultimately cost him his congressional seat.
The payment came 11 days after he resigned from Congress.Three other payments appear to have been made by Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign the following month to Azari, including a $250,000 payment in early May for "campaign legal compliance," according to California state records. After weeks of allegations circulating on social media, bombshell reporting from CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle forced Democrats to reckon with allegations from several women, who provided detailed accounts of how Swalwell had allegedly pursued intoxicated women, pressured employees into intimate situations and asked for explicit images from female contacts.SWALWELL ATTORNEY DENIES MISCONDUCT, SAYS CONGRESSMAN TOOK ACCOUNTABILITY FOR 'LAPSES IN JUDGMENT'Rep.Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., appeared on MS NOW 26 times and on CNN 24 times in 2026 alone, according to the Media Research Center.
(Matei Horvath/Getty Images for California Environmental Voters)The allegations immediately took their toll.In the aftermath, even as high-ranking Democrats pulled their support for Swalwell, Azari, who runs a law office with locations in Los Angeles and New York, was one of the few voices to defend Swalwell after his resignation."The fact that, you know, a day later, years later, or whatnot, you maybe had shame around what you did, or maybe you were in a relationship and shouldn’t ...