FBI Searches Beverly Hills Mansion Linked to Eric Swalwell Donor

Federal agents executed a search warrant on Tuesday morning at a Beverly Hills mansion tied to billionaire political donor Stephen Cloobeck, according to individuals familiar with the matter. The high-profile search marks an ongoing expansion of a broader criminal probe into former U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California.

Swalwell resigned from the House of Representatives and withdrew from his gubernatorial campaign in April following investigative reports detailing serious allegations of sexual misconduct. Multiple women, including a former congressional staffer, accused the former lawmaker of assault, rape, and sending unsolicited explicit photographs.

Law enforcement authorities confirmed that Tuesday's operation at Cloobeck's property involved roughly two dozen agents who searched the estate for several hours. Several individuals were briefly detained in handcuffs during the raid but were subsequently released. Cloobeck, a longtime financial supporter of Swalwell's political campaigns, was not present at the residence at the time.

The FBI has ramped up its investigation into Swalwell over recent months. In August, federal agents stopped the former congressman at San Francisco International Airport to seize his electronic devices before executing a search warrant at his residence in Washington, D.C., the following day. Federal prosecutors are currently analyzing the items collected across these multiple search operations.

In addition to federal scrutiny, Swalwell faces parallel criminal investigations at the state and municipal levels. Both the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department opened inquiries following allegations that include an incident at a New York hotel during a 2024 charity gala and a separate 2018 event in Southern California.

Swalwell has consistently denied any wrongdoing regarding the criminal allegations. When announcing his resignation from Congress in April, he stated that he would fight the accusations while acknowledging other past mistakes in judgment. His defense attorney, Sara Azari, previously dismissed the claims as false, fabricated, and a calculated political attack.

The ongoing legal troubles for Swalwell compound complications for those tied to his political network. Cloobeck himself has faced independent legal scrutiny this year, pleading not guilty to felony witness intimidation charges filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors in an unrelated case.

Meanwhile, the White House recently declassified documents from a separate, older FBI investigation concerning Swalwell's past relationship with Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative active in California politics during 2015. Authorities previously closed that intelligence probe without bringing formal charges against the former congressman.