Did Eric Swalwell really lead a "double life," as Senate Democrat Ruben Gallego claimed while distancing himself from the predator scandal that forced the House Democrat out of office? Could Swalwell have hidden that double life from even his roommate at the time that women alleged Swalwell's predatory behavior took place?
Maybe we should ask his roommate ... Ruben Gallego. The Arizona Democrat also claimed to be Swalwell's best friend and apparent wingman. Suddenly, inquiring minds want Gallego to explain what he knows and when he knew it:
An important question everyone should be asking: what did Senator Ruben Gallego know and when did he know it?
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 12, 2026
Gallego created this problem for himself. He rushed to defend his "best friend in the world" when allegations first emerged, despite the Democrat mantra of "believe all women." Swalwell's hasty retreat and surrender sawed off the limb onto which Gallego climbed for his pal:
The fallout from accusations of sexual misconduct against Rep. Eric Swalwell may affect more than just him — as some are raising questions about his “best friend,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), and his staunch defense of the disgraced congressman.
Swalwell on Monday expressed his intention to resign from Congress in the coming days, following damning allegations that he raped and sent nude pictures to younger women, including staffers. Swalwell had been facing an investigation by the House Ethics Committee prior to his resignation.
Gallego, whom Swalwell once described as “my best friend in the world,” leapt to Swalwell’s defense as disturbing rumors circulated that the East Bay congressman had sexually harassed staffers and asked them to sign NDAs.
Gallego went on offense, only to be caught apparently unaware when Swalwell resigned. Gallego then quickly did an about-face and claimed to have no knowledge of his best friend's interactions with women, not even when they shared a residence for a few years:
Gallego’s social media posts track his transformation:
-On April 7, he dismissed “Mrs. Frazzled” (real name Arielle Fodor), a former kindergarten teacher, an education advocate, and a TikToker with more than 1 million followers. Fodor was an early advocate for the women who reported Swalwell’s alleged sexual misconduct.
Fodor posted: "Yeah, I'm gonna be so real with you…Swalwell is a wrap. I've seen what I needed to see. He isn't going to sue ANYBODY over talking about this because discovery would kick his ass. Why this man ran for governor is BEYOND ME."
Gallego’s response: "This person started posting for the first time 3 days ago..."
Later on April 7, Swalwell posted a defiant video: “I'm not backing down.”
Gallego’s repost said: “When you are in first place, is when they target you. Eric is a fighter and he will win the Governors race.”
The senator’s about-face occurred on April 10.
By yesterday, Gallego claimed that Swalwell had "tricked" him and other Democrats:
In a brief interview outside the Capitol tonight, Gallego told me and @migold that Swalwell led a "double life" and he never suspected he was pursuing staff as has been alleged. pic.twitter.com/fU5txk0qUL
— Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) April 13, 2026
Daily Wire editor in chief Brent Scher scoffed at Gallego's demand for "accountability" (via Twitchy):
lol. Reminder about Swalwell’s best friend Ruben Gallego: he divorced his pregnant wife, sealed the court records, and then secretly married a woman 15 years younger than him that he met at the congressional baseball game. https://t.co/ROxP1ng7nd
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) April 14, 2026
House Republican Mike Lawler wants answers from Gallego, too:
Serious question, @SenRubenGallego:
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) April 14, 2026
During the time that you were roommates, are we to seriously believe that you didn’t know or witness anything about the “double life” @RepSwalwell was living? https://t.co/RPD4PsH1GZ
And Gallego also has a couple of other stories following him around about treatment of staffers, although apparently not in the same predatory context as Swalwell:
Remember this story from @joannamrod a year ago?
— Brian Anderson (@AZBrianAnderson) April 13, 2026
Rumors about Ruben Gallego's treatment of legislative staff have been circulating for a very long time. https://t.co/iby9Ftfyl9https://t.co/1ZqScH9cS4 pic.twitter.com/FboG8ce142
So ... is Gallego the next to get the #MeToo treatment?
Probably not. Swalwell was expendable. He'd already chosen to leave the House to run for governor in California. His presence in that race was not just expendable but outright inconvenient, especially when it became apparent that Gallego and other Democrats could not keep a lid on Swalwell's "zipper problem" any longer. Democrats ran the risk of Swalwell not getting enough votes to make it to the November ballot but absorbing enough votes to ensure that no other Democrat would succeed either, leaving Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco as the only ballot choices for the general election. Democrats needed to take out Swalwell, ruthlessly and publicly, so that voters will flee from him and migrate to other choices, such as Tom Steyer and Katie Porter, in numbers large enough to keep Bianco or Hilton off the November ballot.
Gallego is a different matter. He's a US Senator, for one thing, and that's far more useful than a House member. Replacing him would be both more complicated in a state where no Democrat other than Gov. Katie Hobbs has as high a profile. Gallego just arrived in 2025, too, replacing Kyrsten Sinema. Hobbs could appoint a replacement for Gallego if he resigned (Arizona requires appointing a replacement from the same party anyway), but it would require a special election, perhaps this November, and that would put the seat at unnecessary risk.
In other words, expect Democrats and the Protection Racket Media – but I repeat myself – to circle the wagons around Gallego no matter what happens. Unless something truly new and shocking comes out, and it's tough to imagine what that might be other than dumping your pregnant wife for your girlfriend, Gallego will be kept safe. Or at least, as safe as the voters of Arizona allow him to be.
Update: A new accuser has come forward against Swalwell, and it's grim. A woman went public today to accuse Swalwell of drugging and raping her, and plans to file charges in Los Angeles.
Wow - Swalwell accuser claims he drugged and violently r*ped her.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 14, 2026
This is hard to watch. pic.twitter.com/BQhd7c2lbC
Her attorney is Lisa Bloom, daughter of Gloria Allred. Bloom was nearly canceled out of the feminist movement for representing Harvey Weinstein. She promises a full-court press against Swalwell on behalf of this clients and others who may come forward:
Attorney for Eric Swalwell’s accuser, Lisa Bloom: “Immediately, we will be filing a police report with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, which is the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over incidents that happen in West Hollywood.”
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) April 14, 2026
“[The accuser] is committed… pic.twitter.com/NFYrkxZigH
Stay tuned. This may get a lot worse than we imagined, although Swalwell's entitled to the presumption of innocence as a legal issue until such time as he could be convicted in court.
The latest episode of The Ed Morrissey Show podcast is now up! Today's show features:
- What happened to Eric Swalwell's political career? Andrew Malcolm and I both agree that it ended when the congressman became inconvenient to California Democrats.
- How long did "reporters" know the truth about Swalwell, and why didn't they report it?
- We also discuss the new blockade on Iran and the options it opens for Donald Trump, and talk about the most famous Door Dash delivery in history.
The Ed Morrissey Show is now a fully downloadable and streamable show at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the TEMS Podcast YouTube channel, and on Rumble and our own in-house portal at the #TEMS page!
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