After the Cloobeck Raid: Where the Eric Swalwell Investigations Stand and What His Old Office Revealed

A day after FBI agents raided billionaire Stephen Cloobeck’s Beverly Hills mansion in connection with the investigation into former Rep. Eric Swalwell, more details are emerging about the legal basis of the federal probe, the separate local cases and a dispute over what was left behind in Swalwell’s old district office.

No charges have been filed against Swalwell, who has denied the allegations against him.

Cloobeck’s lawyers respond

Cloobeck’s attorneys told ABC7 San Francisco that he was not at the North Roxbury Drive home when agents executed the warrant on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

“Mr. Cloobeck was not home when the search warrant was executed and continues to have faith in the judicial process of this country,” the attorneys said.

The FBI has still not said what agents were looking for or whether anything was seized. “We are executing a search warrant. Court documents are sealed. No arrests are planned,” FBI spokesperson Lourdes Arocho told the Los Angeles Times. A spokesperson for Swalwell declined to comment to The Times, and his attorney did not comment on the search to ABC7.

Why the house matters

The Times reported that Swalwell stayed at the home several times while campaigning for governor and used it for political events before the allegations became public. In one of his last acts there, The Times said, he filmed a video denying accusations of rape and sexual assault.

Cloobeck, 64, made his fortune in the timeshare business, eventually selling Las Vegas-based Diamond Resorts to a private equity firm for $2.2 billion, according to The Times. He ran a long-shot campaign for governor, then dropped out and spent more than $1 million supporting Swalwell, ABC7 reported, before cutting ties in April. “I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women,” Cloobeck told the New York Post at the time, as quoted by ABC7.

The legal basis of the federal probe

According to The Times, citing court filings:

• Federal prosecutors are using civil rights law to examine Swalwell’s conduct as a member of Congress, specifically a statute that makes it a crime for anyone acting under official government authority to willfully deprive a person of constitutional rights.
• Investigators sought his white iPhone and MacBook Pro.
• In August, agents seized his devices, briefly held him at San Francisco International Airport for search purposes and raided his Washington home. His Dublin, California, home was also the subject of a search warrant over the summer, a source told The Times.

ABC7 said a previously obtained warrant cited the federal civil rights law “and other possible offenses.”

Parallel investigations

The federal case is not the only one. The Times reported separate inquiries by authorities in New York and Los Angeles County. Last month, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sent its investigation into an alleged attack in West Hollywood to the district attorney’s office for a filing decision. Lonna Drewes has publicly accused Swalwell of drugging, raping and choking her in 2018. He denies it.

What House officials found in his old office

In a separate matter, Swalwell’s successor, Rep. Aisha Wahab, told ABC7 what House officials found when clearing out his former district office in Castro Valley. She compared it to a fraternity house, with photos showing Nerf guns, boxes of wine and a door marked with a crude sign. Officials also found military medals and congressional awards left behind, and Wahab said her office is still working to account for them.

Swalwell’s attorney told ABC7 that clearing out the office was the job of his former staff after he resigned, and that the office had kept the military medals for safekeeping while trying to reach their intended recipient. ABC7 stressed that the office issue is separate from the criminal investigation.

Key facts at a glance

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Earlier coverage: FBI Raids Stephen Cloobeck's Beverly Hills Home in Eric Swalwell Investigation, Reports Say (Oct 27)