Newly obtained surveillance video shows former Representative Eric Swalwell surrounded by FBI agents after stepping off a plane at San Francisco International Airport on Aug. 15.
The encounter led to the seizure of his cellphone and laptop under a federal search warrant.
The footage, obtained exclusively by the California Post, offers the first public look at the dramatic airport operation.
Swalwell was wearing a hat, black sweatshirt, and sneakers as agents approached him near the gate while other passengers moved through the terminal.
Swalwell appears calm and cooperative as he speaks with several agents, but the scene quickly becomes more serious.
With a backpack on his shoulders and a rolling bag in tow, he is escorted through the airport, up an escalator, and toward a hallway marked “restricted area.”
The former Democratic congressman then enters a room where multiple people are waiting.
At roughly 8:25 p.m., agents served him with the warrant and took a white Apple iPhone, its charging cable, a wall adapter, and an Apple MacBook Pro, according to the filed property inventory.
Records indicate that the FBI gave Swalwell a copy of the warrant and a list of everything seized.
The video does not show him being handcuffed or arrested, and reports say he was permitted to leave once the search was completed.
WATCH:
That airport encounter was not the end of the federal activity.
The next day, agents executed more warrants at Swalwell’s Washington, D.C., residence and removed additional potential evidence, according to a source previously cited by The Post.
The warrant used to take the electronic devices reportedly cited a federal civil rights law that prosecutors can apply to public officials accused of abusing government authority.
That detail suggests investigators may be examining whether Swalwell used his office to silence women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
WATCH:
The investigation does not by itself establish guilt, and the available video does not reveal what agents said inside the secured room.
Still, the spectacle of a former congressman losing his phone and computer to federal agents is hardly the quiet airport arrival any politician would choose.
One former staffer has accused Swalwell of raping her when she was too intoxicated to consent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Her allegation is among several serious claims that have fueled legal scrutiny and ended his once ambitious political trajectory.
Another woman has accused Swalwell of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 2018.
Two other women have alleged that he sent them unsolicited images of his genitals, adding another deeply damaging layer to the scandal surrounding the former California lawmaker.
As the accusations mounted, Swalwell ended his campaign for California governor and resigned from Congress on April 14.
He also faced a looming House Ethics Committee investigation concerning alleged misconduct and sexual assault involving an employee who had worked under his supervision.
Before abandoning the governor race, Swalwell’s attorney sent a threatening letter to people accusing him of “nonconsensual sexual encounters.”
The letter warned that the then congressman could pursue defamation claims over widespread online rumors involving alleged inappropriate conduct with women.
The Justice Department opened an investigation in April while Swalwell was confronting multiple sexual misconduct allegations.
He is also the subject of a state ethics investigation, creating legal and political exposure on more than one front.
Swalwell represented California in Congress for seven terms before his resignation.
Earlier in his career, he served in local government and worked as a prosecutor, and he briefly pursued the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2020 election cycle.
Swalwell and his representatives did not immediately answer requests for comment about the footage or the investigation.
For a politician accustomed to cameras, this is one airport video that offers no flattering angle.
