Senate Democrat avoids answering whether Swalwell should resign from Congress

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Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., did not answer on Sunday whether he believes Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., should resign from Congress after recent allegations of sexual misconduct.

“I do want to ask about allegations against one of your fellow Democrats, Eric Swalwell, allegations of rape and sexual misconduct,” CNN’s Dana Bash said on “State of the Union.” “He denies these allegations as false, says they never happened. You were a leader in your party. Do you think he should resign from Congress or face expulsion?”

“You know, Dana, I have seen the reports,” Warner said. “I think I‘ve met Mr. Swalwell once or twice. I want to hear his side of the story, but obviously, if any of these allegations are true, he should no longer be a candidate for governor. But again, I don‘t know any of the facts. And I‘m a little old-fashioned. I feel like I ought to hear the facts before I start weighing in.”

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Warner did not elaborate on whether he believed that Swalwell should resign from his congressional seat if allegations were proven true. Bash did not follow up with Warner after his response.

Fox News Digital reached out to Warner’s office for comment.

Swalwell was accused by a former staffer of sexual assault while she was intoxicated. The San Francisco Chronicle first broke the story of the anonymous ex-staffer, and three additional women have since spoken to CNN with allegations of misconduct.

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Swalwell is a candidate for governor of California but has since faced calls to drop out, including from within his own party. He has pledged to fight the allegations against him.

Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks at Capitol press conference on committee assignments.

“A lot has been said about me today through anonymous allegations, and I thought it was important that you see and hear from me directly. These allegations of sexual assault are flat-out false,” Swalwell said in a video posted Friday.

“They are absolutely false. They did not happen. They have never happened. And I will fight them with everything that I have.”

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Some Democratic candidates have begun calling on Swalwell to also resign from Congress, including Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman, New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and California Reps. Ro Khanna and Jared Huffman.