California governor candidate Eric Swalwell denies sexual assault allegations

California governor candidate Eric Swalwell denies sexual assault allegations9 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMax MatzaGetty ImagesEric Swalwell, one of the leading candidates in the race to be California's next governor, has denied allegations from former staff of sexual misconduct. "These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor," he said in a statement after at least four women made allegations, ranging from sexual harassment to rape. His opponents, and several supporters, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called on him to leave the race. Democrats will pick their candidate in the primary election being held on 2 June. The winner, expected to become the next governor in the heavily-Democratic state, will go on to 3 November general election.The first allegation against Swalwell, a congressman, emerged publicly on Friday in The San Francisco Chronicle.A former staff member told the newspaper that, shortly after being hired to work in his district office in Castro Valley, Swalwell began making inappropriate comments, including soliciting her for sex and sending her sexual messages.The woman, who is not named, also said that in September 2019, she woke up naked in the congressman's hotel room with little recollection of what had happened the night before. Five years later, when she was no longer on his staff, she met him at a gala for drinks. She said she has trouble remembering details of the night, but recalled pushing him away from her and telling him "no". She added that she woke up with signs of sexual trauma on her body.The woman's story is corroborated by text messages she sent friends at the time, and by her former boyfriend, who told the newspaper that he encouraged her to report the incident to the police.Later on Friday, CNN published accusations from four women who worked for him, who also made claims of sexual misconduct. Accordi...