Katie Porter and influencer behind Swalwell allegations "don't have a relationship to speak of," campaign says

CBS News California Investigates Katie Porter and influencer behind Swalwell allegations "don't have a relationship to speak of," campaign says .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-cbs-news-california-investigates.jpg'); } By Julie Watts Julie Watts CBS California Investigative Correspondent Julie Watts is a national-award-winning investigative correspondent for CBS News, covering California. Her investigations, Capitol accountability reports, and solutions-oriented journalism air weekly on CBS stations across California. Read Full Bio Julie Watts April 8, 2026 / 6:03 PM EDT / CBS News California Add CBS News on Google The influencer behind viral allegations against gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell has academic and political connections with UC Irvine Law professor and rival candidate Katie Porter. However, the former congresswoman denies any direct relationship. Swalwell has denied the allegations of inappropriate behavior with female staffers, which his camp argues are coming from online influencers connected to his opponents.One of those influencers, Cheyenne Hunt, is a self-described progressive activist with a law degree from the University of California, Irvine School of Law. That is the same law school where fellow gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter is a longtime professor.  Hunt enrolled at UC Irvine Law in the fall of 2018, as Porter was running for Congress. Porter continued living in on-campus housing throughout her time in Congress while she was on leave from her teaching position.  According to UCI, Hunt interned on Capitol Hill for a Democratic Senator while Porter was serving in the House, and in 2021, Porter delivered the commencement address at Hunt's graduation. Three years later, Hunt ran for Porter's former Orange County congressional seat and posted a photograph with Porter on social media, calling her a trailblazer.   Porter...