FBI agents searched a Beverly Hills mansion that reportedly belongs to billionaire Stephen Cloobeck on Tuesday morning as part of the federal investigation into former California congressman Eric Swalwell over sexual misconduct allegations. Swalwell has denied wrongdoing.
Fox News first reported the search at Stephen Cloobeck’s mansion, and video showed agents at the property early Tuesday. Agents were carrying out a search warrant, a court order that allows law enforcement to enter a property and look for specific evidence. The FBI has not said what it was looking for, whether anything was taken, or how the home connects to the case. No charges have been filed against Swalwell.
The connection between the two men is both political and personal. Stephen Cloobeck ran for California governor before backing Swalwell’s campaign for the same seat, putting money behind him and letting him stay at the mansion. That ended when the allegations surfaced. Cloobeck evicted him and said publicly, “I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women. I support women’s rights.” Nothing in the public reporting suggests Cloobeck himself is a target of the investigation.
Swalwell, a Democrat who served 13 years in Congress, resigned his seat and quit the governor’s race in April after at least five women, including a former staffer, accused him of sexual misconduct or rape.
The federal investigation stepped up in August. Agents searched his Washington, D.C., home and stopped him at San Francisco International Airport, where they seized his phones and other electronic devices. He was not arrested.
Local prosecutors are also looking at the case. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s sex crimes unit was reported to be weighing whether to charge Swalwell over the alleged rape of a Beverly Hills woman, Lonna Drewes. No charging decision has been announced.
