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The Eric Swalwell Implosion Has the Press Desperately Explaining Why They Hadn't Broken the Story Earlier

Brad Slager
Brad Slager  |  Apr 13, 2026
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On Friday, floodgates opened surrounding the lecherous behavior of California Democrat Congressman Eric Swalwell. Multiple women came forward with accusations of sexual assault, and at least one alleged rape took place. Through the weekend, Swalwell saw most Democrats pull their endorsements, his own staff and campaign released a statement repudiating him, and then he announced the suspension of his campaign for governor and his resignation from Congress. The press has been in a state of flux over all of this for the past few days.

Reporting on the Mirror – CNN

  • Praising your work after years of overlooking the issue is earning less than a gold star.

Brian Stelter was in full praise mode for his network's tag-teaming of the Swalwell scoop on Friday, along with the San Francisco Chronicle. The comedy was delivered in layers, with the first being that this story broke on Instagram with a Democratic Party figure in California, Cheyenne Hunt. 

Then there were all of those folks claiming this was all a planted story from “MAGA World,” with Roger Stone’s name attached as a disqualifying trait. Yeah, sure. CNN, the San Fran Chronicle, and the Democrats in Congress tossing Swalwell overboard are just under the sway of GOP operatives.

What is most revealing is that you get the sense that the reporting was a result of being backed into a corner by the facts. CNN’s report confirms that less than two years ago, the one victim relayed her experience with family and friends, and also had tests performed for pregnancy and STDs. Contrast that with the press feeling comfortable with accusing the president of similar behavior, or worse, based on faulty allegations that are over a decade old and have been dismissed as manufactured and discredited.

Reporting on the Mirror – THE INDEPENDENTS

  • Time to roll out the old "Open Secret" narrative, to excuse journalistic sloth.

While it is a smaller localized Substack account, Steven Tavares of the East Bay Citizen leads the charge of those saying Swalwell’s sexual pecadillos were a known quantity for over a decade. Then, after realizing how it sounded, the scrambling to excuse the lack of reporting took place.

Reporting on the Mirror – AXIOS

  • As excuses go, this one needed to be sent back to the editor.

In another case of trying to explain away the non-reporting on Swalwell, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian also came out with foreknowledge of Eric's antics. Then she scrambled to excuse her lack of coverage.

In a now-deleted post, she detailed how she was aware of the scandalous activity in 2020 but just could not report on it.

Things only got worse for Beth. She later detailed how she had reported on Swalwell, specifically regarding his involvement with the Chinese spy honeypot fiasco, in which he got himself ensnared. This then makes her lack of follow-up reporting all the worse, because she had, in fact, reported on the man, and specifically regarding his problematic relationships with women.

But…she just could not do any further work.

News Avoidance Syndrome – CNN

  • So, Dana, you simply don’t read your own news outlet before going on the air?

In a classic case of playing the media ostrich with a subterranean cranium, Dana Bash comes out to say she has yet to see any credible evidence that people knew about Swalwell’s behavior and did not take action.

Dana Bash: Always the last to know when Democrats are in trouble.

Democratic Custodial Services – ABC NEWS

  • Rather amazing to play “hide the affiliation” on a national broadcast.

On Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos was leading his crew on the Swalwell coverage. They were dutiful in providing most of the details, save for one aspect.

They just could not manage to get around to detailing that Swalwell was a member of the Democratic Party.