It appears that Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., just can’t keep himself out of ethical grey areas.
The New York Post has “confirmed through multiple sources” that Swalwell and his former chief of staff “aggressively hit up congressional colleagues to support his fledgling AI company.” This could potentially violate House ethical rules, the outlet suggests.
“A report published Friday by NOTUS documented how Swalwell and Yardena Wolf — who left the congressman’s office last year to manage his campaign for California governor — made numerous attempts to hawk their startup, Findraiser, to fellow House Democrats as well as political operatives,” The Post reported.
The pitch was so aggressive, in fact, that even some of Swalwell’s own colleagues were disturbed.
“They were really hitting up everyone,” said one “source with knowledge of the situation.”
“I bet every California member probably got outreach.”
“Swalwell has been a running joke for 10 years, but this company has been a running joke for consultants and staffers for probably a year and a half,” one “California political strategist and fundraiser” noted in a comment to the outlet.
But as the congressman and Wolf tried to garner support using his political connections, it seems that there just wasn’t a lot of interest in the product.
“They described it as a great new way to fundraise that was going to make everyone’s life easier,” one source noted, adding that the former chief of staff reached out repeatedly in an attempt to set up a time to demonstrate its capabilities. “We basically just blew her off because we weren’t interested in the product at all.”
The source alarmingly implied that Swalwell even tried to use his voting power as a way to get people to work with him.
“The only way you get Swalwell to sign on to your bills is if you take this weird call from his chief of staff,” they said.
But the representative could run into some trouble as House ethics rules prevent sitting congress members from leveraging their positions for private financial gain.
“Much like Donald Trump, Eric Swalwell appears to be leveraging his position and influence in government for personal gain,” accused Kevin Liao, who is a spokesperson for the gubernatorial campaign of Tom Steyer. “It raises serious questions about his true motivations and character as a public servant: Is Eric Swalwell simply using the levers of power to line his own pockets?”
But a Swalwell campaign spokesperson seemingly dismissed those concerns by framing the move as the elected official “working to help Democrats win up and down the ticket.”
“Whether that’s through utilizing 21st Century technology or talking to voters directly about the issues that matter most — he will continue to use every tool he can to fight Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies,” Micah Beasley stated. “It is sad to see the desperation of a billionaire willing to do anything to score a few more points in this race, even if it means hurting his own party.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.