Two women accusing Swalwell of sexual misconduct speak out on experience, why they came forward
Two women accusing Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct spoke to CBS News on Tuesday about the allegations and what made they come forward.
Two women accusing Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., of sexual misconduct spoke out about their experience with the Democratic congressman who has announced his resignation amid the allegations.
Ally Sammarco and Annika Albrecht opened up about their interactions with Swalwell in an interview aired on "CBS Mornings." Albrecht spoke out for the first time in the CBS interview, as Sammarco spoke to CNN about her experience previously. The bombshell allegations were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday.
Swalwell announced he would resign from Congress and ended his California gubernatorial campaign on Monday. He has denied the allegations but acknowledged past mistakes.
"He thought he was untouchable," Sammarco told CBS. "He acted with total impunity. He never thought that the consequences of his actions would follow him."
Annika Albrecht and Ally Sammarco, who are both accusing Eric Swalwell of sexual misconduct, detailed their experience and accusations during a "CBS Mornings" interview on April 14, 2026. (Screenshot/"CBS Mornings")
Albrecht told CBS that Swalwell "offered to mentor" her and stay in touch with her after meeting her student group in D.C. in 2019. She said that Swalwell created a group chat with all the students and added her on Snapchat.
"Ultimately, it reached a point where he invited me to a hotel to meet him. It was very clear what the connotation was. At that point I completely stopped responding. What I keep thinking back to is how lucky I am that I didn’t go to that hotel," Albrecht said in the interview.
Sammarco had a similar experience in 2021, she said, after she messaged Swalwell something supportive via Twitter. To her surprise, she said, he responded.
California gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell waves before speaking at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)
Swalwell asked her if she was on Snapchat as well, and detailed one of the exchanges.
"It started out as professional and platonic and then slowly they became more and more explicit, asking me what I was wearing. Then one night he was on a trip, and he was laying in his hotel room bed, and then he sent me a photo of his penis," she said.
CBS noted they were shown text messages she sent her friends about the Snapchats at the time. CBS reported that a few weeks ago, Albrecht had reached out to her friend, Cheyenne Hunt, a Democratic content creator who was also present during the interview, and asked her to make a video about her experience.
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Rep. Eric Swalwell spoke during a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Hunt revealed during the CBS interview that she was inundated with direct messages from other women who had similar experiences.
"I was immediately slammed with DMs from other women who said I have a story to tell. And that was when I realized that this was a lot bigger than I think any of us knew," she said during the interview.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Swalwell for additional comment on the allegations.
