FBI raids California home tied to former Congressman Eric Swalwell - US media

FBI officers raided a California home in connection with the investigation into former US Congressman Eric Swalwell, US media reports.

Swalwell, 45, dropped out of California's governor's race earlier this year and gave up his seat in the House of Representatives after allegations of sexual misconduct while in office emerged.

In August, the FBI stopped the former Democratic lawmaker at an airport, seized his electronic devices and raided his Washington DC home as part of the investigation into those allegations.

Swalwell has in the past denied any wrongdoing and his attorney has called them "fabricated".

"These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive - a calculated and transparent political hit job," his attorney Sara Azari said around the time they were first reported.

The BBC has contacted Swalwell's lawyer for comment.

In statements, the justice department and FBI said only that "early this morning the FBI conducted an operation in the Los Angeles region related to an ongoing criminal investigation. We have no further comment."

The enforcement action took place at a house in Beverly Hills, a source familiar with the inquiry confirmed to the BBC.

Public records indicate the address was associated with Stephen Cloobeck, a billionaire and former California gubernatorial candidate who had once backed Swalwell's campaign for governor.

Swalwell had stayed at the home previously, the Los Angeles Times reported.

An attorney for Cloobeck did not immediately provide comment to the BBC.

In an April interview with the New York Post, Cloobeck said he had stopped supporting Swalwell after multiple women accused the former lawmaker of misconduct.

Swalwell has faced allegations from multiple women, including that he raped one victim while she was too intoxicated to respond and that he sent women unsolicited nude photographs. He is also facing separate probes in New York City and Los Angeles regarding the allegations. Swalwell has denied the allegations and has never been criminally charged.

Once a high-profile Democrat that had become a fixture of cable news shows criticising President Donald Trump - and briefly considered a likely future governor of California - Swalwell was abruptly forced to end his gubernatorial bid after the allegations surfaced.

The House ethics committee also began investigating, but stopped once Swalwell left Congress.

Additionally, the White House in August declassified documents from a separate, unrelated FBI investigation into his alleged relationship with a suspected Chinese spy.

Many of those details regarding his 2015 relationship with Christine Fang were already known, and he never faced any related charges.

Eric Swalwell to resign from Congress after sexual misconduct claims

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