The Public News Choice
Vol. I · No. 234
Government
FBI takes Swalwell's phone and laptop. The warrant is not a verdict.
Devices seized at SFO. A second search at his D.C. house. No arrest. The affidavit is sealed.
FBI agents took former Rep. Eric Swalwell's iPhone and MacBook Pro at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday evening, then searched his Washington house the next day. A Northern District of California inventory lists the phone, a charging cable, and the laptop, seized at 8:25 p.m. The warrant application and affidavit remain sealed. He was not arrested.
The public docket cites 18 U.S.C. Section 242, deprivation of rights under color of law, "and other offenses." That statute is used against officials accused of abusing government power. A judge found probable cause to search. That is not a finding of guilt. The searches sit on top of sexual-misconduct allegations that ended Swalwell's gubernatorial bid and his House seat in April. He has denied those claims. This desk is not treating a sealed affidavit as proof of them.
Sources: Northern District of California warrant inventory (agent Kyle R. Biebesheimer; Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson); NBC News, CBS News, KTVU, and the San Francisco Standard, which published the docket details. Image is the official House portrait, not a photo of the search.
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