Rep. Khanna: I Heard Rumors That Swalwell Was A Womanizer, “One Of The Reasons That I Endorsed Tom Steyer”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told CNN host Kasie Hunt that rumors that now-former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was a womanizer are one of the reasons why he decided to endorse Tom Steyer for governor in California.
KASIE HUNT, CNN: I want to start with that question that the White House press secretary posed there. Why were Democrats on Capitol Hill silent for so long when in many cases we’re learning some aspects of this behavior, alleged behavior of Swalwell’s was an open secret, quote unquote. REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, a guy had heard rumors that he was a womanizer, and that’s one of the reasons that I endorsed Tom Steyer in the race and didn’t go along with a lot of the other California establishment that was lining up behind Swalwell. But I certainly didn’t know that he was abusing staff, let alone that there were allegations of rape or date rape. But this is a wake up call for the Congress. We need to be far more proactive in allowing staffers to come to a place they feel safe to launch these kinds of complaints. And any member who knew about this should really be forthright and should own up to the fact that they should have reported something. Certainly, if I knew that someone was having an inappropriate relationship with any staff member or engaged in alleged rape, I would report it to the House Ethics Committee. HUNT: Congressman, I want to circle back to what you said there at the top. What you had heard about Congressman Swalwell was part of why you picked one of his opponents to back in the governor’s race. KHANNA: Well, I support Tom Steyer in his own merits in terms of single-payer health care and him being for a billionaire tax. But it’s why I clearly was not going to endorse Swalwell. I was surprised that so many California establishment folks were supporting him. The whole party was coalescing around him until a week ago. So, we should just be honest about that. I’ve always been a straight shooter. I will say to the White House press secretary, it should be a bit embarrassing that Congress has acted faster in kicking out Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez than the entire Trump administration has acted in going after the Epstein class. Congress, which is about the slowest body, managed to kick out two members and hold investigations, and they have not held a single investigation against any of the people in the Epstein files. HUNT: I want to circle back to that in just a moment. But to stick with California, your home state and the noted establishment, I mean, there was one senior Democratic staffer quoted anonymously in the Washington Post that, quote, Swalwell benefited from being one of Pelosi’s pets for a long time. And certainly, I was a reporter for many years on Capitol Hill. She was leading Democrats on Capitol Hill, and he was seen as someone that Democratic leaders wanted to elevate. Why do you think that happened, considering what you’re outlining here? KHANNA: Look, Kasie, there’s a difference between someone who has rumors of maybe having had extramarital affairs, not condoning it, but that’s very different than abusing staff members or allegedly raping people. And I take the speaker at her word that she had no idea that he was engaged in inappropriate relationships with staff members or with allegations of sexual assault. But certainly, if there are members who knew that he was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with staff members and didn’t speak up, that’s a real problem. And they should come be honest about that.
