FBI seizes former Congressman Eric Swalwell's devices and searches his home as part of investigationAgents stopped the Democrat in an airport over the weekend as part of an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations that he has denied.13 mins agoUS & Canada

FBI seizes former Congressman Eric Swalwell's devices and searches his home as part of investigation.

Key points

• He is additionally under criminal investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for accusations of rape and sexual assault.
• Plenty of of the details regarding his 2015 relationship with Christine Fang were already known, and Swalwell never faced any related charges.
• Multiple US media outlets, including CBS News, were informed that FBI Director Kash Patel was behind a push to release the files from that investigation.
• The House ethics committee introduced an investigation that concluded once Swalwell was no longer a member of Congress.
• Federal agents retrieved Swalwell's devices and searched his home while executing a search warrant, according to the BBC's US media partner, CBS News.

As part of a federal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him, the FBI halted former US Congressman Eric Swalwell in an airport and seized his electronic devices while additionally raiding his home in Washington DC this weekend.

After the allegations surfaced earlier this year, Swalwell dropped out of the California governor's race – where he was in the lead – and offered up his seat in the House of Representatives.

Swalwell has previously denied the allegations and his attorney has called them "fabricated". The BBC has reached out to him for comment.

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

Swalwell, 45, 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.

Meanwhile, a high-profile Democrat often seen on cable news criticising President Donald Trump, Swalwell resigned from Congress and concluded his bid for California governor after the reports emerged and members of the House pushed to remove him. The House ethics committee introduced an investigation that concluded once Swalwell was no longer a member of Congress.

Meanwhile, the White House published declassified documents from a separate FBI investigation ion Monday that disclosed details of his alleged relationship with a suspected spy from China over a decade ago.

Multiple US media outlets, including CBS News, were informed that FBI Director Kash Patel was behind a push to release the files from that investigation. Another woman accuses Swalwell of rape, saying he drugged her in 2018. Eric Swalwell quits California governor race against the backdrop of sexual misconduct claims. Eric Swalwell to resign from Congress after sexual misconduct claims.

In short, FBI seizes former Congressman Eric Swalwell' s devices and searches his home as is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.