Ruben Gallego Says Ex-Best Friend Swalwell ‘Manipulated’ Him In Stunning Press Conference

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called a press conference on Tuesday to address his close friendship with disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who submitted his resignation letter hours after amid allegations of rape and sexual abuse.

“I called this today because there’s just a lot of rumors going around about me, about my family. And, you know, unfortunately, this is not the first time,” began Gallego to kick of the presser, which Semafor Congressional Bureau Chief Burgess Everett described as “one of the more unusual press conferences I’ve witnessed in my years in the Capitol.”

“I did deal with the same BS in 2024 and 2023 when they ran millions and millions of dollars of smears against me, lied about me, lied about my family. And it’s the same damn people again — Kari Lake, Chris LaCivita, a bunch of political operatives — they couldn’t do it in 2024, trying to do it again in 2026,” Gallego began, adding:

So I want to make a couple of things very clear. Number one, Eric Swalwell lied to all of us. He lies to the most powerful people in this country. And they trusted him. They trusted him with some of the most sensitive spots in our government, whether it was on the Judiciary Committee, the Intel Committee, impeaching Donald Trump.

And that clouded my judgment. My friendship with him, our families’ friendship together with him, clouded my judgment. And I was wrong. I deeply, deeply regret that. The women that came forward are courageous and they still deserve justice. But to be clear again, I also had no knowledge of predatory behavior, sexual assault, or harassment.

And unfortunately, right now, the same people that were attacking me in 2024 are using this horrible situation — this horrible situation that’s been thrust upon these women, thrust upon Eric Swalwell’s family — and using this as an excuse to politically attack me, lie about me, and lie about my family. And I will not take that lightly. So with that, I’ll gladly take any questions.

“Thank you so much. Swalwell has called you his best friend. Have you never asked him about any of the rumors swirling around Democratic politics about his inappropriate behavior?” asked a reporter.

“I did. We knew each other differently from everyone else. My family and his family were as close as it gets. Our kids were in baseball camp together. We had dinner together as a family,” replied the Arizona Democrat, adding:

It was entirely different. But I think what people don’t understand is that when there were rumors going around a couple of weeks ago — not of the sort in the San Francisco Chronicle — I did ask him, and he lied to me. He knew that I had just come off a very, very hard campaign. For two years he lied about me and my family. He manipulated me, using the same sentiment I was having back then as an opportunity to get me to defend him.

“How did you not know about the allegations, considering you chaired his presidential campaign? Wouldn’t some of this have come up? Some of those allegations predated when he ran for office,” asked another reporter.

“This man led a double life. He lied to us, he lied to his family, lied to his constituents, lied to the most powerful people in this country. Even before he ran, he was trusted with positions that normally we would never think someone like this could hold if they were leading a double life. And again, I was manipulated, I was lied to — and everyone else was too,” Gallego replied.

“Would you release any text messages you had with Eric Swalwell to prove your innocence?” pushed another reporter.

“Anybody that asks — any legal proceedings that need it — will get whatever they want. Any legal proceedings, ethics interviews, subpoenas, or anything else outside of legal proceedings — if we get sued, we’ll release everything,’ Gallego insisted.

“I just want to understand: when you called him in light of these allegations coming forward, and then when they did grow more serious into sexual assault, did you call him again and ask your friend, ‘Did you lie to me?’” pushed another reporter.

“No. I called him a few minutes after I read that article and told him to drop out,” Gallego replied as the reporter asked, “Which article?”

“The San Francisco Chronicle article,” Gallego said.

“And you didn’t speak to him when CNN put out reporting that was much more serious?” asked another reporter.

“I don’t remember the exact timeline, but as soon as I read the San Francisco Chronicle article — like a minute after I got off stage — I called him and said it’s time to drop out. So it was just “drop out,” not “is this true or not true.” I told him to drop out. He denied everything. I told him he had to drop out,” Gallego replied.

“There was a video that surfaced online of Eric Swalwell looking at a woman sitting next to someone. Was that you sitting next to him?” pushed another reporter.

“This is an example of the lies. No, I was not sitting next to him. I was in the room, but I was nowhere near — I don’t even know where it happened. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Chris LaCivita and a bunch of other right-wing political operatives are pushing this narrative that I was somehow in that room with Eric Swalwell, and that is an absolute lie,” Gallego said.

“Congressman, you have future political ambitions. How can people trust you to run for higher office if you didn’t know that your best friend was engaging in even inappropriate behavior?” asked another reporter.

“I’m human. I trusted him. I trusted him to watch my children. I would watch his children. He knew that I had just gone through the most bruising campaign, where I was accused of being a mule for the cartel, where my kids were subjected to TV commercials about what an awful human being I was. He knew how to prey on that. And I was a loyal friend to someone who just was not loyal to me,” Gallego replied.

“Have you spoken to the congressman since he announced his resignation?” asked a different reporter.

“No. Since I told him to drop out, I have not spoken to him,” Gallego answered.

“Just to be clear about your statement — yesterday you said the women who have come forward deserve to be believed. Do you believe them, or do you believe Eric Swalwell when he says these allegations are false?” pushed another reporter.
“I believe the women 100%, and they deserve justice,” Gallego insisted.

CNN’s Manu Raju then jumped in, “What leads you to believe the women, because you said you never witnessed these allegations? You had no knowledge of it. Did you ever see him in any sort of compromising position? Was he drinking excessively? Was he around younger women?”

“I didn’t see any of that. But look, we all heard rumors in Washington, D.C. about Eric Swalwell for many years. And my family, again, was with him all the time — with his wife, with his kids — and we saw a different side of Eric that I’d never seen,” Gallego said.

Watch the clip above via Live Now from Fox.

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