CASE STUDY
California Governor Debate, April 22, 2026, Gubernatorial Candidate and former chair of the Congress’ Democratic Caucus (2013-17; VC; 2009-13), Xavier Becerra answers a question about what he knew about Congressman Eric Swalwell’s sexual misconduct.
BACKGROUND INFO
In April 2026, former U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, was accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct, including rape and sexual assault. Swalwell, who has served as Congressman since 2012, recently stepped down amid these allegations from both his elected position as a California Congressman and as a candidate for California Governor.
FACT
California Gubernatorial Candidate Xavier Becerra admitted in a CNN interview with Pam Brown on April 16, a week prior to the April 22 California Governor debate, that he had heard 'rumors' about Congressman Swalwell's misconduct, but took no action. Pressed at the debate, Becerra said 'rumors are not facts' and deflected to law enforcement.
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT #1: CNN Interview with Candidate Becerra, April 16, 2026
Brown: “What have you heard, Secretary?”
Becerra: “I think many of us had heard the rumors as well. Never seen any corroboration. But certainly, I think that the word had gone out.”
TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT #2: First California Governor Debate, hosted by Nexstar Media Group, April 22, 2026
NewsNation host Nikki Laurenzo: "Mr. Becerra, you were chair of the Democratic Caucus when Eric Swalwell was elected to Congress. You said in a recent interview that, quote, 'Many of us heard the rumors.' What rumors did you hear? And should you have pursued the rumors as a member of Democratic leadership?" NewsNation host Nikki Laurenzo asked.
Becerra: "Yeah, you hear rumors all the time about all sorts of things. Rumors are not facts, And the, the caucus, the Democratic caucus is not a place that adjudicates those things. It's law enforcement that does. If someone had come forward, we could then have investigations. I say that as the former Attorney General for the state of California.
When I was Attorney General, we did go after sex trafficking. We did go to those who abuse of young women and take advantage of them. We did prosecute people.There was an individual who was a religious leader who was taking advantage of young women, we prosecuted that individual. Today he is in jail for his crimes. We have gone after people, but we go after them based on evidence and based on facts.
Unfortunately, we have a president today who would go after someone based on rumors. That’s not the way we do it in America. We have to have the facts. Rumors are one thing, but getting the facts really gets you to move. And let me just applaud those courageous survivors who stood up and told America what the truth was. And today Eric Swalwell is facing accountability.”
COMMENTARY
Here, Gubernatorial Candidate Becerra absolves himself and the Democratic Caucus of any responsibility, placing the onus on victims to file charges with their local police department.
Which sounds nice except that, for the most part, victims of sexual crimes, don't.
We don’t live in a society that supports sexual abuse victims. Already humiliated and traumatized by their sexual assault, victims often choose to not to participate in systems that will only perpetuate their humiliation and traumatization.
In rape cases, there is often a power dynamic involved - a sexual abuser is a boss, a powerful person or a father figure. Victims fear retribution. The loss of their job or respect from their community. The loss of community.
Alcohol and drugs are often involved, and victims oftenn do not always want to admit to alcohol or drug use - and they aren’t sure how to proceed in cases where they think they may have been drugged.
Statistics support this. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey, and the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System: nearly every minute, someone in the US is sexually assaulted, AND approximately 63% to over 80% of sexual assaults and rapes in the US go unreported to law enforcement, AND the vast majority of perpetrators—nearly 98%—are never held fully accountable by the criminal justice system.
Twenty years after the MeToo movement, and the same year as the release of (some - not all!) of the Epstein files, gubernatorial candidate Becerra shows us that it is still acceptable for elected officials to skirt their responsibilities for vetting their fellow elected officials. I’m not thinking that Becerra is an isolated example, but representative of an entire network of people in power who are willing to shirk their responsibilities in this regard.
It is well past time for the Democratic Party to own up to its responsibilities to their constituents.
Pamela Nagler Pamela Nagler is finishing her book, Unceded Land, Indigenous California and the Foreign Invasions: Spanish, Mexican, Russian, US.
