Swalwell hit with lawsuit that could derail campaign for gov, perjury charge raises stakes
Rep. Eric Swalwell, the progressive firebrand who has spent years attacking conservatives and President Donald Trump, is now under fire himself after a new lawsuit claims he may not even qualify to run for California’s top office. The bombshell filing alleges Swalwell doesn’t actually live in California at all.
The five-page petition for writ of mandate, filed in Sacramento by conservative activist and filmmaker Joel Gilbert, targets both Swalwell and Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber. At the center of the dispute is a basic legal requirement: under California’s Constitution, a governor must have lived in the state for the previous five years.
“The governor shall be an elector who has been a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state for 5 years immediately preceding the governor’s election,” the filing states, citing Article V, section II.
According to Gilbert, Swalwell’s own paperwork may be his undoing.
The lawsuit claims that Swalwell has repeatedly listed his Washington, D.C. residence — not a California home — as his primary address. Even more damaging, the complaint alleges that the address Swalwell used on a key campaign document isn’t a residence at all, but his attorney’s office.
“Public records searches reveal no current ownership or leasehold interest held by Eric Swalwell in California, nor any history of any ownership or leasehold interest based on available public records,” the lawsuit reads. “Swalwell’s congressional financial disclosures from 2011 to 2024 list no California real estate ownership.”
The filing goes further, warning that the absence of any legitimate California residence could permanently bar Swalwell from the ballot.
“Swalwell’s declared principal residence in Washington, D.C., coupled with his absence of any California residence, defeats California domicile. Once ballot preparation or certification deadlines pass, no post-hoc judicial remedy can restore a lawful ballot.”
The issue isn’t merely technical — it could carry serious legal consequences.
“Either he’s guilty of mortgage fraud in Washington, DC, or he’s ineligible to run for Governor or California, he can’t have it both ways.”
The five-page petition for writ of mandate, filed in Sacramento by conservative activist and filmmaker Joel Gilbert, targets both Swalwell and Democratic Secretary of State Shirley Weber. At the center of the dispute is a basic legal requirement: under California’s Constitution, a governor must have lived in the state for the previous five years.
“The governor shall be an elector who has been a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state for 5 years immediately preceding the governor’s election,” the filing states, citing Article V, section II.
According to Gilbert, Swalwell’s own paperwork may be his undoing.
The lawsuit claims that Swalwell has repeatedly listed his Washington, D.C. residence — not a California home — as his primary address. Even more damaging, the complaint alleges that the address Swalwell used on a key campaign document isn’t a residence at all, but his attorney’s office.
“Public records searches reveal no current ownership or leasehold interest held by Eric Swalwell in California, nor any history of any ownership or leasehold interest based on available public records,” the lawsuit reads. “Swalwell’s congressional financial disclosures from 2011 to 2024 list no California real estate ownership.”
The filing goes further, warning that the absence of any legitimate California residence could permanently bar Swalwell from the ballot.
“Swalwell’s declared principal residence in Washington, D.C., coupled with his absence of any California residence, defeats California domicile. Once ballot preparation or certification deadlines pass, no post-hoc judicial remedy can restore a lawful ballot.”
The issue isn’t merely technical — it could carry serious legal consequences.
“Either he’s guilty of mortgage fraud in Washington, DC, or he’s ineligible to run for Governor or California, he can’t have it both ways.”
70-79, M
