Alleged is only in that title for legal reasons. I think we all know that the allegations against Eric Swalwell are likely true. We already saw his questionable decision-making when he slept with a Chinese spy, and casually discussed nuking American citizens, so the sexual misconduct allegations are easy to believe.
And the gun control groups that supported him want you to believe they never did.
I mean, they're not saying it yet, but they are trying to memoryhole every ounce of support or respect they gave him, and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms isn't really interested in playing that game with them.
From a press release:
The anti-gun-rights Brady group, which previously endorsed Eric Swalwell for Congress and honored him as a guest speaker at a 2024 gala awards event—the same night he allegedly assaulted his female aide—has erased his name from its website and a video of the event has reportedly vanished from its YouTube page, but the taint of their past association remains, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said.
The New York Post is reporting about Swalwell’s appearance at the Brady Campaign event, and what allegedly followed. When allegations surfaced about Swalwell, the Brady Campaign scrubbed all references to him, and called for his resignation. But CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb says the gun prohibition lobbying organization cannot erase history.
“Brady United and Swalwell were best friends until these lurid allegations surfaced,” Gottlieb stressed. “While Swalwell is entitled to a presumption of innocence and due process, that’s certainly not the way the Brady organization has treated gun owners in general.
“By pushing background checks, waiting periods and other extremist gun control measures,” he detailed, “Brady makes it clear they consider all gun owners and gun buyers guilty until proven innocent. Instead, maybe they should background check who they work with.
“The Brady group repeatedly endorsed Swalwell and worked with him, invited him to speak at their New York gala and happily supported his gun ban proposals,” Gottlieb continued, “but quickly abandoned him and tried to make their association disappear. We’re not going to let that happen.
“Maybe the Brady group should change its title to the ‘Brady Campaign to Prevent Sexual Violence,’” Gottlieb suggested, “especially since guns don’t commit violence, people do. They’re essentially shooting him in the back and burying him in an unmarked grave.
“What Swalwell allegedly did was despicable,” Gottlieb observed. “What the Brady Campaign is doing—making his name invisible on their website—is both cowardly and futile. History has recorded their past association, and that’s a stain you cannot wash away.”
And look, I get why they'd want to distance themselves from Swalwell. He's radioactive right now, and everyone knows it. Even his closest friends in Congress, like Rep. Reuben Gallego, are throwing him under the bus. No one wants anything to do with him now.
But they did, and that's the point.
It turns out that everyone knew just how vile Swalwell was and simply said nothing. The media, the Democratic Party, and almost every person who moves in left-leaning circles knew that he was terrible to women, at a minimum. They knew about the sexual harassment. I'd like to think they wouldn't overlook the alleged rapes, but I can't really say they would, and that's disturbing enough.
Look, if they'd have been smart, they'd have owned up to the past support, claimed ignorance, thrown him under the bus like Gallego did, and made all the noises that everything he did was completely awful and has no place in a civilized world, especially from an elected representative.
The only reason I can think they took this approach is that it's quieter, and they're hoping that by not publicly jumping on the anti-Swalwell bandwagon, no one will reveal that they knew about it and still supported him.
That's speculation on my part, of course. I have no evidence one way or the other. It's just the only thing I can really think of that would justify this quiet memory-holing of someone who had been a staunch ally, only to go down in the flames of scandal.
I get that they don't want to remind people that they were associated with (an alleged) serial sex fiend like Swalwell, but that ship has set sail. Honestly, I don't intend to ever let them forget that, either.
