FBI Reportedly Searches California Home Linked to Probe of Former Congressman Eric Swalwell

FBI agents have searched a home in California as part of the investigation into former US Congressman Eric Swalwell, according to reports in US media. The BBC has asked both Swalwell's lawyer and the Department of Justice for comment.

Swalwell, 45, left California's race for governor earlier this year and resigned his seat in the House of Representatives after allegations of sexual misconduct during his time in office came to light.

The latest search follows other action by federal investigators in August. The FBI stopped the former Democratic lawmaker at an airport, took his electronic devices and searched his home in Washington DC as part of the same inquiry.

Several women have made allegations against him. One accuser says he raped her while she was too intoxicated to respond, and others say he sent them unsolicited nude photographs. Separate investigations are also under way in New York City and Los Angeles.

Swalwell has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Sara Azari, said around the time the claims first emerged: "These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive - a calculated and transparent political hit job." She has described the allegations as "fabricated".

Swalwell was once a prominent Democrat and a regular presence on cable news, where he criticised President Donald Trump. He was also briefly seen as a likely future governor of California. His campaign for that office ended abruptly once the allegations surfaced.

The House ethics committee had opened its own investigation, but that inquiry ended when Swalwell left Congress.

In August, the White House also declassified documents from a separate and unrelated FBI investigation into his alleged relationship with a suspected Chinese spy. Many details of his 2015 relationship with Christine Fang were already public, and he was never charged in connection with it.