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Sexual assault allegations<\/span> leveled against former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., stood out for their lurid detail \u2014 and because the fallout was unusually swift.<\/p>\n Within hours after the San Francisco Chronicle dropped a story<\/a> Friday that accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting a former staffer, over a dozen Democrats had pulled their endorsements of the then-frontrunner for governor of California. CNN followed that evening with a story<\/a> labeling the former staffer\u2019s accusations as rape and revealing that three additional women were accusing Swalwell of sexual misconduct. He suspended his campaign for governor Sunday, and on Monday, he announced his resignation from Congress. He was out Tuesday<\/a> at 2 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n The outcry made sense, in part, because of the severity of the allegations: The ex-staffer said Swalwell left her vaginally bruised and bleeding; another woman alleged Tuesday<\/a> that he had drugged her in order to rape her. But the fact that Swalwell, who has denied the allegations, did not remain in Congress while under investigation suggests that American politicians are sensitive to concerns over sexual abuse and misconduct \u2014 particularly as the midterms approach against the backdrop of the Epstein files, and Democrats position themselves as defenders of victims as they head into November.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hypocrisy if they don\u2019t\u201d speak out, said Nina Smith, a Democratic communications strategist and former senior adviser to former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacy Abrams.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith said that the advocacy from Epstein\u2019s survivors, as well as the people who\u2019ve been speaking out online about Swalwell, helped force lawmakers to take a stand on this issue. <\/p>\n \u201cIt has created this watershed moment on the Democrats\u2019 part to address this issue quickly,\u201d she told The Intercept. \u201cBoth parties are recognizing that accountability is something that is at the forefront of a lot of voters\u2019 minds.\u201d<\/p>\n In a February poll<\/a> from Reuters\/Ipsos, 69 percent of respondents said the statement that the Epstein files \u201cshow that powerful people in the U.S are rarely held accountable for their actions\u201d represented their views \u201cvery well\u201d or \u201cextremely well.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., said that Democrats have to demonstrate \u201caccountability\u201d even when allegations come up against one of their own.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work and bravery of Epstein\u2019s survivors helped expose just how deeply these systems are failing us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cOur job is to center the people who were harmed, to take allegations seriously, and to make sure there are real systems for justice,\u201d Lee wrote in a statement to The Intercept. \u201cThe work and bravery of Epstein\u2019s survivors helped further expose just how deeply these systems are failing us \u2014 all while protecting perpetrators with money, connections, or status. That legacy demands more from all of us right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s too soon for Democratic leadership \u201cto be patting themselves on the back,\u201d about Swalwell\u2019s swift rebuke, said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic communications strategist who worked on Pete Buttigieg\u2019s presidential campaign. He pointed to the level of detail and corroboration in the stories that CNN and the SF Chronicle published, arguing the careful reporting \u201cmade it fail-safe for political leaders to do the right thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And that doesn\u2019t excuse the people who had heard the rumors and continued to support Swalwell until the allegations were in a newspaper, Ceraso added. \u201cI would call bullshit on people\u201d within his proximity who are \u201cclaiming they didn\u2019t know this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been heavy attention on Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who was long known to be a close friend of Swalwell\u2019s. Gallego claimed Tuesday that Swalwell had \u201clied to\u201d him \u2014 but admitted to hearing that his close friend and colleague was \u201cflirty.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely look at the world a different way now,\u201d Gallego told reporters<\/a>. \u201cI certainly am going to make sure that I\u2019m going to take, you know, personal steps and office steps to make sure that we don\u2019t even get close to a gray line.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown also alluded to other members of Congress being aware of Swalwell\u2019s actions. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised frankly, because there have been rumors after rumors after rumors, his colleague in Washington pretty much said that. That\u2019s what Adam Schiff said, that\u2019s what Nancy Pelosi said,\u201d Brown told ABC 7<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n