Former California congressman Eric Swalwell was ordered by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) June 15 to return all donations received during his bid for governor before dropping out of the race.
The agency charged with enforcing federal campaign finance laws threatened Swalwell with an audit or enforcement action if he fails to give back $30,075 in contributions that 16 donors made to his campaign committee, according to a letter sent to the former candidate.
“Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act may also result in an enforcement action against the committee.“
In the letter, FEC Senior Campaign Finance Analyst Mary Seiler also stated Swalwell would not be eligible to request a time extension to give the money back.
According to the letter, the FEC requires candidates to return contributions to the donors if they drop out of a race. Swalwell did return some of the donations, but not all of them, according to the agency.
General election contributions can’t be used to pay off primary debts or other obligations, the FEC noted.
All refunds were required to be made by July 20. If not, the commission may take further legal action in the case, the FEC said.
Swalwell and his attorney, Sara Azari, didn’t return requests for comment about the FEC’s demands.
Swalwell dropped out of the governor’s race in April after multiple women stepped forward with sexual assault allegations, which he has denied. He also faced a U.S. House of Representatives ethics investigation over the accusations and a call from his party to resign.
The former congressman and candidate continues to face criminal and ethical investigations over the allegations.
His official state campaign finance disclosure information shows Swalwell collected donations from individuals and organizations until the day he resigned April 13. The last-minute donors included the United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council Candidate PAC, California Dairies, real estate developer Jeff Worthe, and Greater Anesthesia Service and PAC – each of which gave him $39,200.
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