General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWho is CHEYENNE HUNT, leading the charge against Swalwell?
I understand she's an attorney and a Democrat who has collected the statements from several, unidentified, women. She also has a connection to Swalwell's rival for Governorship of California, Katie Porter.
The influencer behind the now public allegations against gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell has academic and political connections with UC Irvine Law professor and rival candidate Katie Porter. However, the former congresswoman denies any direct relationship. Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katie-porter-influencer-cheyenne-hunt-eric-swalwell-allegations/
The staffers' stories, if true, are damning. The victims have lived in pain while the perpetrator has gained in fame.
However, we must know -- We the People (especially of California) -- have the right to know if the allegations are true. We achieve that through openness.
Character assassination does the same as a political violence: it removes people permanently from leadership. And today, the owners running Corporate McPravda, without attribution or anything else, are destroying the career of what had been a rising star, a potential Democratic president, making the billionaires who own and operate CIABCNNBCBSFOXBS so very happy.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Last edited Sun Apr 12, 2026, 06:29 PM - Edit history (1)
story was being reported out and made some comments about it on Instagram. Roger Stone did the same thing. None of this is weird because a story like the Chronicle produced, which reported the first victim's account, takes weeks or months to produce, and while it's happening, people are going to check in with each other behind the scenes.
* the influencer
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)As a former cops reporter, yep, it takes time to earn a conviction in court.
The thing is, to destroy a person's career takes only a second.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)You don't have to be Gloria Allred to see how this works.
Roy Cohn is good enough.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)They might've had an "arrangement," a favor like.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)conflated the two, my bad.
What exactly are you saying? An arrangement to do what?
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)You know, a Democrat.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)That's where the openness comes in.
And if the facts and law show Swalwell is a lech, good to know.
If the facts and law show Swalwell is in the clear, it'll be too late to know.
As for Katie Porter, she isn't completely the kind of person I thought she was:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/BwVU9gid_pA
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)broken, but then you backed away from that, and said there might be an arrangement, or something, maybe, but...openness is needed? Do I have that right? It's hard to tell; this narrative is kind of all over the place.
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)I see you baiting me into saying something I didn't say.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)EdmondDantes_
(1,908 posts)I suppose it's a little better than smearing the victims, but shooting the messenger is also a long time way to avoid news that's uncomfortable.
Trueblue Texan
(4,510 posts)blm
(114,687 posts)Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)First, though, We the People need to determine the veracity of the allegations. Otherwise, he'll go the way of Spitzer before we know the truth.
Fiendish Thingy
(23,380 posts)Please provide links for your accusations.
IMO, if 50 current Swallwell staffers support their colleagues in coming forth with their allegations, it doesnt matter what else Porter might have contributed to breaking the story.
But of course, other than the connection of one person involved to Porter, you havent proven anything about Porters role in this story.
Response to Kid Berwyn (Reply #3)
Post removed
Nixie
(18,000 posts)really admit that. The timing of this is to help Katie, obviously.
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(23,380 posts)EdmondDantes_
(1,908 posts)Did this devious woman create the corroborating evidence?
How about not trying to distract from Swalwell by trying to blame everyone else.
But hey you can also take Swalwell's own words for why you should believe victims. When you have independent victims come forward it becomes really hard to not believe them.
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)And I'm speaking for the victims.
EdmondDantes_
(1,908 posts)Because you're definitely carrying water for him.
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)The alleged victim tells a most compelling story. Implying I'm calling her a liar is a tactic of propaganda.
Bringing up something to destroy US Rep. Eric Swalwell's reputation on the eve of an important election is suspect.
Swalwell has a 20-year record helping send crooks to jail and politicians to account.
If you got a problem with me reminding you of that, nothing I can say will help.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Who brought it up?
Nanjeanne
(6,602 posts)Last edited Sun Apr 12, 2026, 07:52 PM - Edit history (1)
articles along with reasons for timing. Of course an investigation will hold more weight but its not as if these are just one woman saying something rumors.
Also this article in the American Prospect by Dave Dayen talks to these stores long being known etc.
https://prospect.org/2026/04/12/eric-swalwell-death-of-accountability-sexual-misconduct/]
Unless and until you have a victim willing to tell their story, and unless and until it can be corroborated, these tips, even if told by credible people with no axe to grind, are just rumors. I tried chasing them down a bit and found out that victims were working with other reporters. At that point, there wasnt much I could do in writing, though when people asked me as a California voter about the governors race, I would volunteer what I knew. Victims decide when the story breaks, and it would actually be monumentally harmful and disrespectful to jump out in front of them without the hard evidence.
That said, Im a reporter on the outside. Members of Congress and people who raise money for Democrats and labor unions active in California politics have access to a lot more information. There is no believable way, given what I know about how news travels on Capitol Hill, that these people who backed Swalwell werent aware of at least rumors and more likely very credible information about this serial conduct, which as I understand it extends to many more than the four people who have gone public.
Link has more
EdmondDantes_
(1,908 posts)Because every time someone points out a problem with what you said, you skirt around it pretending to be coy that the obvious implications of Swalwell being set up means a whole lot of people had to be involved. And what about that person over there. Anything to distract and muddy the waters.
Believe victims.
yardwork
(69,421 posts)The victims are blamed for coming forward.
An "influencer" who is an attorney is being blamed for representing some of the victims.
Katie Porter is being blamed for (checks notes) going to the same law school as the "influencer" lawyer woman. And trying to use a rival politician's problems to (can you imagine?) get an advantage in a political race.
Swalwell's staffers - who quit en masse when the story came out - are being blamed for being either unfaithful or complicit.
Nancy Pelosi is being blamed today like every day.
The only person not being blamed here seems to be Eric Swalwell.
MorbidButterflyTat
(4,585 posts)"The influencer behind the now public allegations against gubernatorial candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell has academic and political connections with UC Irvine Law professor and rival candidate Katie Porter. However, the former congresswoman denies any direct relationship. "
Let's give Katie the same consideration shown to Swalwell.
None.
Kid Berwyn
(24,588 posts)My problem is with character assassins.

Please know the writer used a term we no longer use to apply to those who traffic and sexually abuse children.
The Ghost of Roy Cohn
BY TERRY MELANSON · AUGUST 24, 2014
EXCERPT...
In an interview with former NYPD detective James Rothstein, this author discovered that such operations do exist and go far back into Americas secret history. Rothstein is no conspiracy theorist. He is a legend in American law enforcement and speaks from experience. Furthermore, he gave me two notable examples from his time as a detective. Rothstein had an opportunity to have a sit-down with infamous McCarthy committee counsel Roy Cohn. During this sit-down, Cohn admitted to Rothstein that he was part of a rather elaborate sexual blackmail operation that compromised politicians with child prostitutes (Rothstein, no pagination). Cohn told Rothstein that this operation was being carried out as part of the anticommunist crusade of the time (no pagination).
Rothstein also had an opportunity to speak to infamous Watergate burglar Frank Sturgis. During this conversation, Sturgis revealed one of the reasons for breaking into the Watergate. According to Sturgis, there was a Pedophile Book hidden away at the Democratic National Committee headquarters (no pagination). The book was supposed to have a list of pedophiles on the American political scene (no pagination). One can only imagine the power G. Gordon Liddy would have held over the government if he had such a book in his possession.
I asked Rothstein if Roy Cohn was a real anticommunist or just using the fear of communism to justify his sex ring. It seemed like a fair question. After all, Cohn had argued against homosexuals being schoolteachers when he himself was a homosexual. Perhaps Cohns hypocrisy extended to his anticommunism. Rothstein made it clear that Cohn was a genuine anticommunist (no pagination). Anticommunist sentiments aside, evidence suggests that the sex ring operation started by Cohn was used for more than fighting the threat of domestic communists. Fugitive ex-CIA officer Frank Terpil has claimed that sexual blackmailing operations directed by the CIA were intensive in Washington during the Watergate era (DeCamp 179). Terpil also asserts that his former partner, Ed Wilson, was coordinating one of these sexual blackmail operations (179). In a letter to author Jim Hougan, Terpil revealed Wilsons modus operandi:
Historically, one of Wilsons Agency jobs was to subvert members of both houses [of Congress] by any means necessary . Certain people could be easily coerced by living out their sexual fantasies in the flesh . A remembrance of these occasions [was] permanently recorded via selected cameras . The technicians in charge of filming were TSD [Technical Services Division of the CIA]. The unwitting porno stars advanced in their political careers, some of [whom] may still be in office. (Qtd. in DeCamp 179)
According to John DeCamp, a former Nebraska Senator and Vietnam War hero, Wilsons operation was merely a continuation of the one set up by Cohn (179). When I asked James Rothstein if Palfreys outfit was a continuation of the sexual blackmail rings that began with Cohn, he answered in the affirmative (Rothstein, pagination). The NYPD veteran made it clear that Palfreys outfit could not exist in Washington unless it was a tool for the power elite and sinister factions of the intelligence community (no pagination). Somewhere in a Queens cemetery, the corpse of a high-powered attorney is smiling in his grave.
SOURCE:
https://www.conspiracyarchive.com/2014/08/24/the-ghost-of-roy-cohn/
MorbidButterflyTat
(4,585 posts)But it was your OP that mentioned Katie Porter.
I've been very suspicious since I found out Cohn assisted in the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
I don't know enough about it but that guy was fugly scum.
SunImp
(2,716 posts)Let's give Katie the same consideration shown to Swalwell.
None
MorbidButterflyTat
(4,585 posts)Did people demand she quit?
SunImp
(2,716 posts)Katie probably doesn't agree with what she said, but agrees with her policies & stances.
chowder66
(12,327 posts)I did not have my favorite Kindergarten Teacher (âgot it, got itâ- âcatch a bubbleâ) as the hinge that brought down Swalwellâ¦
— Democrat Cats (@democratcats.bsky.social) 2026-04-12T16:01:55.323Z
She tells the story here:
stopdiggin
(15,525 posts)In the public realm of course.
Because of course - you cannot seriously be suggesting that this be put on hold, until we have full resolution in a court of law?
Which - given the circumstance - is completely and utterly spurious/ridiculous.
So, again ... What kind of proof would rise to your satisfaction?
Billsdaughter
(158 posts)Let's see who jumps at that first.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)Billsdaughter
(158 posts)Has had a prosecution dropped because of the result of a such a test.
In any event, if either or any party to this message bolstered their allegations or denial of allegations by submitting to such a test, it would be compelling evidence.
WhiskeyGrinder
(27,039 posts)assuming they're even allowed to be use (fewer than half of the states in the U.S. do so). They're just not reliable or useful.
TexasBushwhacker
(21,222 posts)What I've seen and read is he's never raped anyone. He's also said "I'm not a saint " and that he needs to apologize to his wife and family. ALL the accusations may not be true, but I get the feeling some are. He's giving me creepy Andrew Cuomo vibes.
Billsdaughter
(158 posts)That would be the most expedient way to get out in front of it. If he is not culpable.
Same goes for the woman making the rape allegations. She would be 100% believable had she produced a lie detector result from a reliable agency that her statements were found truthful.
EdmondDantes_
(1,908 posts)Think a victim being asked about being raped might have some anxiety, nervous about being disbelieved, and stressed which trigger the thing lie detectors measure. Quit trying to come up with excuses to not believe victims. Did you call for a lie detector when Kavanaugh was accused?
Billsdaughter
(158 posts)believing or not believing any party to this mess.
Mine was a logistical discussion about making the case out the gate from either side.
We have erudite and intelligent discussions on these pages. And yes sometimes misunderstandings but never accusations such as you have made against me here.
Unclutch your pearls and check yourself, please.
NoMoreRepugs
(12,142 posts)amazing the difference between them and us.
Billsdaughter
(158 posts)Dan
(5,241 posts)in the future, we should add "asexual or saint" on our candidates job description.
stopdiggin
(15,525 posts)of ordinary ethical expectation. It just ISN'T !!
( sitting here spluttering ...... that one really got under my skin ! )
Dan
(5,241 posts)I was just reading another post that spoke about Roy Cohn and his role as an advisor in politics and the positions he took. And one of the things that the article spoke to was the role of damaging a person's reputation though whatever means. Politics is a combat sport whether we like it or not and people will get hurt via the truth or lies. As I said, I don't know who is lying or telling the truth - time will tell, but ethical behavior will not save you.
stopdiggin
(15,525 posts)with actual behavior providing no 'protection'?