SWALWELL: FROM BAD TO WORSE!
Eric Swalwell’s hell week just took a turn for the worse, and this time, the criticism came from someone who considered the Democratic lawmaker family. Stephen Cloobeck, a timeshare entrepreneur, publicly severed ties with the accused rapist California congressman on Sunday. Shortly after, Swalwell discreetly revealed that he was withdrawing from his campaign for California governor.
It seems Cloobeck had been allowing Swalwell to stay at his expansive 9,700-square-foot mansion in Beverly Hills while the congressman faced escalating allegations of rape, sexual assault, and inappropriate behavior from several women. Swalwell even recorded his denial video there on Friday. By Sunday, Cloobeck had reached his limit. He booted Swalwell from the premises:
Just weeks ago, Cloobeck called Swalwell his “little brother” in an interview with Politico, and he scoffed in a previous interview with The Post when asked about rumors that Swalwell may have acted inappropriately with female staff and interns.
Cloobeck, who said he has been a Democrat for “almost 40-year plus,” is now unsure where the allegations will ultimately lead, but he said the controversy was enough to make him walk away.
“I don’t know where these facts are going to end up — you hear or read all this stuff,” he said.
When asked whether he believed Swalwell had been truthful with him, Cloobeck said: “I’m gonna have to investigate that. I don’t know the answer to that.”
Cloobeck, who gained more name recognition after briefly running for governor last year and making multiple appearances on the TV show “Undercover Boss,” has been extremely generous to Swalwell.
On top of letting the deeply-in-debt congressman frequently stay at his 9,700-square-foot mansion, Cloobeck gave the maximum $39,200 to Swalwell’s campaign and gifted the congressman a $31,000 trip to France in 2024.
But he wasn’t done there. Cloobeck then shredded fellow billionaire Tom Steyer — who has burnt almost $100 million on the California governor’s race — calling it “spending all this money on bulls***.” He then torched the Democrat Party on his way out the door.
“I am no longer supporting Eric. F***ing tell everyone I’m a libertarian. F*** you, Democrat Party. I’m a libertarian now,” he said.
He added, “I’m going to change my G*****n party affiliation, because I cannot stand this Democratic Party at all. I am done. Finito,” Cloobeck continued.
Finito, no doubt.
Eric Swalwell’s political career fell apart quickly. On Friday, a former staffer accused him of having sex with her twice while she was too intoxicated to give consent. Another woman claimed that during a visit in 2025, Swalwell got her drunk, then kissed and groped her without her consent. Social media creator Ally Sammarco reported that he sent her unsolicited nude photos while suggesting he could help advance her career. Additionally, another woman indicated that after she reached out to him on social media, he persistently requested explicit photos and sent her unsolicited nude videos over several years.
CNN conducted an investigation into these allegations and found that multiple details were corroborated.
Shortly after the allegations became public, his campaign saw a significant departure of staff, and he lost all of his endorsements. Additionally, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has initiated a criminal investigation into the allegations, and he now faces the possibility of being expelled from Congress.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
