The high-powered attorney representing one of the women accusing Eric Swalwell of sex crimes has fired back at his lawyer for claiming “regret is not rape.”
Lisa Bloom torched the former congressman and his legal advisor Sara Azari after she cast doubt over the five women who made sexual assault allegations against him.
Bloom, who is representing Lonna Drewes in her criminal case, told the California Post: “Literally the only person taking Eric Swalwell’s side today is his paid attorney, who had to come up with something, so she’s going with blaming Lonna.
“To quote Swalwell himself at [Justice Brett] Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing: ‘what are the chances that three or four women independently who never met each other would have similar experiences with one person’?”
It came just hours after Azari took to the airwaves to fight back on behalf of Swalwell, who has vanished since the claims against him emerged.
She told NewsNation: “Regret is not rape.” She continued: “The fact that, you know, a day later, years later, or whatnot, you maybe had shame around what you did, or maybe you were in a relationship and shouldn’t have done what you did, doesn’t make it rape.”
She added: “I think it demonstrates a tremendous amount of accountability, not because he’s done these things and he’s stepping down, but because how could he properly defend himself and represent his constituency with these serious allegations pending.
“So he couldn’t be able to do his job properly, and it was the right thing to do.”
Swalwell resigned from Congress on Wednesday and shelved his bid for California governor on Sunday amid a smattering of serious sexual misconduct allegations, including from Drewes.
She claimed he choked her unconscious after he allegedly drugged her drink in WeHo in 2018. She provided a picture of herself with the politician and addressed a packed room full of reporters on Tuesday.
She claimed: “When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms over my body.”
She added: “He raped me, and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died.”
The model said she had met Swalwell on two other occasions and was expecting to form a strictly-business connection with him, she claimed.
Drewes and Bloom went to the LA County Sheriff’s Department to file a police report after she recounted her encounter with Swalwell.
LA authorities say they are investigating the incident, which happened at the Montrose Hotel in West Hollywood.
The sheriff’s department said: “The investigation remains in its preliminary stages and is ongoing. Investigators are in the process of gathering information, reviewing available evidence, and conducting follow up inquiries as part of a comprehensive investigative process.”
