Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office and Senate ethics officials were reviewing information she provided about Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), including allegations of a sexual incident and possible campaign finance violations, while Gallego’s office denied the claims and said he had not been contacted by the ethics committee.
Speaking with CBS News correspondent Major Garrett on Thursday, Luna elaborated on an X post she shared on Wednesday:
When Garrett asked to whom she was referring, Luna said she was talking about Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), whom she described as “very closely tied” to former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).
Luna stated: “I have since confirmed with Sen. John Thune’s chief of staff, as well as they’re linking us to their ethics that they are investigating, and we are sending all appropriate information directly to them.”
Asked to explain what she meant when she called the allegations “very disturbing,” Luna said a woman was allegedly preparing to come forward through attorneys and go on the record about what Luna described as an incident involving the woman and Gallego that was “sexual in nature, allegedly.”
Luna also said there were “apparently issues of campaign finance violations.”
Luna said she believed the matter should be addressed quickly and said Thune should take the allegations seriously, “especially given the nature of what’s become apparent regarding Eric Swalwell.”
Garrett later asked Luna whether the allegations involving Gallego sounded criminal in nature.
“I think that if it involves people that were potentially trafficked, yes,” Luna replied. “Regarding the campaign finance violations, I think that that’s cut and dry.”
Luna said she was not conducting an investigation herself and was instead forwarding information to the authorities.
CBS News also reported that a spokesperson for Gallego denied the accusations, saying, “These are right-wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far-right member of Congress. Senator Gallego has not received notification from or been contacted by the ethics committee.”
The assertions from Luna came days after Gallego publicly distanced himself from former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), whom Gallego had previously described as his “best friend,” after multiple women accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct.
On April 10, Gallego withdrew his endorsement of Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign after allegations against Swalwell were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gallego said at the time that the allegations described in the Chronicle report were “indefensible” and that he regretted initially defending Swalwell before learning more.
On April 13, Gallego went further, saying Swalwell was “no longer fit” to serve and “should be expelled from Congress.”
Gallego said he had “no knowledge of the allegations of assault, harassment, and predatory behavior” against Swalwell and said he had trusted someone he believed was a friend.
A former staffer told the San Francisco Chronicle that Swalwell allegedly sexually assaulted her in 2019 and again in 2024 after she became intoxicated. She also alleged that Swalwell sent her images of his genitals and asked for nude photographs.
Another woman, Lonna Drewes, told a press conference on April 14 that she believed Swalwell drugged her, raped her, and choked her in a hotel room in 2018. Drewes said she lost consciousness and thought she had died.
Swalwell stated, “I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make,” before announcing Monday that he planned to resign from Congress.
Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson said Wednesday on CNN, “One of the biggest potential political fallout for this comes for Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who had been prepping his own presidential campaign and was roommates and considered best friends with Eric Swalwell and is also saying that he was deceived and had no idea. And so, I think you’re going to see political consequences throughout the Democratic Party, but particularly with Sen. Gallego.”