Congressman Eric Swalwell to Sue Pamela Price After ‘Defamatory Statements’

California Congressman Eric Swalwell filed a state lawsuit against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who faces impeachment over alleged “defamatory statements.”

Joseph Goethals of Burlingame Goethals & Stone, PC, said Sunday that he filed the tort lawsuit in Alameda County. A lawsuit is a formal requirement before the actual legal process begins. Alameda County now has 30 days to respond, Goethals said, either by saying it accepts the claim and will compensate Swalwell, or by denying the claim and maybe see a defamation suit filed against him in state court.

“Pamela Price intentionally made false allegations,” Goethals said. “She’s getting revenge for the congressman supporting the recall attempt. This is an attempt to distract people from her gross incompetence, which is putting the people of Alameda County at risk.”

Media representatives for the prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Swalwell, who represents California’s 14th Congressional District, has been a vocal critic of Price, whose the recall attempt will go to voters on November 5. After the congressman held a press conference in early October in support of the recall, Price posted on her personal Facebook page It cast doubt on whether Swalwell had anything to “hide” from his time as a prosecutor in the DA’s office from 2006 to 2012.

At the time, Price’s campaign released a statement saying that “voters would be better off if Congressman Swalwell focused less on trying to overturn the will of the voters and more on protecting our democracy.”

Price’s X.com campaign previously suggested that the congressman just started complaining about crime when “the people of Alameda County elected the first black woman district attorney in history.”

“Pamela Price leaves me with no choice but to file this lawsuit against her for her willful and false statements,” Swalwell’s office said in an email on Sunday. “No one is above the law, especially the Alameda County District Attorney. Price may be trying to stall for a possible recall, but her scare tactics and attempts at political retribution will not stand. I will not allow her to try to harm my personal and professional reputation.”

Originally published: November 3, 2024 at 4:52 PM PST