Sen. Ruben Gallego has quietly established a legal defense fund amid unsubstantiated allegations of sexual misconduct. The Arizona Democrat filed papers Friday to form the fund, according to an Internal Revenue Service document.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna alleged in April that an unidentified senator was facing “very disturbing” allegations in a post to social media, and later identified Gallego as the unnamed lawmaker in an interview with CBS News.
Luna, a Florida Republican, said some of the allegations are “sexual in nature” while others involve violations of campaign finance laws. The congresswoman also said Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office was investigating the accusations. Before Luna identified Gallego, Thune told reporters that Luna’s allegations had been referred to the Senate’s Select Committee on Ethics.
Gallego set up the fund specifically as a result of Luna’s ethics filing, Gallego’s office said.
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“Senator Gallego is under attack from right-wing conspiracy theorists like Anna Paulina Luna, the Trump Administration, and their cronies,” Gallego spokesperson Jacques Petit told NOTUS in a statement. “This White House has made clear it is their priority to abuse their power and target political enemies. Senator Gallego will not stand for it.”
A Gallego spokesperson in April vehemently denied Luna’s allegations, calling them “right wing conspiracy theories being parroted by a fringe far right member of Congress,” in a statement shared with CBS at the time.
Gallego has recently also faced scrutiny in connection with his relationship with former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and withdrew from the California governor’s race amid bombshell accusations of sexual misconduct.
Gallego and Swalwell shared over a decade of friendship, but Gallego told reporters at a news conference in April that he “fell for the lies.”
Gallego said he was aware of rumors of his friend’s “flirty” behavior, but denied any awareness of the more serious allegations against Swalwell, which included sexual assault, other non-consenual sexual encounters and harassment. Swalwell apologized for “mistakes in judgement” but called the allegations false and vowed to fight them.
“My friendship with him, our family’s friendship together with him, clouded my judgment, and I was wrong. I deeply, deeply regret that,” Gallego said.
Gallego eventually joined calls for Swalwell to relinquish his seat in Congress.
Gallego joins a growing list of lawmakers who have created their own defense funds.
After President Donald Trump’s public attacks on Sen. Adam Schiff for alleged corruption and illegal behavior prompted a Justice Department investigation into the California senator, Schiff’s legal defense fund reportedly raked in over $1 million in February, only six months after it was created.
Sens. Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin also established legal defense funds after the president accused them of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” for their participation in a video telling military service members to refuse “illegal” orders. The senators and four other Democratic lawmakers faced Justice Department investigations, but the probes did not result in any indictments.
Gallego, who has been seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, introduced an amendment last week to prevent Trump from creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund for those seeking damages for alleged persecution. The amendment was blocked by Senate Republicans.
Gallego is required to file quarterly reports with the Senate Ethics Committee identifying any donors who have contributed more than $25 to his legal defense fund. Individual donations are capped at $10,000, and a select group of people and entities like corporations, unions, lobbyists, foreign agents and Senate employees are not allowed to donate.
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s name.
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