Rep. Eric Swalwell of California repeatedly peddled the services of his politics-focused startup company to fellow lawmakers and Democratic staff, in possible violation of House Ethics rules, according to six Democratic political operatives who spoke to NOTUS on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs.
Swalwell and Yardena Wolf, who served as his congressional chief of staff until December, sent Democratic lawmakers and staffers texts and emails about their company, Findraiser, and pitched the company during in-person interactions, as well, the Democratic operatives said. NOTUS reviewed emailed communications and texts Wolf sent to congressional staff.
“He is relentless in pushing [Findraiser]” a Democratic operative currently working with multiple congressional campaigns told NOTUS. “He’s peddling the shit out of that thing.”
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A Democratic consultant told NOTUS Swalwell has promoted Findraiser “aggressively” to Democratic candidates and senior campaign officials, adding that experience of being approached by Swalwell or his staff has been “surprisingly universal” in some Democratic circles.
Swalwell, who is now running for governor of California, co-founded Findraiser with Wolf in early 2024. Findraiser promises to provide political campaigns with insights from the data they have collected about their donors through the use of AI, “to search your donor database so you don’t have to.”
NOTUS reported that the company has received about $60,000 total from more than a dozen Democratic campaigns — mostly from those led by Swalwell’s personal friends and political allies, such as Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Adam Schiff of California.
In his congressional financial disclosures, Swalwell values the company at $200,000 to $500,000.
Wolf, who left Swalwell’s congressional office to work as his campaign manager last year, also promoted Findraiser to senior congressional staff and campaigns while still serving as Swalwell’s chief of staff, according to four sources who spoke to NOTUS.
While Wolf still worked as a chief of staff, she emailed congressional campaigns, offered demos for Findraiser and texted congressional staffers to schedule business meetings with her and Swalwell to discuss their startup’s services, these sources said.
One of these sources, a Democratic consultant working with several political campaigns, told NOTUS that Wolf performed one of these demos through a Zoom meeting in what appeared to be her congressional office.
“You’re at your desk while you’re doing this, like, what is happening right now?” this source told NOTUS. “You can’t be using the congressional office to sell whatever this little project is you guys have.”
Micah Beasley, a spokesperson for Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign, declined to answer specific questions about how Swalwell and Wolf have promoted Findster to other Democratic candidates.
In a statement to NOTUS, Beasley praised Swalwell’s work in Democratic politics.
“Congressman Swalwell is working to help Democrats win up and down the ticket. Whether that’s through utilizing 21st Century technology or talking to voters directly about the issues that matter most — he will continue to use every tool he can to fight Donald Trump and his MAGA cronies,” Beasley said.
Beasley told NOTUS last week that Swalwell and Wolf consulted with the House Ethics Committee about Findraiser and that Swalwell receives no income from the company. Swalwell’s campaign did not provide any information about Wolf’s income.
House rules prohibit lawmakers and their staff from using their “political influence, the influence of [their] position … to make pecuniary gains,” according to the House Ethics Committee rules for outside employment. “In any event, the Standards Committee routinely advises Members and staff to avoid situations in which even an inference might be drawn suggesting improper conduct.”
The House Ethics Committee has also advised lawmakers against using their official position to even promote or endorse any products.
“Members of the House of Representatives are widely recognizable public servants. Even when they make no explicit mention of their official position, when Members actively engage in commercial sales or endorsements, they may create the perception that they are making use of their official position for commercial gain,” House Ethics Committee leadership wrote in an advisory opinion.
Tom Rust, chief counsel of the House Ethics Committee, declined to comment.
“He is a public official who should not be in the business of promoting a private interest of his own or other private interests, regardless of pay,” Meredith McGehee, a long-time advocate for congressional ethics, told NOTUS about Swalwell.
“The difference is whether or not it’s your company or whether or not you have a financial stake. And if you do, then you shouldn’t be in that position of promoting a product with which you have a relationship,” she added.
California’s gubernatorial primary is June 2. Swalwell is competing in a crowded, all-party primary field that includes Democrats such as former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, billionaire businessman and former 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer, former Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and California Democratic Party Vice Chair Betty Yee.
Republicans running include former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Green Party candidate Butch Ware, a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, is also on the ballot.
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