Push to oust Trump exposes cracks among Democrats on strategy, timing

April 14, 2026 7:00am EDT / Fox News

Jeffries encourages Trump removal talks, while Schumer pushes a war powers vote on Iran

By Alex Miller , Adam Pack Fox News

Democrats blast Trump’s Iran ceasefire, threaten 25th Amendment

Democrats blast President Donald Trump’s two-week ceasefire deal with Iran, invoking the 25th Amendment and accusing him of war crimes. This showcases deep partisan division over Middle East diplomacy.

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Congressional Democrats want President Donald Trump out of the White House, but they are not on the same page about how or when to act.

More than five dozen Democrats have called for Trump’s impeachment, but that push is likely dead on arrival absent GOP support.

Others want Trump’s Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance to effectively usurp him by invoking the 25th Amendment, which has never been used to oust a sitting president in the nearly 60 years since the amendment was ratified.

FLASHBACK: DEMS WANT TO BOOT TRUMP WITH 25TH AMENDMENT, BUT REFUSED TO DO SO UNDER BIDEN

Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, walk to speak to members of the media following a meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Most Democrats aren’t admitting the political realities of either option, and their typically unified front is showing cracks as they debate how best to push back against the administration.

“I don’t think it is the best use of our time,” Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said last week at a news conference when asked about impeachment. “Let us get into the majority, let us get a Senate majority and then hold this president to account.”

“All options should be on the table,” Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., a member of House Democratic leadership, said following Dean’s comments.

Top Democrats in both chambers are not in direct alignment, either.

TRUMP IRAN THREAT SPARKS CALLS FOR HIS OUSTER, BUT ONE DEM SAYS EFFORT ‘NOT REALISTIC’

President Donald Trump arrives to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington.(Alex Brandon/Pool via AP Photo)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has stopped short of calling for either impeachment or the 25th Amendment, instead pushing for another war powers resolution vote this week to rein in Trump’s authorities in Iran.

“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” Schumer said. “No president, Democrat or Republican, should take this country to war alone — not now, not ever. Republicans will once again have the opportunity to join Democrats and end this reckless war of choice.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has appeared to encourage removal conversations among House Democrats and touted a caucus-wide briefing on the 25th Amendment led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., last week.

“Shockingly, Donald Trump threatened to escalate his war of choice in a profane Easter Sunday rant and to eradicate an entire civilization,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter. “We will continue to unleash maximum pressure on Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping the madness.”

The 25th Amendment has a much higher threshold for success than impeachment, given that it would require Vance, most of Trump’s Cabinet, and two-thirds of both chambers of Congress to align to remove Trump.

TRUMP’S THREAT TO END IRANIAN ‘CIVILIZATION’ SPARKS UPROAR ON CAPITOL HILL

WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 5: Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., arrives for the House Ways and Means Committee “Hearing with the IRS Whistleblowers: Hunter Biden Investigation Obstruction in Their Own Words” in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

Impeachment would have to start in the House, and it’s unlikely that formal proceedings against Trump would even begin under House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

But that hasn’t stopped Democrats from trying. Late last year, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, forced votes on two articles of impeachment against Trump, and nearly two dozen Democrats joined Republicans to kill the effort.

Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., filed 13 articles of impeachment against Trump last week, citing the president’s military intervention in Venezuela, the deployment of National Guard troops to cities across the country, and his executive order to curtail birthright citizenship, among other charges.

It is unclear whether Larson, who is facing a heated primary challenge from a decades-younger opponent, will force a vote on his resolution.

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In the Senate, even fewer lawmakers are calling for drastic measures against Trump. Only a handful — including Sens. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. — have called for impeachment or the 25th Amendment.

“I mean, he’s unfit for office,” Kim said. “I think the 25th Amendment, and if not, then impeachment.”

It’s also a desire that Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., contended was “not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics.

“We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way,” Whitehouse said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

中国外交部：若美方借口对华加征关税 中方必将坚决反制

2026年4月14日 17:21 / 联合早报

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期二表明，中方在军品出口方面一贯根据本国出口管制法律法规及承担的国际义务实施严格管控，有关报道纯属捏造。 （取自中国外交部官网）

中国外交部星期二表明，如果美国执意以中国向伊朗提供武器为借口对华加征关税，中方将采取反制措施。

美国总统特朗普定于下个月访问北京，与中国国家主席习近平举行会谈。

有记者星期二（4月14日）在例行记者会上提问，近日有媒体报道称中国向伊朗提供军事支持，特朗普表示如果发现中国向伊朗提供武器，美国将对华加征50%关税。中方对此有何评论？

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆回应说，中方在军品出口方面一贯采取审慎、负责的态度，根据本国出口管制法律法规及承担的国际义务，实施严格管控，有关报道纯属捏造。“如果美方执意以此为借口对华加征关税，中方必将坚决反制。”

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）日前引述消息报道，美国情报显示，中国准备在未来几周内向伊朗交付新的空防系统。

据报道，北京准备交付的是肩扛式防空导弹系统（MANPADS）。美国攻打伊朗期间，这种武器对低空飞行的美国军机构成威胁。

不过，中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人否认，指中方从未向冲突的任何一方提供武器，有关信息并不属实。

美军海上封锁伊朗 中国外交部批此举危险不负责任

2026年4月14日 16:24 / 联合早报

4月13日，在靠近霍尔木兹海峡的阿联酋拉斯海马海岸（Ras Al Khaimah，又称哈伊马角）附近，可见到一艘船。 （法新社）

美军中央司令部宣布北京时间星期一（4月13日）晚10时起，封锁所有抵离伊朗港口和沿海地区船只，导致霍尔木兹海峡商业航运当晚开始停摆。中国外交部星期二（14日）批评美国加码军事部署，采取定向封锁行动，是危险和不负责任的行为。

美伊周末谈判破裂后，美国开始对霍尔木兹海峡周边区域实施全面封锁。相关限制措施适用于所有进出伊朗港口或沿海水域的船只，于美国东部时间星期一上午10时生效。美国的海上封锁似乎在星期一晚些时候扰乱了商业航运。

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期二在例行记者会上表示，在相关方已达成临时停火安排的情况下，美国加码军事部署，采取定向封锁行动，只会激化矛盾，加剧局势紧张，破坏本就脆弱的停火局面。

郭嘉昆批评，此举并进一步冲击海峡通行安全，这是危险和不负责任的行为。

郭嘉昆表示，中国认为只有实现全面停火止战，才能从根本上为缓和海峡局势创造条件。北京敦促各方恪守停火安排，聚焦对话和谈大方向，以实际行动推动地区局势缓和，尽早恢复海峡通行正常。

Fed nominee Warsh files financial disclosure in step towards confirmation

2026-04-14 / Reuters

By Howard Schneider

April 14, 2026 9:48 AM UTC Updated 17 mins ago

节点运行失败

Kevin Warsh, Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, speaks during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York City, U.S., May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – Kevin Warsh, the former Federal Reserve governor chosen by President Donald Trump to run the central ​bank, has submitted financial disclosures that are required for his ‌nomination to advance through the Senate, beginning with a yet-to-be-scheduled hearing.

Warsh’s 69-page disclosure, opens new tab was filed overnight with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, detailing his income and ​holdings including two investments listed as worth more than $50 million each ​in the Juggernaut Fund LP, and $10.2 million in consulting fees ⁠from the investment office of Wall Street giant Stanley Druckenmiller.

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The filings ​are complex. The Juggernaut Fund investments, for example, come with the caveat ​that the underlying assets “are not disclosed due to pre-existing confidentiality agreements,” with a promise from Warsh that “I will divest this asset if confirmed.”

Those are among a series ​of holdings, including around two dozen in THSDFS LLC, some individually worth ​as much as $5 million, where details on the holdings were also withheld and which ‌Warsh ⁠also pledged to divest if confirmed.

OGE analyst HeatherJones, who signed off on Warsh’s document, noted those commitments in her review and said that “once the filer divests these assets, he will be in compliance” with the ​Ethics in Government Act.

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The ​document lists ⁠dozens of other assets without stating the value, mostly focused, judging by the names, in artificial intelligence and ​crypto, among other sectors. It was not immediately clear ​why no ⁠value was listed, but OGE rules do not require values to be included for securities worth less than $1,000.

Those holdings include Cafe X, described as ⁠a robotic ​coffee bar platform; a “bionic movement-enhancing wearable clothing” ​firm called Cionic; Blast, notated as “yield-generating Ethereum layer two,”; and Contraline, a “reversible male contraceptive solution.”

Reporting ​by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Hugh Lawson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

中国外交部：若美方借口对华加征关税 中方必将坚决反制

2026年4月14日 17:21 / 联合早报

中国外交部：若美方借口对华加征关税 中方必将坚决反制

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期二表明，中方在军品出口方面一贯根据本国出口管制法律法规及承担的国际义务实施严格管控，有关报道纯属捏造。 （取自中国外交部官网）

中国外交部星期二表明，如果美国执意以中国向伊朗提供武器为借口对华加征关税，中方将采取反制措施。

美国总统特朗普定于下个月访问北京，与中国国家主席习近平举行会谈。

有记者星期二（4月14日）在例行记者会上提问，近日有媒体报道称中国向伊朗提供军事支持，特朗普表示如果发现中国向伊朗提供武器，美国将对华加征50%关税。中方对此有何评论？

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆回应说，中方在军品出口方面一贯采取审慎、负责的态度，根据本国出口管制法律法规及承担的国际义务，实施严格管控，有关报道纯属捏造。“如果美方执意以此为借口对华加征关税，中方必将坚决反制。”

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）日前引述消息报道，美国情报显示，中国准备在未来几周内向伊朗交付新的空防系统。

据报道，北京准备交付的是肩扛式防空导弹系统（MANPADS）。美国攻打伊朗期间，这种武器对低空飞行的美国军机构成威胁。

不过，中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人否认，指中方从未向冲突的任何一方提供武器，有关信息并不属实。

Justice Department releases report accusing Biden-era DOJ of uneven enforcement of FACE Act law

April 14, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News

By Jacob Rosen Justice Department Reporter
Jake Rosen is a reporter covering the Department of Justice. He was previously a campaign digital reporter covering President Trump’s 2024 campaign and also served as an associate producer for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

Read Full Bio

The Justice Department on Tuesday released a report that accused the Biden administration of using the FACE Act to target anti-abortion activists who were prosecuted for blocking patients’ access to reproductive health clinics.

The report is the first of several expected to be issued by the Weaponization Working Group, created last year, that is meant to examine a variety of topics from the Jan. 6 prosecutions, to the handling of investigations into President Trump during his time out of office.

Congress passed the FACE Act in 1994 to address rising concerns about threats and intimidation that women were facing at reproductive health clinics. Nonviolent and first-time offenses of the law are misdemeanors, while repeat offenses or violations that result in bodily injury or death can be treated as felonies.

The nearly 900-page report, which includes internal Justice Department records, claims that the Justice Department under former Attorney General Merrick Garland “violated the rights of Americans” by only applying the law to support those in support of abortion rights, not those who worked at anti-abortion rights facilities.

Ahead of its release, the Justice Department on Monday fired four federal prosecutors involved in Biden-era FACE Act cases, in what many current and former career department officials viewed as an act of political retribution for working on criminal matters opposed by the Trump administration, CBS News previously reported.

The report accuses the Justice Department and FBI under former President Joe Biden of collaborating with pro-abortion rights groups to get real-time information on anti-abortion rights groups’ protest activity, accuses “Biden DOJ prosecutors” of knowingly withholding evidence and screening out jurors based on religion, and claims employees assisted pro-abortion rights groups with getting grant money from the department.

It also suggests that Garland’s National Task Force on Violence Against Reproductive Health Care Providers was overly chummy with abortion rights groups like the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and accused the head of the task force, Sanjay Patel, of monitoring the activities of “pro-life activists for years before charging them.”

Report release preceded by firings

Patel was among the four prosecutors fired on Tuesday, a government official confirmed, in what marks the latest purge of Justice Department employees who were involved in criminal or civil cases opposed by the Trump administration or Mr. Trump’s allies.

Patel was previously placed on administrative leave in March, as a draft of the FACE Act report was being circulated internally.

He declined to comment on his removal from the department.

The report also alleges that prosecutors typically sought harsher sentences for anti-abortion activists, noting they requested “an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants, compared to 12.3 months for pro-choice defendants.”

In a statement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”

Although the department fired several prosecutors ahead of the report’s release, the report said it does not contain any findings concerning internal misconduct investigations into any employees involved in the “weaponization of the FACE Act.”

“Where appropriate, DOJ may refer current or former employees for criminal prosecution,” the report says. “Likewise, DOJ may refer current or former employees to the relevant bar association or highest judicial authority of the jurisdictions in which they are licensed to address compliance with applicable Rules of Professional Conduct. Here, appropriate internal referrals have been made.”

Stacey Young, a former Civil Rights Division attorney who founded and leads the nonprofit Justice Connection, denounced the firings in a statement on Monday.

“Congress passed the FACE Act with bipartisan support more than 30 years ago, and courts have consistently upheld the constitutionality of its provisions that ensure safe access to reproductive health services,” she said. “Firing DOJ attorneys for zealously enforcing the law is unconscionable — it politicizes the department’s enforcement actions and punishes dedicated civil servants for doing their jobs.”

Long-standing complaints

The Trump administration has long alleged, with scant evidence, that the Biden-era Civil Rights Division used the FACE Act to intentionally target conservative Christians who are morally opposed to abortion.

Although the Justice Department did also pursue criminal charges against abortion rights activists who were accused of trying to scare volunteers and workers at a crisis pregnancy clinic that counseled on alternatives to abortion, the report says the total number of such cases was minimal compared to those targeting conservative anti-abortion Christians.

Mr. Trump early into his second term pardoned many of the FACE Act defendants convicted during the Biden administration. The Justice Department also dismissed several other FACE Act cases and ordered prosecutors to put the brakes on future FACE Act investigations.

At the same time, however, the current Justice Department has allowed the remaining FACE Act cases involving abortion rights activists to proceed without interference, with one Florida-based defendant receiving a 120-day prison term in March 2025.

On former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s first day on the job, she ordered the Justice Department to establish a “weaponization working group” that would be tasked with, among other things, reviewing the prior use of the FACE Act.

Tuesday’s report marks the first time the Justice Department has made public any work product from that group.

Use of the FACE Act in other Justice Department cases

Even as the Justice Department has pulled back on enforcing the FACE Act against anti-abortion activists, it has also sought to use the law in new and untested ways.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department charged journalist Don Lemon and dozens of others with violating a provision of the law in connection with an anti-ICE protest inside a church in Twin Cities, Minnesota, which prohibits people from intimidating or interfering with people exercising their constitutional freedom to practice religion.

That provision has never been charged before — until now in the Lemon case — due to historical constitutional concerns by Civil Rights Division attorneys.

The main problem, lawyers previously told CBS News, is that the FACE Act fundamentally misstates the rights people have under the First Amendment. While the First Amendment protects people’s religious freedom from government interference, it does not protect people’s religious freedom from interference by private individuals, like the protesters and journalists charged in the indictment.

The law has only been used to prosecute people who obstruct reproductive health clinics because they are considered interstate commerce businesses. Churches, by contrast, are generally not in that category.

Earlier draft excerpts of the FACE Act report previously reviewed by CBS News show that the Justice Department’s civil rights appellate lawyers penned a memo in 2018 which warned prosecutors not to charge the house of worship provision because it was unconstitutional and lacks a jurisdictional hook.

Such an internal memo could potentially harm the ongoing FACE Act prosecution in Minnesota. The final version of the report released on Tuesday does not appear to make reference to the memo.

By Pamela Brown, CNN

Published 6:44 AM EDT, Tue April 14, 2026

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伊朗战争重创全球石油消费前景

2026年4月14日 18:54 / 联合早报

冲突切断了波斯湾关键水道霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输，引发了国际能源署所称“史上最大规模的供应中断”。图为国际能源署位于巴黎的总部。 （路透社）

国际能源署说，受中东冲突引发的油价飙升影响，全球石油需求增长被彻底抹去，今年全球石油需求将出现自2020年暴发冠病疫情以来的首次下滑。

彭博社报道，国际能源署星期二（4月14日）发布月度报告称：“伊朗战争彻底颠覆了全球石油消费前景。随着供应短缺和价格高企的持续，需求萎缩将进一步蔓延。”

冲突切断了波斯湾关键水道霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输，引发了国际能源署所称“史上最大规模的供应中断”。原油现货与航煤、柴油、汽油等产品价格飙升，正在挤压消费者并拖累需求。

国际能源署成员国上个月同意释放总共4亿桶的战略石油储备，以缓解中东战争对石油市场的冲击。

报告显示，此前预计全球日需求将增加73万桶的增量已被抹去，如今消费量将小幅收缩，日均减少8万桶。

国际能源署说：“到目前为止，石化原料显示出这场战争最为直接的影响，因为霍尔木兹海峡的封锁已使通往亚洲的供应链陷入混乱。”

国际能源署的基准情景假设中东原油正常流动将在年中大体恢复，但报告也提出了扰动持续更久的情形。

报告警告称：“在这种情况下，全球能源市场与世界各国经济体需要为未来数月的重大冲击做好准备。”

冲突切断了波斯湾关键水道霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输，引发了国际能源署所称“史上最大规模的供应中断”。图为国际能源署位于巴黎的总部。 （路透社）

国际能源署说，受中东冲突引发的油价飙升影响，全球石油需求增长被彻底抹去，今年全球石油需求将出现自2020年暴发冠病疫情以来的首次下滑。

彭博社报道，国际能源署星期二（4月14日）发布月度报告称：“伊朗战争彻底颠覆了全球石油消费前景。随着供应短缺和价格高企的持续，需求萎缩将进一步蔓延。”

冲突切断了波斯湾关键水道霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输，引发了国际能源署所称“史上最大规模的供应中断”。原油现货与航煤、柴油、汽油等产品价格飙升，正在挤压消费者并拖累需求。

国际能源署成员国上个月同意释放总共4亿桶的战略石油储备，以缓解中东战争对石油市场的冲击。

报告显示，此前预计全球日需求将增加73万桶的增量已被抹去，如今消费量将小幅收缩，日均减少8万桶。

国际能源署说：“到目前为止，石化原料显示出这场战争最为直接的影响，因为霍尔木兹海峡的封锁已使通往亚洲的供应链陷入混乱。”

国际能源署的基准情景假设中东原油正常流动将在年中大体恢复，但报告也提出了扰动持续更久的情形。

报告警告称：“在这种情况下，全球能源市场与世界各国经济体需要为未来数月的重大冲击做好准备。”

2 Swalwell accusers discuss his downfall and the fear of coming forward: “He thought he was untouchable”

2026-04-14T06:19:00-0400 / CBS News

Two women who have accused Rep. Eric Swalwell of misconduct told CBS News that, while they feel “vindicated” now that he has dropped his bid to become California’s next governor and will resign from his seat in Congress, there is still work to be done.

“He was pushed into a corner, essentially, because they were planning to expel him… so i think he did that to save face a little,” Ally Sammarco, whose accusations were first detailed in a CNN report, told CBS News. “But I also felt very vindicated that he realized it was over for him.”

Annika Albrecht, who is publicly coming forward as an accuser for the first time, said, “For me, justice won’t be until he can’t ever harm a woman ever again, and he has faced the consequences for the women that he has harmed.”

Swalwell’s political ambitions have unraveled in recent days as he’s been accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct, including allegations of sexual assault and sending unsolicited explicit messages and nude photos. The Democratic congressman announced Monday that he will be resigning from Congress, one day after he said he was dropping out of the California gubernatorial race.

Swalwell has vowed to fight what he called the “false allegations” and has claimed they were politically motivated to hurt his gubernatorial bid.

Annika Albrecht, Ally Sammarco and influencer Cheyenne Hunt spoke to CBS News about the allegations against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell. CBS News

Albrecht and Sammarco vehemently deny any accusations they were part of a coordinated campaign from a rival candidate or party.

“We didn’t know each other before. I didn’t know any of the other women,” Sammarco said. “I knew nothing about them. We got connected through this process, and I’m so glad we did.”

That process started about two weeks ago, when Albrecht says she contacted Cheyenne Hunt, an influencer and friend of many years, asking her to share a video with her story about Swalwell. She said she felt compelled to do so because she felt “physically sick and nauseous” at the idea of Swalwell becoming governor of California.

“Eleven days is how long it took from when I reached out to Cheyenne to make the video to when the dam broke and all the articles were published,” Albrecht said, calling them “the longest 11 days of our lives.”

Hunt told CBS News that after posting the video, she was “immediately slammed” with messages from other women accusing Swalwell of inappropriate behavior, and she was on the phone with some of them within two hours.

Hunt said one of the women described a “full-on assault. That was when I realized this was a lot bigger than any of us knew,” and was a “different level of severity.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed to CBS News on Sunday that it is investigating allegations against Swalwell after the San Francisco Chronicle published a story detailing an unnamed former staffer’s accusations of sexual assault in California and in New York. Swalwell denied it and threatened to take legal action against the woman.

Hunt told CBS News the alleged assault she was told about is separate from the one being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“He thought he was untouchable. He acted with total impunity. He never thought that the consequences of his actions would follow him,” Sammarco said.

“I think we just prevented another 30 to 40 years, potentially, of him harming people if he were to stay in Congress,” she said.

“As governor, he would have had even more power and more authority. And he would have felt vindicated too, you know, that he could run for higher office,” she added. ” He ran for president and nothing came out about him. So I think that empowered him to continue doing what he was doing.”

Both Albrecht and Sammarco told CBS News they had had similar interactions with Swalwell.

Sammarco said she met Swalwell in 2021, when she was 24 and working in an entry level role on a political campaign for former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

She said she messaged Swalwell on Twitter because they had similar upbringings – both grew up in homes with Republican parents. She figured he wouldn’t even see her message, but says he responded “fairly quickly” and the two continued messaging each other over the next day before moving to text messages, which CBS News has reviewed.

In the messages, he said he wanted to help her further her career in politics, and the two kept in touch. “I felt like a million bucks” she said, adding, “I was thrilled, and I was flattered.”

Sammarco said Swalwell eventually began to send her messages that “I thought had a weird connotation to them,” but she said she “trusted that he was an established figure who wouldn’t put his credibility on the line.”

Eventually, he asked her to communicate via Snapchat, a messaging app that deletes messages after they’re sent. She said she thought it was unusual for a man in his 40s who was married and had children to be using such an app, but she was afraid of possibly losing such an important professional connection.

She said the messages again started out professional but then slowly became more explicit.

“He was sending me photos of his face….he was drinking in a lot of them. He would ask me if I was drinking too or tell me I should have a drink with him,” she said. Sammarco said he never directly asked her to send him any explicit pictures of her, but that one night he sent her a photo of his penis.

“I was shocked,” she said.

She told CBS News, “I don’t think I responded,” and said he changed the subject and moved on.

Albrecht says she met Swalwell while on a class trip in college. She and a group of other students met with him to discuss issues they thought were important, and Swalwell appeared interested and passionate, she said.

At the end of the meeting, she says he asked the students to create a group chat so he could continue discussing the issues with them. Albrecht said after that group chat was created, he added her on Snapchat almost immediately.

“I was really surprised. I was confused. I didn’t think it was him,” she said. Albrecht said she asked the others in the group if Swalwell had also added them as contacts on Snapchat, but they said he had not. Albrecht added that she was the only woman in the group.

Albrecht, like Sammarco, also dreamed of working in politics, and said Swalwell began talking to her “under the guise of professional mentorship,” telling her he could help her achieve her dream job of one day becoming a chief of staff.

She said the Snapchat messages “started to take a turn and they started to get flirty,” but she responded in a “platonic and professional manner.” Eventually, she said, Swalwell’s messages crossed the line into “sexually inappropriate.”

Albrecht said one night, Swalwell invited her to a hotel to meet him, and it was “very clear what the connotation was.” She says she didn’t respond.

“I keep thinking about how lucky I am that didn’t go to that hotel,” Albrecht said, referring to the Chronicle’s report detailing the accusation of a woman who said that after going out for drinks with Swalwell in September 2019, she woke up naked in his hotel bed with little recollection of the night, which Swallwell denies.

“It was terrifying to get on the phone with those women and hear their stories about how they were drinking with him and suddenly woke up in bed next to him with no recollection of how they got there,” Albrecht said.

Hunt says she has heard similar accusations from two women, and that more than 30 women have reached out to her with some form of misconduct accusation against Swalwell since she posted her initial video.

Hunt also recalled how she was warned about Swalwell through a whisper network years ago when she was working on Capitol Hill, telling CBS News that people told her, “Stay away from Swalwell. Do not engage with him on social media. Do not be alone with him.”

But while Swalwell is set to exit Congress, there is still some trepidation.

“I want to see him out now,” Albrecht said, noting his statement announcing his resignation leaves open the possibility he could remain in his seat for a while.

“He gave off this perception that he was a family man. That he was a fighter. That he was a defender of women. And that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Sammarco said of Swalwell.

“If these are the people that are out there championing women and, you know, protectors of women, and ‘We need to hold people accountable,’ and then behind closed doors they’re doing this, that is a huge discrepancy for anybody who’s working in politics,” she added.

Hunt said the women who have come forward have “been embraced and that their bravery is being so greatly respected.”

But “this fight is not over. We’re just getting started,” she said, adding, “It’s clear that there needs to be another reckoning.”

Watch more of the interview Tuesday on “CBS Mornings” and the “CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil.”

Caitlin Yilek contributed to this report.