The Stack: Congress Scandal and Washington’s Moral Rot
Allegations involving members of Congress are once again shining a light on the darker side of power in Washington, D.C. In today’s episode, Todd Huff examines accusations tied to Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez—two lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle—highlighting a troubling pattern that transcends party lines.
Rather than engaging in partisan attacks, Todd focuses on the broader issue: how positions of influence can be abused and how institutions often respond only when exposure becomes unavoidable. He explores the role of media narratives, selective outrage, and the uncomfortable reality that misconduct is not confined to one political ideology.
This episode also raises deeper questions about accountability, transparency, and the culture within political circles. Todd challenges listeners to think critically about how these stories are handled—and what they reveal about human nature, power, and responsibility.
🎧 Listen to Today’s Episode
📰 Stack Links
Fifth woman alleges sexual misconduct by U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell
Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resign from Congress amid scandals
Swalwell drops out of California governor race amid allegations
How the media covered JFK’s private life during his presidency
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📝 Transcript: Congress Scandal and Washington’s Moral Rot
The Todd Huff Show – April 15, 2026
Host: Todd Huff
Todd Huff: That is right my friends, you have tuned in to America's home for conservative not better talk. I'm your host, the one and only. The benevolent dictator here behind the microphone Todd Huff. It's a pleasure to be here today. Thoughts, questions, feedback, all of that can be sent to 317-7851030. And if you want to get, well, what all of the insiders get about this program, email it out to them. In the inner circle each and every day. Just text the word truth to that number. 3177851030. Again, it's a pleasure. To be here today. I want to talk today about. Two situations, two cases. To sets of allegations pertaining to sitting US congressmen, one being Eric Swalwell, the other. Being Tony Gonzalez, one being a Republican. That's Tony Gonzalez, one being a Democrat leftist. That's Eric Swalwell. One from Texas, one from California. I want to talk about this today. You know, I don't know that I want to. But I think this conversation is important. There's a lot of things to unpack here. It can be, I don't know, disheartening. It's sad. It's disgusting. It's. A look into the inner workings of Washington, DC. These aren't the only two, by the way. I can't come on here and tell you who the others are, but we know that this is happening. In lots of places. Inside our nation's capital. Inside our state capitals. And if we're being fair and honest, which I try to do, I try to be fair and honest. This is happening all over. The country. In executive offices and boardrooms. It's happening in small businesses. It's happening. In city councils and high schools. Heck, in elementary schools, it's. You know, it's the condition of humanity. And, but it's also. It's also. I think a state of reality. You know, there's only 435 congressmen, congresspeople. 100 senators. So there's a hundred, or excuse me, 535 people who are elected to the, the US legislature. So anyway, we're going to talk about two of them. We'll do that here, my friends. In. Do course.
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Todd Huff: I'm not going to implicate Eric Swalwell. I'm not, he's, of course, the Democrat in this, in this storyline. Which of course is based in real life according to the allegations. I'm not going to defend. I'm not going to defend Tony Gonzalez because he's a Republican. I'm going to talk about this. Like I would. Talk about it with my friends. With my family. If somebody had. You know, done something like this to my daughters, that sort of thing. Again, I've said this before. I think it's worth noting. And I will say it again. There are people. In any group, in any group who are doing some really bad things. And if we're all honest. If we're all honest, of course, some of us want to justify our, I would say all of us at some point want to justify our actions. But if we were all being candid and honest. We would all agree with what the scriptures say, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And all of us. All of us have turned to our own selfish desires, our selfish ways. And pursued those and sought to fulfill those. Maybe not. Maybe not as dramatically or as violently as some of these allegations I'm going to share. Or maybe not as, not as cataclysmic. On your life, right? Not maybe not as many consequences destroying your career. Your family, your marriage. If you have one, maybe not to that level. But we've all done things that are destructive, that are harmful to other people. And so in any group of people, you're going to find this. And that's why, listen, I try to deal with this fairly. I do.
Todd Huff: In the Republican party, there are people that are going to. Have alleged affairs with their staffers in the Democrat party. There are people who are going to have alleged affairs with their staffers. There are people in the Trump administration, the Clinton administration. It's whatever. In evangelical churches, the Catholic Church. In Jewish synagogues. This is the nature of humanity. It just is. It just is the truth. Now, I will say that if you are part of a ideological group or you are a part of a group that has a worldview that says there is no right or wrong, you will find probably. A substantially higher percentage of people who do these sorts of wicked things. But that's because they've already decided that they're going to be the gods try to be anyway. They got of their own lives. So anyway, but this happens in any group. So this is, again, I hate that this has happened. But it's to me, it's. A, well, it's an educational moment to talk about this fairly. Because I'm not going to do what a lot of other hosts do. Republican hosts are going to pile on Eric Swalwell. Democrat host or Democrat politicians or whatever. Are going to go after Tony Gonzalez. Excuse. Well, maybe not excuse Swalwell, which we'll get into that. Anyway, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to talk about this. As fairly as I know how. Now my initial observations about this. And let's, let's just set the, I guess. Go through the basics here. There have been allegations made. Allegations made against Eric Swalwell. And Tony Gonzalez.
Todd Huff: As I'd mentioned swalwell is a Democrat congressman from the People's Republic of California. Gonzalez is a Republican. Congressman. From Texas. So let's go through this to my by my count, what I can ascertain and gather is that. Eric Swalwell, who by the way, who was running for governor of California. He has. Five accusers as of the time I'm speaking right now that I'm aware of. Accuser number one is a former staffer. Her allegations go back to 2024. She said that she met Swalwell in professional context. She had a night with Eric Swalwell that involved alcohol. She says the encounter became non consensual. She alleges sexual assault. At the hands of Eric Swawl. Again, these are allegations. These have not been proven. I'm just telling you that's the fact she's made the allegation. And this has reportedly drawn the attention. Of prosecutors that's accuser number one. Number two, accuser number two. Is a political and professional contact of Eric swalwell. She says that swalwell initiated sexual messaging. Claims that his messages were not wanted. And also alleges that he sent explicit photos of, yes, his junk. I don't listen how does how does it get to this point? Which this just the boldness and the brashness of this, I just can't even for the life of me. Understand what's going on here.
Todd Huff: But he did it. And again. This is kind of at the intersection of influence. And access that he was trying to give her to a to a sitting U.S. congressman. And there's allegations about a lot of things like that. I will say too that I don't know if it's this accuser or another. That they of course kept the receipts. And I think one of the accusers actually has photographic evidence. Oh boy. I don't want to see that. My eyes, there's, there's not enough bleach and I don't know water and soap in the world. To cleanse my eyes from having to see a picture. That Eric Swalwell sent of his private parts. To, to these folks allegedly. So that's accuser number two. Number three is another woman in the political world of Eric Swalwell. She has a similar pattern that she is claiming that he made unsolicited sexual advances that he was persistently messaging her. Describes pressure from him that he tied to his position, trying to leverage potentially. Again, these are allegations. I'm not saying that they're true. This is just where we are. And so she does not, however, she says that there was no physical assaults in this case, at least as of right now. That's not. That's not what she's claiming. Female number four for Eric Swalwell. She alleges coercive coercion from. Eric Swalwell. She says that he pursued a sexual relationship with her while leveraging his position, his power, his status. She describes a situation where saying no to Eric Swalwell carried perceived consequences. A little bit of intimidation perhaps there. Maybe a lot of intimidation perhaps. There. This, of course, is a sort of power imbalance. She's alleging coercion. And hasn't alleged any physical assault or anything else. That's the fourth woman. And the fifth woman. Accuser number five references an incident in Beverly Hills in 2018. She said that they met she and Swalwell met in a hotel setting. She had a drink with him. She says, this is the most troubled. Well from what I can gather. This is the most troubling one. She said that she had a drink with him and became rapidly incapacitated. She alleges that he drugged her. She also alleges that he raped her. And she also, on top of that, alleges that he choked her during the alleged sexual assault. She says that she's preserved text messages, personal documentation. And records that she has from. Going to therapy. Over these allegations. A lot to unpack there.
Todd Huff: Of course. A couple of things. Number one. I will say this. I don't really care about this. This is the way that we should all see this. I hate. With the passion of 10 million burning sons. When people say, I believe all blank. How stupid must one be? To make such a blanket statement to say, I believe all women to say I believe all men to say I believe all whatever politicians or staffers or subordinates. Of course, any number of things can be the case here. Eric Swalwell could theoretically have done everything I just read to you. Eric Swal could have done a couple of those things. Eric Swalwell could theoretically be caught in the crossfires of some, I'm not alleging he is and I'm not alleging they're lying. I'm just talking about logical possibilities here. Eric Swalwell could conceivably, I'm not saying there's evidence of this. I'm just saying it is possible in the grand scheme of things. That he was targeted by politicians who wanted to make sure that. He was defeated. In a political race in California for governor. And I'm not suggesting, please, I'm not suggesting any of that. I'm just saying people lie all over the place, people strategize. People do any number of things. By the way, by the way, if you want a reasonable. Example of what people do in dirty politics, I'm not suggesting this is it. Please do not misunderstand me. I'm saying that this is the sort of thing maybe not with five witnesses. But this is how people come after political opponents. It's certainly not something that's hard to imagine someone doing. So I'm not here to say I believe all women or I believe all men or I believe all politicians or I don't believe any politicians or anything of the sort. I believe what to the best of my ability what I believe the evidence suggests is true. The problem is I'm never going to know all the evidence. And that's part of the struggle here.
Todd Huff: So let's park Eric Swalwell for a second. I guess let's conclude by saying he's dropped out. Of the race for governor in California. He's also resigned as U.S. congressman from the People's Republic of California. So it's done a number on him. More on that as the program comes together. I next want to talk about. Tony Gonzalez. Which. Again, this is troubling. He's a Republican. He's a Republican. I'll get to that. Let me first pause here. And let's face it friends. There's a lot of companies out there that do not share your Christian values. The good news is that you don't have to invest in them at 48 Financial. They specialize in biblically responsible investing. They'll help us screen out companies that go against our faith, our values, and create a plan that's tailored to your goals. They'll handle all that heavy lifting. So you can focus on what really matters. If you want to see how your current investments align with your values. Grab your phone right now. Easy to do this. Just go to 48financial.com Todd. You can take a quick and easy assessment. Takes a couple of minutes. And 48 financial will tell you. How your investments align with your values. Again, 48 financial.com Todd. 48 Financial because your values matter and so does your money.
Todd Huff: Okay. Let's talk about Tony Gonzalez here. Tony Gonzalez Republican. Representative from the state of Texas. He can, well basically confirmed. At least part of the scandal here. Where he was alleged to have had a relationship with an aide. Back in 2025 named Regina Santos Avila. She was again a staffer. For the congressman. And of course that in and of itself, you got a congressman. You've got a staffer, you've got an inappropriate relationship. And that's of course problematic in lots of ways. Lots of ways. Right? Now. I will also tell you that. There appears to be or seems to be reporting beyond just, I say just that that has more, there's more to that that I haven't gotten to yet. But there may be more of a pattern here. Allegedly with representative Gonzalez because there are reports that he solicited sexual relationships from other staffers requesting explicit or nude photos. From them. Just pause for a moment. You can see similarities immediately. Between Representative Swalwell allegedly representative Gonzalez. Allegedly. In what universe? Should a person sitting as a US Congressman. Feel comfortable going up to female staffers or women that he meets at a bar or whatever and just make demands for. Nude pictures? What is going on here?
Todd Huff: This to me. If they are this brash and this open and this callous about it. It indicates that this is a much deeper problem. And that's the first thing as I read through this and think about this that I just find myself thinking there is no way. There is no way that. People in the US house didn't know about this. There is no way that this would be kept silent. Why is this just now happening at once? And you begin to ask yourself the question are these women. Intimidated? Are they again, you could say. Is it a coordinated effort? I'm not claiming it is. I'm just. Why, why does this all have to happen? At once? Why one of these dates, which was one of Swalwell's dates, goes back to 2018. I mean, that was eight years. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen. It just, why? What is going on? Are people protecting them? Are they trying to bribe them? Are they keeping them out of the media? Are they, I mean, how are they interfering with this? Are these women trying to get this story out? And they're being prevented from doing so? Raises all sorts of questions. For me? How do we even get here to begin with? But just the brashness and the boldness. And to do this to multiple staffers, in the case of allegedly Gonzalez here. It just indicates to me that this is a deep problem that no way that nobody, people act like they're shocked. Oh, we had no idea. I don't buy it. I just don't.
Todd Huff: Gotta take a break my friends. You're listening here to the home of conservative not better talk. I'm your host Todd Huff. Back in just a minute. Welcome back my friends. Listen, I know. This. To be as bold and to be as brash and to be as. I guess just. Opening out there with this approach to running your office. Indicates to me that this is not a one time sort of thing. I'm not saying that that's what's happening. I'm just saying you don't get there. You just. This isn't where you start, right? This isn't. To me and my way of thinking, this is not how. This is not the behavior of people. Well, with Swalwell, he's got multiple allegations. But I just, it, it smells like a larger problem. To me. In Congress. So let's go back to Gonzalez's scandal here. I mentioned his alleged relationship. With Regina Santos Avila. What's. Terrible about this is that. Regina Santos Avila later died by suicide in September. Of 2025. Now, I'm not suggesting anything from that. I'm just saying there was an allegation that they had this. Relationship, this affair, whatever. In 2024. Certainly you just think about. The, the. I don't know, the, the impact that that would have on a person. And I'm not insinuating that. That's the reason. Or that that had anything to do for that matter. Excuse me. With, with her. Committing suicide. It. Just, it's just indicative of a very. Unhealthy environment.
Todd Huff: So that's. That's what we have going on in our nation's capital. Now I'm under no illusion here. Of course, these things have been happening. Since the beginning of time. You have powerful men. And women who want access to powerful men and men who want access to. Well. Sexual access to women that they find attractive and everything else. And this is just a recipe for, of course, these bad things. And listen, it, I mean, it's in the Bible. We've got King David, right? We got the story of David and Bathsheba. You can read that story. In the book of what? First Kings, I believe. David's up on his palace. He sees Bathsheba. Bathing, makes demands that she be brought to him. She's the wife of one of David's. Well, best warriors. David sleeps with her. She gets pregnant. Her husband Uriah. One of David's what, Mighty Men. He, David basically gives instructions to the general. The commander of the army. He sends it a written document with his seal on it. He sends it with the courier or whatever, and he basically says, I want you to take your riot to the front lines. And basically, when the fighting gets intense, I want you to abandon him. And I listen, I'm not saying that this went that far. I'm just saying that this, this sort of thing. Is. What has happened. Throughout history. It's, it's, it's the human condition. It's finding itself. In the halls of power, and it's going to, for all. For all time, at least, at least here on this planet.
Todd Huff: David, by the, by the way, tried to cover his tracks. He also, before he decided to kill Uriah, called Uriah back home and tried to get Uriah. To go sleep with his wife so he could at least think that he was the one who got his wife pregnant. And he wasn't even around. But Uriah wouldn't do it. Uriah said, listen, we've got, I've got my men out here that are fighting, who aren't, who aren't at home, who aren't. In the comforts, you know, in the comforts of their own bed or with their own wives and families. I'm not gonna, I'm gonna sleep on the steps, man. So David was. Beside himself and decided the only solution was to. Was to kill Uriah. So this stuff is, is not new. There is nothing new under the sun. But I do want to talk about these things. I want to talk about these things from the perspective. Of, of how they're discussed. And, and really. How Washington. And the politicians in Washington. And really, I would say the media in Washington, there's a, at least a healthy percentage of them, maybe a lot, maybe virtually all. I, I want to stop short of saying all because I'm not, I know some of you say, Todd, it's all, it's all of them. I'm not there yet. I, I hold out hope that there's still some integrity somewhere in the halls of our, of our Congress.
Todd Huff: And I'm not, I'm not saying everybody's doing this stuff, but there's a whole bunch of bad stuff happening. This is one example. Of some really bad stuff. By the way, I didn't mention this according. To the allegations, at least some of these incidents going back to Swalwell, who we talked about primarily in the first segment. Some of his alleged escapades. Happened when he's, well, he was married and allegedly his wife was pregnant. Which makes it. Even more problematic or disturbing to some people. So here we are. This, this is, this is Washington. This is what happens in the happens again everywhere, but it happens. I don't want maybe, maybe at a higher percentage in places where there's power and so forth. I don't know. But it happens. Certainly happens. So now you've got a scenario where I, I'm just, I don't believe. I don't believe. That these politicians care. I think they care when they realize. That it's been exposed. And so you can't convince me. It's impossible to convince me that, that none of these people knew from Nancy Pelosi to Adam Schiff. I mean, whoever. That Republicans didn't know, I don't think you can convince me. Maybe to, I'm not saying every person knew, but there's no way that nobody knew these things. I mean, Capitol Hill, even though it's in our nation's capital, Washington, DC, of course, has a, a pretty big population when you look outside the city and consider the metro area. But DC small. The hill is small. There's 535 members of Congress combining Senators and representatives. I mean, it's a relatively small, relatively small group of people. A lot of these people know each other. Deal with each other on a regular or semi-regular basis. You can't convince me that no one knew these things were happening.
Todd Huff: And what's interesting is they only seem to care. When there is public demands to clean this up. And it takes me back. It reminds me as I'm thinking about these things. I go back in time. To the, the med, well, the late 90s when Bill Clinton took office and he had his. Illicit affair with Monica Lewinsky. And I think about this. Monica Lewinsky is essentially, she's around my age, maybe a couple of years older. But she's an intern. In her early 20s in the Oval Office with the president of the United States, and of course she, listen. She shouldn't have done what she did. I'm not. I'm not saying I'm condoning it or saying she's without fault, but she is not the, the adult or the person with the power in that room. And an unhealthy. Well, that's an unhealthy situation. And there's a tremendous amount of responsibility that falls squarely on the shoulders of Bill Clinton. And it's done a lot of damage. To Monica Lewinsky. Her reputation, her life, her, probably her mental health. Just guilt and shame and all this stuff. She was the butt of jokes. But I remember I'm old enough to remember. That some of the things that were being said, go back and, I don't know if some of these things you can't find necessarily on Google if it's, you know, back in the 90s. It wasn't, doesn't really have a digital footprint. But if you dig, you might be able to find some of this stuff. You'll find articles, well, where people will, were defending the president. They would say things like, well, it was just sex or. You know, everybody does it. It's, you know, it was too consenting adults. And, and it's just, I don't think Bill Clinton ever truly has had. His me too moment, which is, which is remarkable. And that's the selective outrage here.
Todd Huff: Now, what's interesting is everybody on the Democrat party has basically thrown Swalwell. To the wolves. No one is defending him. And you can say, wow, what a show of character. I don't think that's what that is. I think it's a calculated. Calculated move on their part to where they think it is politically advantageous to abandon him and they will abandon their own. They don't really care once you've lost your usefulness to them. They will abandon you. And there's a difference between standing by someone and saying, listen, they made some terrible decisions, but I'm not, you know, there's still some good qualities. I'm not saying that is or isn't the case with Swalwell. I'm just saying they've politically decided the Democrats to basically throw him, throw him to the wolves. Republicans, I mean, there's really not a whole lot to defend with Gonzalez either. I think both parties, this is kind of, I mean, Democrats are trying to look, I think, a little bit more against this again. In the wake of the me too movement and so forth. But what's, it's, it's politically driven. And if you look at this stuff historically. The response from the media and politicians. Often was contingent upon whether that person was on the political left or the political right. And that can't happen. I've got to take a break, my friends. Quick time out back in just a minute.
Todd Huff: Welcome back my friends third and final segment of today's program. I know time flies when you're having. Fun. We have a lot of fun here. Maybe you've reached that stage. We're managing your money. Feels like juggling more than just numbers. You've got tax planning estate work investment choices a whole lot more. That's when family office services can really make a difference full suite wealth brings all those pieces. Together into one cohesive strategy their family office services gives you access to a coordinated team with advanced option strategies, private equity, private credit and legal expertise. All my friends under one roof. It's about simplifying your financial life, planning for the future and making sure your legacy stays strong for generations. If you are ready for that next level of support head on over right now to fullsweetwealth.com that's fullsweetwealth.com don't delay if this if this has been. Speaking to you if you've found yourself in this position just have a conversation. They'll treat you right Jason and his team fullsweetwealth.com build your legacy secure your future okay so.
Todd Huff: The to me the biggest takeaways number one politics again. Is it is it unlike any other element or aspect of life you have these things happening I think you might have a higher. Percentage of these things happening because I think politics attracts a type of person and I don't mean this everybody there's some people that I think have really good intentions but politics attracts people. Who oftentimes are just attracted to power. And when you have this dynamic you have people that want power you have people that want to be connected or intimate with people who have power you have this scenario where these things happen perhaps more frequently. It's I think that the people in DC know and what's unfortunate when these guys reside which they both did. It stops all these investigations right so so there's no more hearings which again what's a hearing worth? I don't even know you have these. You know. Hearings. Trying to discern the behavior and integrity of a member of Congress and so forth but then they resign so what else would we have found out we have found out that people knew about this and were hiding it? I don't know I mean I'm inclined to think that somebody knew in fact if you listen to. The senator from Arizona guy he goes he basically kind of said that about swallow well everybody knew he was flirty I think is what he said. And people think well what does that mean? So you're not totally surprised just because he was he was flirty that he's been accused of sexual assault a woman has alleged that he raped her I mean she drugged her allegedly. What's going on here? And and again it's just. When they know the jig is up they'll come out and they'll do their. Their virtue signaling and their moral posturing. And it's it's sickening in some respects that's. I don't want to say more egregious because these are some very wicked acts that these. Individuals have been alleged to have done but man it's. It doesn't allow these problems to really be. To be dealt with.
Todd Huff: And so they just resign they right off into the sunset and then you wonder who else is doing this who else knew. How are they going to try to manipulate the voters into thinking that you know the way that they handled that was the right way and all this sort of stuff it's just it's just the whole thing sickening it really is. The whole thing is sickening to me. But this is our our politics and again it's not something that's new there is nothing new my friends. Under the sun. So tragic tragic indeed. So if you want this is a good time for me to mention this if you want to get access to all of the background information of this program the shareable version of this program I'm sure you've been telling people to listen to the program and I appreciate it and you can drive them to the website the podcast whatever. But maybe the best thing to do is to share the email with them. Because that has that's something it's digital but it's a it's a digital archive that's in one place in an email that you can that you can forward that you can share that has the links that has. Of course the episodes we're going to be making some improvements as we always try to do changing some things maybe taking some things out there's always a little bit additional commentary that I don't have time to get into as much on this program as I. Can in the inner circle which again goes out each weekday about 5:00 p.m. But you can sign up for that it's totally free by texting the word truth to 317 785 1030 317 785 1030 again just text the word truth and you'll be subscribed as a member of the inner circle so I'd love to have you there.
Todd Huff: And hope that you take a moment to do that just grab your mobile phone really quickly and do that so anyway friends this is you know we've we've gotten to the end here of the program there's other things that I wanted to get to but I'm going to have to stop it here because I'm just simply out of time so as always I thank you so much for listening to this program you know we've been doing this now for almost 11 years it'll be 11 years in August and I'm grateful for you listening to this program wherever you listen whether it's on radio radio stations online radio podcast it's good to have you thank you so much for listening there's that music I told you about I've got to run thanks for listening SDG.
