The Swalwell investigation moved into a more aggressive phase over the weekend, with FBI agents executing search warrants against the former Democratic congressman and seizing his electronic devices as part of a criminal inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations.

Two sources familiar with the matter described the operation to CBS News.

How the Searches Unfolded

The first warrant was executed Saturday night, immediately after Swalwell landed at San Francisco International Airport.

A second targeted his residence in Washington, D.C., and was carried out Sunday.

According to a court filing Tuesday in the Northern District of California, agents seized an iPhone and a MacBook Pro during the searches.

The Daily Mail first reported the existence of the warrants.

Airport executions are a deliberate tactic. They allow agents to seize devices while a subject is carrying them, before there is opportunity to move, wipe or otherwise render them inaccessible.

The Statute Under Consideration

Multiple sources told CBS News that investigators are examining a potential charge under Section 242 of Title 18.

That provision makes it a crime for someone acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of rights or privileges protected by the Constitution or federal law.

The statute’s reach is broader than it may initially appear. It covers acts by federal, state or local officials operating within their lawful authority, and it also covers acts committed beyond that authority when the official is purporting or pretending to act in an official capacity.

That second clause matters here. Prosecutors would not need to establish that alleged conduct fell within the duties of a congressman, only that it occurred while the official position was being invoked or exploited.

Section 242 is more commonly associated with police misconduct cases. Applying it to a former member of Congress in a sexual misconduct context would be unusual, though the statutory language does not exclude it.

How He Got Here

Swalwell represented Bay Area districts from 2013 until his resignation in April. He stepped down after abandoning a campaign for California governor, following allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct from several women.

The accusations included rape as well as unsolicited explicit messages and nude photographs.

The House Ethics Committee, which operates on a bipartisan basis, opened an investigation. That inquiry ended when he resigned, because the committee’s jurisdiction extends only to sitting members and current staff.

Swalwell acknowledged what he described as mistakes in judgment. He characterized one assault allegation as false and pledged to contest it.

His resignation created the vacancy filled this month by state lawmaker Aisha Wahab in a special election.

A Separate Document Release

On Monday, the White House released 97 pages of declassified material concerning an older FBI investigation into Swalwell.

Those documents relate to his 2015 association with Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative.

Much of the content had already been publicly reported. Swalwell was never charged in connection with that matter.

Sources told CBS News that FBI Director Kash Patel had been pushing for the files to be released, a detail first reported by The Washington Post.

Two Threads, One Subject

The simultaneous developments raise a question the reporting does not resolve: whether the document release and the criminal investigation are connected in any operational sense.

They involve different conduct, different time periods and different legal questions. The Fang matter concerned counterintelligence and ended without charges more than a decade ago. The current inquiry concerns alleged sexual misconduct and remains active.

What they share is a subject and a moment. Both surfaced publicly within days of each other.

What the Device Seizures Suggest

Obtaining a search warrant requires demonstrating probable cause to a federal judge that evidence of a crime will be found in the location or item searched.

That threshold indicates investigators presented something specific enough to satisfy a court, rather than a general interest in examining his communications.

Digital forensics on a phone and laptop can recover messages, photographs, location history, deleted files and application data. In cases built substantially on communications between individuals, those devices often become the central evidence.

What Happens Next

Several outcomes remain possible.

Investigators will examine the seized devices, a process that can take weeks or months depending on encryption and volume. Prosecutors will then decide whether the evidence supports charges under Section 242 or any other statute.

No charges have been filed. Swalwell retains the presumption of innocence, and searches frequently occur in investigations that never result in prosecution.

For now, the Swalwell investigation has escalated from allegation and ethics inquiry into a federal criminal matter with warrants executed and evidence in government hands.