Last Tuesday, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) accused his primary opponent, Democrat Eric Swalwell of accepting bribes while sitting on the Dublin council. Stark suggested that Swalwell took “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” from a local family that is successful in real estate development, in exchange for voting certain ways on local zoning issues. “If I were a lawyer, I would call that bribery, but I’m not a lawyer,” said Stark, “so I’ll let Mr. Swalwell define what he thinks taking all this money from people that he gave special zoning privileges to is. Maybe it’s how he sees his role in government.”

Swalwell fired back, saying that Stark’s words were “the accusation of a desperate man who realizes now more than ever that his 40-year reign may be coming to an end.”

Stark refused to apologize or release evidence, stating that Stark “has been personally attacked by Eric Swalwell day in and day out for the past six months while focusing on the job at hand: defending universal health care, protecting Social Security and Medicare and jump starting our nation's economy. This is politics, not a pony ride."

Swalwell’s campaign finance reports show he has accepted $7,500 from Lin-associated persons during the last quarter.