The Left’s money comes from dark places. And now everyone can see it for their own eyes.
Because this billionaire Democrat donor got arrested for a shocking reason.
A Democratic Donor Implosion With No End In Sight
The saga surrounding former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and the billionaire who once bankrolled his California governor’s campaign has produced yet another extraordinary chapter. Stephen Cloobeck, founder of Diamond Resorts International, turned himself in to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in West Hollywood on Tuesday after an arrest warrant was issued for his arrest. He is now facing a felony charge of attempting to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness from testifying.
Cloobeck was released on $300,000 bail. The precise circumstances of the alleged offense have not been detailed publicly by authorities. A spokesperson for Cloobeck denied any wrongdoing: “These charges are false, and we look forward to our day in court.”
The arrest lands amid what has become one of the more spectacular collapses in California Democratic politics in recent memory. Cloobeck — who had been Swalwell’s primary financial patron, even allowing him to live in his Beverly Hills mansion — publicly severed ties with Swalwell weeks ago after multiple women leveled s*xual misconduct allegations against the congressman. Swalwell has denied the allegations.
When Cloobeck cut ties, he did not go quietly. “I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women,” he told reporters, adding: “I am no longer supporting Eric. F—ing tell everyone I’m a libertarian. F— you, Democratic Party. I’m a libertarian now.” He also told Fox 11 LA: “I am now a Republican.” Swalwell, for his part, filmed a denial video from inside Cloobeck’s home before being asked to leave.
A Timeline That Gets Stranger By The Week
The background that makes Tuesday’s arrest particularly jarring is the sequence of events that preceded it. Cloobeck was not merely a passive donor — he had been deeply personally intertwined with Swalwell, putting him up in his home, endorsing his gubernatorial campaign, and presenting himself publicly as one of Swalwell’s closest advocates in California Democratic politics. When Cloobeck then became the most visible person to publicly defect from Swalwell following the misconduct allegations, his defection carried real weight — a man with intimate knowledge of Swalwell’s world choosing to withdraw his support and publicly distance himself.
Now Cloobeck himself faces a witness tampering charge, arrested by the same law enforcement infrastructure he had just invoked in his Swalwell criticism. The circumstances of whom Cloobeck is accused of attempting to dissuade from testifying — and in connection with what proceeding — remain unclear. But the spectacle of a prominent California Democratic donor cycle in which a former congressman faces mounting s*xual misconduct allegations, his billionaire patron publicly denounces him, and that patron is then arrested on a witness-related felony is a narrative that no political operative from either party could have designed.
The Swalwell Situation — Still Unresolved
Swalwell was indicted in a separate proceeding earlier this year on charges related to the misconduct allegations, with at least five accusers having come forward. He has denied the allegations and vowed to fight them. He resigned from Congress last month after it became clear the allegations were not going away and that his political future was no longer viable. At least one Democratic senator has already come under criticism for what was characterized as a “smear” of a female activist advocating for Swalwell’s accusers.
Whatever ultimately happens in either the Swalwell or Cloobeck legal proceedings, the story they collectively tell about the Democratic Party’s California machine — its money, its access, its internal politics, and the conditions under which it operates — is one the party’s leadership has so far shown little interest in examining honestly.
