California Congressman Eric Swalwell has filed a state damages lawsuit against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, who faces dismissal over alleged “defamatory statements.”
Joseph Goethals of Goethals & Stone, PC in Burlingame, said Sunday that he filed the damages suit in Alameda County. The filing of a lawsuit is a proper requirement before the initiation of an actual lawsuit. Alameda County now has 30 days to reply, Goethals said. It will either accept the lawsuit and compensate Swalwell or reject the lawsuit and possibly file a defamation lawsuit in state court.
“Pamela Price intentionally made false claims,” Goethals said. “She is retaliating because the congressman supports the recall effort. This is an attempt to distract people from their gross incompetence that is endangering the residents of Alameda County.”
Media representatives for the prosecutor's office didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on Sunday.
Swalwell, who represents California's 14th Congressional District, has been a vocal critic of Price, whose recall effort goes before voters on Nov. 5. After the congressman held a press conference in early October advocating for the recall, Price published a post on her personal Facebook page That raised the query of whether Swalwell had anything to “hide” from his time as a prosecutor within the DA’s office from 2006 to 2012.
Price's campaign then released an announcement saying, “Voters would be better served if Congressman Swalwell focused less on overturning the will of the voters and more on defending our democracy.”
Price's campaign previously suggested on X.com that the The congressman was just beginning to complain about crime when “Alameda County residents historically elected the first black woman to serve as district attorney.”
“Pamela Price leaves me no choice but to file this lawsuit against her because of her deliberate and untrue statements,” Swalwell’s office said in an email Sunday. “No one is above the law, especially the Alameda County District Attorney. Price may be trying to bide time for her likely recall, but her intimidation tactics and efforts at political retaliation may not hold up. I will not allow her to attempt to tarnish my personal and professional reputation.”
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