The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Swalwell pal Sen. Ruben Gallego's skeletons are climbing out of the closet

 

Swalwell pal Sen. Ruben Gallego had sexual relationships with two House staffers, sources reveal to The Post

By

Steven Nelson

Published July 16, 2026

 Updated July 16, 2026, 2:39 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, engaged in sexual relationships with at least two House staffers and his “very flirtatious” habits with others may come back to haunt him, The Post has learned.

The 46-year-old lawmaker admitted to the two relationships — both with aides to Texas Democrats — to one source while a second person said they had recently learned of the romantic entanglements.

A third source confirmed one of the dalliances, both of which are said to have been consensual and occurred during Gallego’s decade representing Phoenix in the House.

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Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat from Arizona, looks at a phone while riding the Senate Subway during a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. Sources tell The Post he had sexual relationships with two House staffers.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

The relationships are part of a broader “pattern of mistakes and missteps and judgment calls,” one source said, noting the imbalanced power dynamics of an elected official dating staffers. One of the women was in her 20s and much younger than Gallego at the time.

“What else could there be out there?” this person asked.

Last month, the Senate Ethics Committee dismissed a complaint brought against Gallego by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) that alleged campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct against the Democrat, who was elected to the Senate in 2024.

The panel, chaired by Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), “didn’t ask” about Gallego’s relationships with the staffers — likely because it was unaware — and instead “focused squarely on what Luna presented to them,” an insider said this week.

“Ethics looked in the wrong place,” this person summed up the congressional probe.

Gallego’s office and the two House staffers did not respond to The Post’s requests for comment. 

Minutes after this article was published, the senator gave a non-denial to an NBC News journalist on Capitol Hill, uttering, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”

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Gallego is considered a 2028 presidential contender by Democrats.

Getty Images

When asked if The Post’s reporting was accurate, Gallego again said, “I’m not going to engage in gossip.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sputtered, “I’m not — I’m focused on this right now” when asked by Fox News about Gallego’s conduct.

Sources said it’s believed both relationships occurred while Gallego was unmarried.

Rumors have swirled about Gallego’s personal life following the April resignation of his best friend in Congress, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), amid claims by multiple women that Swalwell sexually harassed or assaulted them. Gallego has denied knowledge of Swalwell’s alleged misconduct.

Luna claimed in a CBS News interview April 16 that a woman was preparing to speak out about an “incident” involving Gallego and Swalwell “at the same time, and the event was sexual in nature, allegedly.”

On April 23, Luna claimed on social media that “I have now heard of 4 women who have had multiple and uncomfortable/inappropriate advances/comments/touching, etc. from Senator Gallego.”

Gallego responded to the Ethics Committee’s dismissal of Luna’s complaint by calling the allegations “right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House, and their allies” and demanding an apology.

“The good news about DC is everyone talks, and eventually the reporters come forward with your texts,” Luna responded in an X post. “Do yourself a favor and keep raising for your legal defense fund. Once a creep always a creep, and you’re gonna need it.” 

Gallego married his current wife, Sydney, in June 2021 — three years after they met at the June 2018 Congressional Baseball Game.

He filed for divorce from his first wife, Kate,10 days before Christmas in 2016 when she was nine months pregnant. The divorce was granted in April 2017.

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AZ. Senator Ruben Gallego with Sydney Gallego and their kids: daughter Isla and son Cooper.

Facebook/Ruben Gallego

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Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) was already under a Senate ethics investigation.

Getty Images

Luna responded to The Post’s report on X: “Time to resign. Glad people are going on record about this creep.”

“This scumbag doesn’t deserve the privilege of representing the people of Arizona,” wrote Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.). “Ruben Gallego should follow his buddy Swalwell’s lead and resign.”

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) added: “Congress needs to step up, do the right thing, and force expulsion.”

Relationships between lawmakers and their own staff members were banned in 2018 and there’s a post-Swalwell push underway to ban relations with all congressional staff.

Sexual encounters between elected representatives and staff from other offices generally are not banned by congressional ethics rules. Other conduct such as sexual harassment is not allowed.

Internal investigations can turn up damaging information.

For example, The Post reported April 18 that Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) — a close friend of Gallego and Swalwell and the third member of their so-called “Cool Kids Clique” — was spotted kissing a Swalwell aide at a DC house party in the summer of 2023.

Gomez confessed in June to cheating on his wife after CNN reported that the House Ethics Committee “learned of other allegations of sexual misconduct” against him while investigating the initial Post report.

“If the Ethics Committee comes back and says, ‘We are opening an investigation,’ question one [for Gallego] is: ‘Did you ever have relationships with any staff member during your time in Congress?'” a source said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more that he has to list, and he can’t lie about that because, you know, it’s a sworn [statement].”

A Democratic operative who has interacted with Gallego said she found news of the staffer relationships “not surprising.”

“I have witnessed firsthand his very flirtatious nature after a couple of drinks,” she said. “Maybe he thinks he’s being charming? I don’t know. Guy gives me the creeps. I’ve always steered clear.”

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Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., left, and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., were close friends in the House.

CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

There’s a long, bipartisan tradition of members of Congress having personal baggage. “Pro-life” Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) has been re-elected repeatedly despite the revelations in 2023 that he had urged abortions for both his ex-wife and mistress.

Many members of Congress resign in the face of sexual scandals, however, including former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), who stepped down in 2019 due to a relationship with a campaign aide.

Earlier this year, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned over an affair with a district staffer who killed herself. 

In addition to the senator’s personal life, Gallego faces another headache in the form of a Justice Department investigation into his alleged misuse of campaign funds to attend the Super Bowl in 2023 as well as to take vacations to St. Barts, Disney World and Disneyland. Gallego said the Trump DOJ was “targeting” him for political reasons.

Despite the controversies, another Democratic insider told The Post Gallego still hopes to occupy the Oval Office someday.

“He wants to, but it’s getting harder,” this source said. “If he changes his behavior and actually locks in, he could do it. It would be hard. But I don’t see it right now. It’s unfortunate.”

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The Perverted Lives of the Rich and Famous > Zoologist tortured, sexually abused dogs; 45 Years a ND senator - pleads guilty to sex with minors in Europe

 

Zoologist Who Appeared on NatGeo, BBC, Sexually Abused Dogs and Recorded Abuse in 'Torture Room'

Adam Britton was arrested in 2022 in Australia after he posted a disturbing video of himself abusing animals, which led police to him

By Samira Asma-Sadeque 

 

Published on August 9, 2024 05:04PM EDT

Content warning: This story contains graphic details of animal abuse.

A British zoologist and crocodile expert living in Australia has been sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after pleading guilty to 56 charges of bestiality and animal cruelty. 

Adam Britton, 53, was sentenced on Thursday, Aug. 8, in an Australia court, which heard the extensive nature of his abuse, which included torturing animals to death, prompting the judge to warn people in the courtroom that they could experience a "nervous shock" upon hearing the details. the BBC reported.

Britton, whose work spans decades and has appeared on platforms such as the BBC and the National Geographic, also admitted to four counts of accessing material depicting child abuse, per the outlet.

Britton's abuse took place over several decades as he moved around the world working with animals while having "sadistic sexual interest" in them, the BBC reported, citing unspecified court documents.

Evidence also shows Britton shared videos of his torture with others online, whom he told he'd been molesting horses since he was 13, the outlet reported, citing court documents.

"I was sadistic as a child to animals, but I had repressed it. In the last few years I let it out again, and now I can't stop. I don't want to. :)," he said in a message that was presented in trial, per the outlet.

He tortured 39 dogs to death, according to the court documents. He would connect online with people who had to give away their pets, take custody of the pets and abuse them in a "torture room" he built, which was equipped with recording devices. He would subsequently share those videos online, per the BBC.

Britton was arrested in April 2022 after posting a video of himself torturing seven puppies and an adult dog, which was reported to authorities, the BBC reported. Once authorities tracked him down to his home in the outskirts of the Australian city of Darwin, they found the "torture room" and child abuse videos in his possession.

At the sentencing on Thursday, Britton said he "deeply regret[s]" the "pain and trauma" caused to innocent animals and his friends and family.

This is genuine demonic activity!

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

Ex-North Dakota politician admits to traveling

to Czech Republic for sex with minor

Ray Holmberg, 80, served in the state Senate for more than 45 years

Associated Press

Published August 11, 2024 8:59am EDT

A powerful former North Dakota lawmaker pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a charge that he traveled to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor.

Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, admitted in court that he had paid young male masseuses, with some of whom he had sexual contact, during multiple visits to the Czech Republic, though he said he did not know for certain how old they were.

Holmberg was indicted in October 2023 for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity and receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material. The Republican served more than 45 years in the North Dakota Senate before resigning in 2022.

Under a plea agreement he signed in June, Holmberg agreed to plead guilty to the former charge, and prosecutors would move to dismiss the latter and recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range.

Judge Daniel Hovland accepted his plea and allowed Holmberg to remain released, with restrictions, until a later sentencing hearing. Wearing a dark suit, the disgraced former lawmaker declined to comment after the hearing.

The travel charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release.

In the plea agreement, Holmberg acknowledged that he had "repeatedly traveled from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Prague, Czech Republic with a motivating purpose of engaging in commercial sex with adolescent-age individuals under the age of 18 years."

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl detailed the allegations against Holmberg, including his emails with others related to his encounters in Prague. Puhl said he made 14 trips to Prague from 2011 to 2021 and frequented a villa that one travel companion described as a brothel that had teenage male masseuses. Another travel companion told investigators that he paid for the nights at the villa because Holmberg did not want his name on the register, Puhl said.

Puhl said the investigation began around 2020-21 as child-exploitation investigators were looking into a landscaper Holmberg knew named Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier. She said investigators interviewed an 18-year-old former employee of Morgan-Derosier's who said he had sex with Holmberg in exchange for a condo association landscaping contract, and also saw Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg view child sexual abuse material at Holmberg's house.

In 2022, after initially announcing he wouldn't seek reelection, Holmberg resigned his Senate seat after The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported on dozens of text messages the lawmaker exchanged with Morgan-Derosier, who was in jail at the time. Morgan-Derosier is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence.

The judge asked Holmberg how he got "caught up in this lifestyle," the age of the youngest person he paid for sex and whether he traveled to other countries for the same purpose.

Holmberg, a retired high school counselor, said, "It was just something — I don't want to say fell into ... that I did," and "it was after retirement before any of this activity occurred." He retired in 2002. He said he had been to Prague a few times before 2011, liking opera and castles. He said he generally traveled by himself.

Holmberg said he became aware of the villa after possibly seeing it online, but said he wasn't sure how old the masseuses were or how many encounters he had with them. Sexual contact occurred with "some of them," he said. He noted that the Czech Republic has a younger age of consent than the U.S. does and said he didn't recall traveling to other countries for the same purpose.

"I've been in a number of countries and the only one that sticks out is the Czech Republic," he said.

Holmberg has been under numerous conditions of release, including travel restrictions, location monitoring and the surrender of his passport.

On Friday, a pretrial services officer filed a report saying Holmberg hadn’t met those conditions, including unapproved Internet access, a visit to an adult novelty store and testing positive once for alcohol. Holmberg was not arrested.

The judge said he will respect an agreement between Holmberg's attorney and prosecutors for him to remain on release before his sentencing. His attorney, Mark Friese, cited Holmberg's various health issues and upcoming medical appointments. The judge told Holmberg he is concerned about his compliance.

For many years, Holmberg chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes budgets. He also chaired the Legislative Management panel, which handles various business between biennial sessions. That job let him approve his own travel.

Records obtained by The Associated Press showed Holmberg took dozens of trips throughout the U.S. and to other countries since 1999. Destinations included cities in more than 30 states, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway.

Earlier this year, the North Dakota School Boards Association returned about $142,000 to the state and ended its role in the Global Bridges teacher exchange program months after releasing travel records following Holmberg’s indictment that showed he utilized state funds when he traveled to Prague and other European cities in 2011, 2018 and 2019.

It’s unclear whether the misconduct alleged by authorities occurred during any of those trips.

The factors in Holmberg’s case make it arguably the most significant political scandal in North Dakota history, former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said.

"You have a very high-profile politician. You have literally the worst allegation you possibly could come up with, the sexual abuse and rape of a child," he said. "And then you have the idea that tax dollars paid for the plane ticket."

In a statement, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley called Holmberg's guilty plea "an important milestone in North Dakota’s battle against child sex trafficking. Former State Senator Ray Holmberg has admitted his heinous crimes and now stands convicted of conduct that fuels the domestic and global sexual exploitation of children."