As legal expenses mount from multiple criminal investigations into the sexual assault allegations against former Representative Eric Swalwell, dozens of people who donated to his campaign for governor are pushing to get their money back.As previously reported, Swalwell ended his campaign for governo r on April 12 and resigned from Congress the next day after a former staffer said he assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent. Additional women have since come forward with similar claims, prompting multiple law enforcement investigations.Following the allegations, campaign staff were flooded with refund requests from donors, and over 200 donors are now seeking more than $1.5 million back, according to the Chronicle. A lawyer advising the campaign did not respond to questions about whether any refunds have been issued.One man who donated $250 to the campaign reportedly said he has been trying to get a refund since the allegations became public, contacting both ActBlue and the campaign. He said only ActBlue initially responded, pointing him to a general campaign email.Per the Chronicle, after reading that $40,000 in campaign funds had gone to Swalwell’s defense attorney Sara Azari, the donor said he followed up again, arguing that the spending was unrelated to the campaign. A former staffer later replied that they were unable to process the request, citing a lack of guidance on how refunds should be handled.Financial disclosures show the campaign reported $4 million in cash on hand and roughly $200,000 in unpaid debts as of April 18. Per the Chronicle, Swalwell has significant personal debt, and he appears to be using campaign funds at least in part to cover legal expenses tied to the allegations.Whether or not this is a fully a legal use of campaign funds may not be a simple question to answer.A spokesperson for the Fair Political Practices Commission pointed to state guidelines allowing campaign funds to be used for legal costs only if they are directly tied to campaign activity or a candidate’s official duties, such as election compliance or defamation claims, but did not comment on Swalwell’s case, as the Chronicle reports.An election law professor said Swalwell is likely to argue the allegations surfaced because of his gubernatorial run, and the expenditure is therefore justified.Meanwhile, as Politico reports, several Democratic candidates across the country have donated their campaign contributions from the disgraced Swalwell to charity.Previously: Eric Swalwell Could Now Face Rape Charge In Los Angeles as New Accuser Comes ForwardPhoto via Getty Images ...read more read less