Polygraph

Steven Klebek donated money to Eric Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign and paid for his overseas trips.

Posted by VINCE, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
5 support
Said
1 time·
Confidence
82%
VINCEOct 28, 2026
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The sources support both parts of the claim: CNN reports a $1 million donation by Stephen Cloobeck to an independent expenditure group backing Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign, and ABC7 and the NY Post report a roughly $31,000 private trip to France from Cloobeck.

What was said

… and questions of criminality here, and yesterday that investigation led to a raid on the Beverly Hills mansion connected with a billionaire called Steven Klebek. That's his home, Steven Klebek's home, reportedly, who was a big-time Eric Swallowbacker. He'd been giving him a ton of money, supported him for governor, had paid for his exotic trips overseas, ah, and let him live in the house for a while after everything collapsed. Um, he did do an interview with the media in April, this guy Klubek, and take a look at what he said after he kicked Eric Swallwell out. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. CNN reports that Stephen Cloobeck donated $1 million on March 13 to an independent expenditure group supporting Swalwell's gubernatorial campaign, citing California campaign finance records.[2]

Supports. ABC7 reports Swalwell accepted private air transportation to Nice, France from Cloobeck valued at nearly $31,000, and the NY Post reports a private $31,000 trip to France in 2024 provided by Cloobeck.[3][5]

Supports. Multiple outlets identify the raided Beverly Hills mansion as belonging to Stephen Cloobeck, a Swalwell donor who backed his gubernatorial run and later became a 'Libertarian Republican', matching the post's description of the donor.[1][2][4][5]

Context. The post's name 'Klebek' (also 'Klubek' and 'Cloobeck' variants) appears to be a transcription error for Stephen Cloobeck; the referent is the same person, not a different one.[1][2]

Context. The claim says 'trips' (plural), but the sources document only one overseas trip, to France; the plural is not addressed beyond that single documented trip and is not contradicted.[3][5]

Sources

5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 3, 1 not rated

  1. 1Eric Swalwell investigation: Federal agents search Beverly ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
  2. 2FBI searches Beverly Hills mansion tied to former Rep. Eric ...cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
  3. 3Eric Swalwell FBI investigation leads to Beverly Hills ...nypost.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports, context
  4. 4FBI searches California mansion as part of Eric Swalwell ...washingtonpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
  5. 5Where is Swalwell? Questions emerge on his physical location, financial activities amid allegationsabc7news.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context

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