Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego has filed paperwork to establish a legal defense fund after allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign-finance violations surfaced.
The IRS document, dated May 22, 2026, names the organization as “Senator Ruben Gallego Legal Defense Fund” and describes it as a U.S. Senate legal expense trust for the senator. The filing includes an employer identification number.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna initially reported disturbing allegations against an unidentified senator within the House. In a later interview, she identified Senator Gallego and stated that some claims were sexual in nature while others involved alleged campaign-finance violations. At that time, the allegations remained unverified.
Following Luna’s public identification of Gallego and subsequent communications with Senate leadership, Senator Gallego filed the legal defense fund. His office has characterized the allegations as “right-wing conspiracy theories” and stated that the fund was established in response to attacks from House members, the President Trump administration, and allied critics.
The fund operates under specific rules: contributions exceeding $25 must be disclosed quarterly to the Senate Ethics Committee; individual donors are limited to $10,000; and corporations, unions, lobbyists, foreign agents, and Senate employees are barred from contributing. The filing also notes Gallego’s connection to former Representative Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress and withdrew from a California gubernatorial race following misconduct allegations.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune referred the matter to the Senate Ethics Committee after Luna made the allegations public. Senator Gallego has denied wrongdoing and is building the legal defense fund to cover potential legal expenses.
