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Of all the questions swirling around the sexual assault accusations against Rep. Eric Swalwell of California—how did these claims not come out until now? How many more women will step forward? Did congressional leadership know?—there is one that won’t stop popping into my mind: What in the hell was he thinking?

And, fine, one more: Politically ambitious men are still out there sending dick pics?

The accusations against Swalwell are serious, and range from abuse of power to rape. One woman, Lonna Drewes, says Swalwell drugged her before raping her in a California hotel room. Another former staffer says Swalwell forced himself on her, despite her saying no and attempting to push him off; on a second occasion, she says she was heavily intoxicated and woke up naked with Swalwell, with no memory of the night before but could tell they had had sex. Yet another woman, who met Swalwell online, told a similar story: hotel, drinking, blackout. A fourth, Ally Sammarco, was in touch with Swalwell online, she thought to discuss politics; instead, he sent her nude photos.

In light of Drewes’ drugging accusations and what we know about serial sexual predators, the multiple women who say the assaults occurred after a night drinking with Swalwell left them with significant holes in their memory feel potentially even darker. And there are other patterns as well. Many of them were in contact with Swalwell online. Many say he sent them unsolicited sexual messages and images, often via Snapchat, which automatically erases messages.

Swalwell has denied what he called a “serious, false allegation” against him but has admitted to “mistakes in judgment,” and said he “must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.” He is resigning from Congress but has vowed to fight what he claims are lies.

In an earlier video statement, Swalwell said he specifically denies the sexual assault allegation (at the time the video came out, only one assault allegation had been made public). Reading between the lines, it seems Swalwell seems to be admitting to inappropriate behavior (affairs and having sex with subordinates and women he met online) but not criminal acts.

But even if Swalwell’s version of events........

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