And don't forget, first reaction should be to "believe" unless disproven.

Doubting an accuser only serves to discourage others in their reporting of abuse.

I don't think you'd give this same viewpoint to T?

That's an important difference. Both the Stormy Daniels bribery and E. Jean Carroll. And the Epstein files will support the allegations of victims who say they were raped and beaten by Trump.

I think the "believe women" tagline is often used inappropriately. In the U.S., criminal defendants are considered innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Every accuser deserves respect and follow up. Not immediate belief, but the respect of being listened to and having their accusations investigated.

What would elevate them to "verified" by a news outlet, for you?

If these allegations had become public in 2024, someone would have said "why not come out in 2019 instead of when Swalwell is about to declare for the governor's race?" And so on.

“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.” That line—written by Frank Wilhoit—has become a popular aphorism to sum up the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of the modern Republican Party.

https://pylimitics.net/wilhoits-law/

It's the public deciding who should be hired to manage our state government.

If we are calling around checking his own references and people are saying "Yeah, that could be true..." or worse, "Yeah, that happened..." we don't have to wait until it's all settled in court to remove him from our list of candidates.

If Swalwell hadn't dropped out I would have had even less respect for him than I do now.

accusations?

Swalwell resigned very quickly. A criminal investigation has been opened in NYC for just one of the accusations. There may well be charges being readied in California. There may well be more women coming forward who have chosen not to tell the media, but are talking with police investigators.

There are certain things that sexual assault investigators look for. Did the accuser tell other people shortly after the alleged assault, and do those people's memories of what was said at the time generally corroborate the accuser's story? Did the accuser seek medical care and if so, does the medical record tend to corroborate the accuser? If more than one accuser comes forward, are there consistencies in their stories that suggest a pattern of behavior on the part of the accused?

All of these elements and more appear to be there for Swalwell's accusers.

These elements and patterns certainly don't prove anything, but they're often enough for criminal investigators to continue looking. That's how cases are built. Step by step.

Politicians lead public lives. They give up the right to privacy in a lot of ways.

This is the CA primary for governor, with a deep bench of strong Democrats who can win. Why on earth would the people of CA want to take such a risk in the GE when they don't have to?

If this turns out to be some elaborate hoax then Swalwell can make a triumphant return. I don't think it is a hoax.