Cory Mills says he shouldn’t ‘fall into the category’ of Eric Swalwell, Tony Gonzales

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills rebuffed comparisons of his own personal scandals to those that forced U.S. Reps. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales to resign.

Caught in the House by NewsNation reporter Joe Khalil, during a week when House members have sought out a way to clean House in a balanced fashion. Mills has come under fire over the last year for matters included an alleged assault of a girlfriend in his Washington apartment and later allegations he threatened to publish intimate photos of another woman in Florida.

But Mills stressed he has never faced accusations of a relationship with an employee.

“I don’t even fall into the category of Swalwell and Gonzalez,” he said. ”One, I’m not married, so there’s one thing. Two, I’ve never sexually harassed and or had any complaints by any staffers or interns on the Hill. It’s just not even a fair comparison. This is obviously a political Democrat tit for tat.”

Metropolitan Police last year investigated an allegation Mills was involved in a domestic altercation with Sarah Raviani, co-founder of Iranians for Trump, in an apartment they shared at the time in Washington. She later chose not to press charges and has criticized the politicization of the incident.

Later, Lindsey Langston, Columbia County Republican State Committeewoman, said she was living with Mills in New Smyrna Beach but broke up with him after learning of Raviani. She said he later threatened to distribute intimate photos and videos. That ultimately resulted in a judge issuing a restraining order against Mills.

He was married at the time of both instances but said he was legally separated. A divorce was finalized earlier this year.

Swalwell, a California Democrat, resigned amid a growing number of accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault from staffers. CNN first reported accusations from staffer, including one who said he assaulted her twice, one time while she worked for him. He later suspended a campaign for California Governor and resigned on Tuesday.

Gonzales, a Texas Republican, has faced questions for months surrounding an affair with a staffer who later died from suicide. He had already said he would resign from Congress, but resigned after Swalwell announced his own departure on Monday evening.

The resignation followed U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Lune, a Pinellas Republican, taking steps to file expulsion resolutions on the two lawmakers. Leadership for both the Democratic and Republican caucus has faced criticism over a reluctance to push members of Congress to resign amid scandals, something credited to tight margins in the chamber. Republicans hold a 217-213 margin following Gonzales’ and Swalwell’s exits.

That paired departure has increased attention on two Florida members of Congress. Republicans have pushed for U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Miramar Democrat, to resign after a House Ethics panel found her guilty of 25 charges of violating House rules and ethical guidelines. Most stem from accusations she siphoned more than $5 million from disaster relief funding through a health care business to her congressional campaign.

Some want her departure paired with that of Mills, who remains under House Ethics investigation, both for the domestic matters with Raniani and Langston and for allegations he profited from defense contracts in Congress and accusations he exaggerated military service.