>Then why did he admit to it?
First thing is that not resigning is a big fuck you in the general direction of Pelosi, who tweeted earlier he should.
So it could be photo leak came from Pelosi end and he was strong-armed into a mea culpa. Nice family you got there kind of thing.
Then he got got backup from somewhere overnight who told him to stand and fight. Power struggle inside dems camp? Good guys looking to cause chaos and offering the guy an opportunity to save his rep? You only tell the Queen to fuck off if you have leverage. Good leverage.