Politico: New evidence surfaces in Tara Reade allegation against Biden

[democrattotheend]

Please don't shoot me - I'm just the messenger. I wasn't going to post this when it was on the Intercept only, but now that it's on Politico I figured we can't really bury our heads in the sand. Curious on people's thoughts. The mother didn't mention anything about a sexual assault, but it does corroborate the timing. I really hope this doesn't gain traction. I hate to discredit a woman alleging sexual assault, but the timing just feels too convenient.

A 1993 video has surfaced that appears to show the mother of Tara Reade, the former aide to Joe Biden who has accused him of sexual assault, talking about "problems" her daughter faced on CNN’s "Larry King Live."

As first reported by the Intercept, an unnamed woman from San Luis Obispo, California, called into King's show and said, "I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him."

Reade confirmed to POLITICO it was her mother's voice.

King asked the woman, “She had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?"

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/24/tara-reade-biden-video-207670

[lame54]

1. Why now then?...

Why not 6 months ago

[question everything]

24. Or why not in 2008 when he was nominated to be V.P?

[BlueStater]

61. Because sometimes it takes victims of sexual assault a long time to come forward?

That’s the stance we took in regards to Trump, Kavanaugh, Moore, etc.

Let’s not be hypocrites here. Geez.

[The Magistrate]

78. And Sometimes, Sir, People Do Not Launch Lies Until The Time Seems Right

Finding a charge made by one person to be credible does not require me to consider a charge made by some other person to be credible. Charges of criminal behavior should be assessed individually, and the credibility of the person making the charge, as well as the credibility of the charge itself, must be weighed.

In all the instances you name above, the accusers are solid and credible, and the charges credible. They are not solitary, in each instance there were multiple people coming forward. In each instance the charges were consistent with known behavior, from the well documented media circus of 'Trump, the playboy', to the common behavior at beer-bash jock parties of the sort Kavanaugh himself documented attending, to the foul odor of pious fraud Moore has always reeked of, in his extreme denunciation of perversion in others. which so often betrays a guilty secret trying to break out in confession.

Reade has not just altered her claims over recent years, but has made them more extreme as each version failed to excite much attention. That is not a pattern of a truthful person, but of a calculating liar who is seeking to find what level of charge it will take to win notoriety, and damage the target of the lie. Even more telling is that when she finally swore out a police complaint, she omitted to include the name of the person she accuses. If someone will not swear to a charge under penalty of perjury, there is no reason whatever to believe that person making the charge when not under oath. Note that none of this makes reference to the well-evidenced flakiness of Reade, or to her adherence to Putin and Russia, or to the obvious axes to grind which every person promoting her story has. These are, however, things which damage her credibility further.

It should be noted, too, that hypocrisy is dead as a charge of any weight in political life. No one is, and no one ought to be, deterred by a charge of hypocrisy from pressing the line best suited to the political needs of the present day. Well-meaning, good-hearted people who tend to the left need to learn not to allow their better natures to be taken advantage of by vicious scum on the right, and splinterest wreckers on the far left, who enlist them in their charges against figures of the center left, by exhorting them to 'be consistent' and telling them 'don't be hypocrites'. The proper response to attempts at this is a hearty "Fuck off! Nobody cares what a rancid piece of dogshit like you thinks!" Or words to that effect....

Only attack the enemy, the christo-fascist right.

Never, ever, attack people who are on your side.

If you want one quick reason why the right wing wields power well out of proportion to the popularity of its policies, it is that they adhere to this rule, and we on the left do not.


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[mcar]

80. +1000!

[question everything]

82. Wonderful! Was thinking that, yes, Kavanaugh himself used to brag about his school years

Trump about his grabbing. There has never been any such stories associated with Biden.

[musette_sf]

85. + 1

[Tarheel_Dem]

153. All of this!

[MFGsunny]

172. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! n/t

[Judi Lynn]

173. Thank you, Magistrate, for taking the time. n/t

[treestar]

93. All of those were in national spotlight

For the first time. Blakey- Ford let it go until he was going to be a Supreme Court justice. Then she felt a duty to speak to. Moore ran for senate for the first time. dump ran for president as his first office.

Biden’s first rodeo here would be when he became head of foreign affairs committee. But certainly Vice President.

Not seeing this is a hallmark of right wing illogical talking points.

[Demsrule86]

112. Bullshit... people want to help Trump win ...fine but I won't. Tara Reade has changed her story and

Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2020, 10:07 PM - Edit history (1)

was never a credible no matter what version she told.She out and out lied about what her Mother said.

[Crunchy Frog]

122. Yes. You need to wait until right after your assailant

becomes the presumptive presidential nominee of a major party.

Doing it beforehand would just be too hard.

[BlueStater]

157. Like Donald Trump's accusers?

Goddamn hypocrites the lot of you.

And to be clear, my problem isn’t that you don’t believe Reade. My problem is that you’re using the fact that she waited 27 years as a reason that she shouldn’t be believed. The double standard here is off the charts and you all seem to be completely oblivious to it.

[The Magistrate]

164. Do Try And Keep Up, Sir

And pay attention to what you are trying to argue against.

We may leave aside that Trump was not only accused of harrassment and near-rape at the mildest characterization, but notorious in New York for such sexual misbehavior for years. It is simply that the national press began to take note of what the celebrity press and the local New York press had long known.

The point being urged against Reade's delay is not the passage of time before the charge was laid, but that the charge was not laid when Mr. Biden took some new step towards prominence in public life. Understand, despite his present prominence, Mr. Biden was no heavyweight prior to being selected by President Obama for his running mate. In fact, a good many Democrats, myself included, considered him a waste of space, the man responsible for Clarence Thomas, a bought and sold tool of money-lenders and worse in the Senate, whose failed runs fro President were verging on a Harold Stassen imitation. Elevation to candidate for Vice-President was an extraordinary step for him, and a person who genuinely felt him a rapist, a vile man who had no business in national life, would certainly have come forward then to say so.

That is, in fact, what women did in the cases of Kavanaugh and Moore, and even Trump. Elevation to the Supreme Court was a tremendous advancement for Kavanaugh, and likely election to the United States Senate was a tremendous advancement for Moore, and women personally aware of their despicable characters came forward to do what they could to prevent the ascension to national power of a rapist and a pedophile. The pattern with Trump was the same, though it started from a higher base --- more women, alarmed by the prospect of his campaign's succeeding, came forward to add their experiences at his hands to the fund of knowledge already in existence.

But the problem with your remarks here goes further than your nonesense about hypocrisy and your lazy and reflexive both-siderism. The worst of it is your overweening concern with whether partisan efforts on your side look like partisan efforts by the other side.

Why is it so hard to get it through your head that we are right and they are wrong?

What is your problem with the fact that you are one side of a great divide, and the side you are on must carry the day?

Fights are not won by striking postures that show you are virtuous and fair-minded. Fights are won by attacking the enemy and defending your own, and never, ever giving your enemy a fair chance or a square shake. The whole business of strategy and tactics is to make any fight you are in as unfair as possible, with the advantage your side of the scale.


"A liberal may be defined as a man who won't take his own side in a quarrel."


"Americans love a winner! And hate a loser!"


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[SQUEE]

194. great quotes

Too which I add, "careful hunting monsters lest you become one"

I understand perfect is the enemy of good, but how have we come to this, rejecting our own claimed principles?

[The Magistrate]

195. You May Have Principles My Suggestion Rejects, Sir

I have never claimed such, and would advise you to jettison them before they drag you down to an avoidable defeat.

I repeat: we are better than they are because our goals are better, not because we make some great display of virtue by how we fight for our goals. If when fighting we choose means which are ineffective, we fail our moral goals, and if that failure owes to wishing to maintain an image of ourselves as virtue's exemplars, we fail ourselves and forfeit any claim to virtuous character.


"An idealist is a man who, on remarking that a rose smells better than a cabbage, insists it will make a better soup."

[RandySF]

2. That's not evidence, it was a repeated claim.

[democrattotheend]

3. The new "evidence" is the 1993 Larry King video

It shows she said something to her mom at the time, and corroborates what she previously said about that. That makes it slightly more credible that she complained about something, at least, because I doubt any plot to sabotage Biden goes all the way back to 1993.

[Dem4Life1102]

33. Was it her mother?

Was the Senator Biden? Is there any proof of either?

[The Magistrate]

70. There Does Not Seem To Be, Sir

On the discourteous presumption Reade's accusations are a put-up job, hatched with Russian assistance, even her claim that her mother called the show a quarter century ago may be suspect. Larry King's show has appeared on Russia Today (RT), and something could easily have been doctored up from archives, with release timed to 'vindicate' Reade's statement.

Not saying this happened, mind. Only that it is a possibility which cannot be dismissed out of hand.


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[Pambert]

129. Thread author went into hiding

Still waiting for his response to your question.
He can't even discuss this "evidence".

[John Fante]

4. Based on what her mother said, it doesn't sound like Tara's issues were with Joe.

[Yavin4]

5. Can we be sure that it was her mother?

Can we be sure that the senator was Biden?

[democrattotheend]

7. We can't be sure, but the date and location seem to add up

It was shortly after she said she left Biden's office, and I think her mother was from San Luis Obispo, although I don't know if that's been independently confirmed.

[kcr]

12. Adds up to the call she only recently mentioned

[brush]

29. If she was going to make this charge years after it happened the logical time...

would've been during the height of the me_too movement 2-3 year ago not just when Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Seems to me this originated either from the Sanders camp or from trump.

Somebody is paying her. Don't fall for this malicious hype. There are so many holes in her story. Why are you pushing this? It helps no one but trump.

[treestar]

99. +1

could have been when he was nominated for VP too.

[brush]

104. Exactly. I don't like that this maliciousness keeps cropping up here.

[Demsrule86]

113. Tara Reade is a malicious Putin loving right wing tool...and that all this is...one only helps

Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2020, 10:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Trump, by spreading it. And I won't.

[William769]

168. You answered your own question.

[brush]

169. Yes. This is a new repug tactic first tested on Al Franken. It worked so they're at it again.

This should be expected from now on in high-profile, critical races. It can happen to women too—Katie Hill.

[democrattotheend]

6. That's what I'm hoping

And previously, that's what she said, before she came up with this new allegation. Parts of her story seem credible (or at least consistent with how victims of sexual harassment and assault often behave), and I really don't want to do to this woman what the right did to Christine Blaisley-Ford, but I also find the timing really convenient and there are some holes in her story.

Apparently Biden has some senatorial papers that have not been released that might shed some light on this. I think he should consider releasing them to show he has nothing to hide.

[Skya Rhen]

11. Concern noted.

[sheshe2]

13. Link?

Apparently Biden has some senatorial papers that have not been released that might shed some light on this. I think he should consider releasing them to show he has nothing to hide.

What Senatorial papers are you referring to that he has "apparently" not released and "might shed some light on this". How do you know all this? I would prefer links to hearsay.

[democrattotheend]

16. Here

I know The Intercept is a bit of a controversial source, but here's the link that mentioned papers. I just reread it though, and it seems it wouldn't corroborate her assault allegations, only the harassment allegations she made back in 2019.

Reade has said that the complaint she filed was related to the harassment she said she faced, and did not address the assault. The complaint was left with Biden’s office, and if it still exists, is with Biden’s papers at the University of Delaware. The school recently told reporter Rich McHugh that the papers are sealed until two years after Biden leaves public life.

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/24/new-evidence-tara-reade-joe-biden/

[sheshe2]

20. The Intercept.

Glenn Greenwald.

These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward liberal causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports and omit reporting of information that may damage liberal causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy. See all Left Bias sources.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-intercept/

[Hassin Bin Sober]

37. .

Following a September 12 report in The Intercept,[8][218][221] Feinstein confirmed that a complaint had been made against Kavanaugh by a woman who had requested not to be identified. Feinstein stated that the woman and Kavanaugh were both in high school when the woman accused Kavanaugh of trying to force himself on her while she was being physically restrained.[222][223] On the same day, Feinstein stated that she had forwarded the woman's accusation to federal authorities.[224][225]

[sheshe2]

41. Hassin!

Where have you been? Missed you here.

In these times it is always good to check in. The virus is a scary thing and who knows which of us will be standing in the end. Unbelievable that we now have 51K dead in one month. I also have family on the front line and I fear for them.

Stay safe.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

44. Yeah, my partner is currently treating covid patients.

The ones he knows about he gets to wear full ppe. The patients he’s treated who later were diagnosed were treated with just mask and gloves due to rationing. If he gets it I get it.

[sheshe2]

131. So is my niece.

Her PPE is a yellow rain slicker, worn backwards. One mask a day. Friends are actually donating masks and gloves to her unit.

She can't even visit her soon to be 94 year old grandmother that we are doing homecare for.

Stay safe.

[Skya Rhen]

43. And the woman in the article you reference took a lie detector test and passed. Where's Tara's

polygraph test, since you're insinuating similarities...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

45. I'm not insinuating anything other than it's silly to dismiss the intercept and the reporter ...

.... based on “the intercept” they were on the vanguard of the Kavanaugh story.

[Skya Rhen]

47. It's not silly to dismiss a proven liar (Tara Reade).

[KayF]

49. more from that link

Overall, we rate The Intercept progressive Left Biased based on story selection that favors the left
Factual Reporting: HIGH

...

A factual search reveals they have not failed a fact check, however in 2016 they fired Juan Thompson for fabricating quotes and establishing email accounts to trick editors. The Intercept reported: “Thompson admitted to creating fake email accounts and fabricating messages, but stood by his published work. He did not cooperate in the review,”

Overall, we rate The Intercept progressive Left Biased based on story selection that favors the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing. (5/18/2016) Updated (M. Huitsing 12/22/2018)

[ucrdem]

50. They also give the Washington Examiner and Politico as examples of proper sourcing.

The Intercept always uses credible sources such as Washington Examiner, The Economist, The Hill Politico, NYMag, and the Washington Post.

Their documentation might be golden but the Washington Examiner and Politico are not.

[KayF]

51. that's the first time I saw that site

I only posted it because sheshe2 linked to it to discredit the Intercept, but left out the part where it said their reporting is factual.

[ucrdem]

56. Reporting factually on Politico isn't really reporting.

It's scandal mongering often, or at best, repeating someone else's reporting. This has been a feature of the Intercept from the get-go and before that of Greenwald 's Guardian articles: He's not a reporter, and didn't report anything. The Intercept has higher pretensions and wants to be thought of as a news outlet, but it's basically an amplification of Greenwald's earlier method: yesterday's news today, borrowed from somewhere else. In this case, Politico reporting on the Intercept reporting on Politico has not added a single degree of credibility to this very cold potato.

[DenverJared]

96. You just proved it - Putin is stirring this shit

and anyone who propagates it is automatically under a grave suspicion of being a Russian operative.

[Judi Lynn]

176. Without a doubt Putin intends to keep his deadly weapon in place until the country is destroyed. n/t

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. How many senators did she work for, exactly? If more than 1, then maybe not? If 1, then...

[sheshe2]

8. Is there a link to this video? nt

[GeorgiaPeanut]

100. The woman is not on video

The video is of Larry King show where a caller called. We only have audio.

The woman did not identify herself.
The woman didn't say she was Tara Reade's mother.
The woman didn't say the problem was sexual harassment.

It is like hearing someone talk about duck hunting and then say that it proves Jimmy Hoffa was definitely shot to death.

[sheshe2]

108. Lol 😆

Thanks 😊

[Skya Rhen]

9. It sounds like she complained about something during her tenure, unrelated to Biden, and didn't want

to publicize it out of "respect" for him. If he was the problem, she wouldn't have had "respect" for him.

As time goes on, she continues to embellish and add on to her stories - I see a pattern.

[sheshe2]

132. For the win!!!!

[brush]

170. And she keeps getting envelopes of cash no doubt from who her continually embelished story benefits.

[niyad]

19. Show us prof that it is her mother. Proof, not just her saying so.

[GusFring]

22. I honestly don't give a shit. Biden was VPOTUS for 8yrs. Where was she then?

He ran for President, where was she then. And how many accusations does Trump have?

[Kingofalldems]

124. Starbuck retweets alt.righty Jack Procobiec.

Why are you posting that here?

[ucrdem]

14. "could not get through with her problems at all"

Get through what?

[sheshe2]

133. The line was busy?

[ucrdem]

142. haha!

heya sheshe!

[sheshe2]

144. Hey, ucrdem.

[kcr]

15. Well, now that it's on Politico.

Make sure to rush on over here to post it.

[ucrdem]

18. Benghazi burger fail.

[DURHAM D]

21. This makes no sense -

"working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all"

[Skya Rhen]

23. Inconsistencies and lies throughout...

"She called him, I think, 'a prominent senator,'" Reade said in an interview last month. “She didn’t get into the assault, she got into the harassment. She said my daughter was sexually harassed by a very prominent senator, and then they retaliated and fired her.”

According to a transcript of the show and a video clip, the caller does not reference sexual harassment or firing. She does, however, talk about an unnamed “prominent senator.”

[sheshe2]

26. Lots of that here as well.

The story keeps changing. She and her brother changed there's. Only one story is needed. The truth.



https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/tara-reade-joe-biden-democrats/

It’s true, for a time, that one of the slogans that emerged from the nascent #MeToo movement was “Believe women.” But it was never that simple; nobody ever said, or meant, “Believe every woman, no matter how incredible or undocumented her claim.” The point was to give women’s accounts of sexual assault a fair and respectful hearing: first, hopefully, by police; or, if she made her claim to the media, by reporters.

The article was written by Joan Walsh.

[ucrdem]

28. It is very weak sauce.

I'm not unsympathetic but it sounds like she has a problem upstairs. 27 years was a long time ago but then again that was the age of Bill Clinton and an endless parade of similar accusations so there's no reason for the mother to mince words or not know how to say anything. It was being said daily on every front page.

[still_one]

25. No surprise that this non-evidence is being pushed by ANOTHER Sander's supporter

Last edited Tue Apr 28, 2020, 03:15 AM - Edit history (1)

journalist

https://medium.com/@eddiekrassenstein/evidence-casts-doubt-on-tara-reades-sexual-assault-allegations-of-joe-biden-e4cb3ee38460

Her wonderful continuing changing story.

Let me tell those Sander's surrogates such as Krystal Ball, Brianha Joy Gray, and the author of this political piece who are pushing these allegations without EVIDENCE, in hopes this will somehow propel Bernie into the nomination, they are living in an alternate universe

70% of the DEMOCRATIC voters have made very it clear that they do NOT want Bernie Sanders as the nominee

If hypothetically for any reason Biden dropped out, which I don't believe will happen, it is highly unlikely that Sanders would become the nominee. It would go to a brokered Convention in that case, and the majority of delegates, which Biden has would choose another candidate, and that candidate would not be Sanders

Funny that Ms. Reade was deleting her tweets prior to bringing this story forward

Sounds similar to David Sirota deleting his anti-Hillary tweets prior to joining the Sanders campaign

That Larry King interview is so vague and generalized, it is not evidence of anything, and the characterization by this political so-called journalist that this is evidence, is evidence of one thing, sloppy journalism

[democrattotheend]

27. I'm not a Sanders supporter

I supported him in 2016 but I supported Warren this time. I just posted this to see what people thought, because now that it's picking up steam in mainstream press it's something Biden's going to have to deal with.

[sheshe2]

30. The Intercept and Glen Greewald?

They are not a credible source. They hate Democrats.

[still_one]

35. I agree Glen Greenwald and his Intercept who pushed the nonesense that Russia

was being falsely accused of interfering with the 2016 election by Democrats using McCarthy like tactics.

That pretty much sums up where they are coming from

[sheshe2]

39. You are correct, still_one.

Remember Snowden?

[still_one]

40. From my perspective, Snowden was used by Greenwald, and then left out in the

cold

They also didn't protect Reality Winner

We are on the same page on this one sheshe

[sheshe2]

42. ;)

[democrattotheend]

63. That's why I didn't post the story when it was posted there

But once it was posted on a mainstream source like Politico I figured it was something we couldn't just ignore, because the MSM will be all over it soon.

[still_one]

34. I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the Sanders' surrogates such as

Gray, Reade, the author of the Politico piece, Sirota, etc. who have been pushing this story for weeks on social media, with their belief that it would somehow propel Bernie into the nomination. That is what I was referring to. Most Sanders supporter do not fit into that category

As for Reade, she has a lot of credibility problems with her multiple changing stories on this

As for the MSM picking it up, the NY Times, Washington Post, and others already looked into this. This is not new.

I wouldn't necessarily consider Politico MSM. It borders more closely on gossip and yellow-journalism

[Blue_true]

115. Sorry, but if I remember your posts when the primary board was up correctly, you were

pretty hard set against Joe Biden. When I saw your handle on this OP, it didn't surprise me that some poorly documented allegation against Biden would have been dredged up from somewhere.

[Cha]

130. EXACTLY! I remember the Same Thing.

[Blue_true]

134. Some things can't easily be forgotten Cha. nt

[pwb]

174. This poster still shows undecided status for president in their profile?

That says a lot ?

[treestar]

101. Also why wait until now

Start when Biden first declared he was running. Bernie was already running then. Obviously they didn't see much in it until they got desperate.

[Gothmog]

118. Russia has been busy

Link to tweet

[PSPS]

31. This is Politico click bait

1. This King thing would be regarding her original story about just "feeling uncomfortable," which Biden has already addressed.

2. This has nothing to do with the more serious claim she has made only recently, and which has been found to be questionable at best.

New York Times' radio show "The Daily" did a piece on these allegations. Their reporter, Lisa Lerer, has been looking into this for a long time including multiple lengthy interviews with Reade and many others. The allegations seem to fall apart under scrutiny. Here's a link to the podcast:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/podcasts/the-daily/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation.html

[still_one]

36. That King interview is so vague and generalized, it doesn't prove anything

[Drunken Irishman]

55. It does prove one thing.

Tara can't stop lying.

She stated initially a few weeks ago that her mom said on Larry King that she was sexually harassed by a senator and then fired when she attempted to speak out. That never happened in the interview. Again, she lies or manipulates facts to fit her narrative.

[still_one]

71. Good point

[uponit7771]

77. +1

[Gothmog]

32. There are so many issues with this changing story that it is not worth paying attention to

Link to tweet

[Sugarcoated]

46. I believe Reade is a flake

but what in that Tweet support "Katie Halper and the Bernie staffers willing to pay her some money if she changes the story to a bigger lie" and that she tried to sell her story to the tabloids? All I see when I click on the tweet are proof of her money problems.

[Gothmog]

48. Here is more

Link to tweet

[BlueStater]

62. So what? That doesn't prove that Biden didn't assault her.

She could be a shitty person and it could also be true that she was molested. Trying to claim that she couldn’t possibly be a victim because of her character is just wrong.

[Skya Rhen]

64. Her character embodies a liar and a fraud. That's important if we are expected to believe a habitual

liar.

[Gothmog]

65. Denial is not just a river in Africa

Link to tweet

[treestar]

98. Affects credibility

Where was she when he first came to national prominence? Biden has long had that.

[BlueStater]

120. This argument is right-wing bullshit and it's depressing to see it used here.

Donald Trump has been a well-known figure for decades too but most of the sexual assault accusations against him have only surfaced in the last few years.

A lot of people here are being hypocrites and it’s pretty nauseating to see. It only hurts our credibility against that demented predator in the White House when we act this way. Just stop.

[treestar]

127. Dump has not

had that - not for political office, and who heard of it except for readers of the National Enquirer? It's not hypocritical. It is not necessary to believe every case, either. That's just as bad as not believing any of them. This is not credible and would have been brought up when Biden was running for Veep or ran for POTUS in 2008. Besides it being irrelevant when the opposition is the Dotard. Bernie is not going to benefit in any way from this and he already endorsed Biden.

[BlueStater]

156. It IS hypocritical that you're using how long they waited a reason to discredit an accusation.

That’s the same argument that right-wingers give in regards to their guys being accused of assault.

[treestar]

158. There are other reasons than that

to show it lacks credibility. The inconsistencies. And we aren't talking time alone, but when something is too much to not speak up after all (as when Kavanaugh was to be a Supreme Court Justice - before that, she may have left it alone, but to be on the highest court in the land was another matter). If someone can be VP which is specifically meant to be a person who can take over as President immediately if something happens to the President, without it being necessary to bring it up, how would it be worse now?

[The Magistrate]

159. So What? Who Gives A Rat's Ass What Right-Wingers Argue?

Why is it so hard to get it through your head that we are right and they are wrong?

What is your problem with the fact that you are one side of a great divide, and the side you are on must carry the day?

Fights are not won by striking postures that show you are virtuous and fair-minded. Fights are won by attacking the enemy and defending your own, and never, ever giving your enemy a fair chance or a square shake. The whole business of strategy and tactics is to make any fight you are in as unfair as possible, with the advantage your side of the scale.


"A liberal may be defined as a man who won't take his own side in a quarrel."


"Americans love a winner! And hate a loser!"


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[Demsrule86]

163. Keep up this sort of thing and you will give the demented predator in the white house another term.

Biden is the nominee...accept that and fight like hell to elect him or Trump wins.

[BlueStater]

165. A few posts on a forum will give him another term?

LOL.

Gosh, I didn’t know that Biden was such a weak-ass nominee that a few posts arguing about the correct way to respond to sexual assault allegations (which isn’t even *really* about him) could be his undoing. That can’t be good.

[Demsrule86]

187. It is not a few...and let just add the primary is over. Sanders will not under any circumstances be

the nominee...the choice is between Trump and Biden. I fail to see what purpose a thread like this serves...at least not on that helps our nominee.

[Demsrule86]

116. There is no reason to believe her and if we give credence to GOP asshats and Putin lovers, we will

Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2020, 10:09 PM - Edit history (1)

never have good candidates and win elections...every single time this shit starts,there are some on our side breathlessly happy to join in. And there is no way any of it is true of Biden...Tara Reade would not know the truth as I said before if she tripped over it...faker all the way. As a sexual assault survivor who spent three weeks in the hospital, I despise Tara Reade as she makes real victims like me less likely to be believed.

[Bongo Prophet]

141. Please stop confusing Tara Reade, the accuser, with Tara Reid, an actress

I understand that homonyms can be problematic, but don't think Ms Reid needs any more hate mail than she already might get for whatever reason.

Thanks!

[Demsrule86]

151. Thanks...didn't realize there was a difference in how it was spelled.

[Cha]

152. Tara Reade is an habitual Liar and her story doesn't hold

up.

She also filed a police report but didn't name her "attacker".

Examining Tara Reade’s Sexual Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden

On Thursday, Ms. Reade filed a report with the Washington, D.C., police, saying she was the victim of a sexual assault in 1993; the public incident report, provided to The Times by Ms. Reade and the police, does not mention Mr. Biden by name, but she said the complaint was about him. Ms. Reade said she filed the report to give herself an additional degree of safety from potential threats.

Filing a false police report may be punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100213272381

[Gothmog]

119. Really?

Link to tweet

[d_b]

38. I can bury my head just fine

This "evidence" is for the lysol junkies.

[struggle4progress]

52. The troublesome Tara Reade story

By Joan Walsh
APRIL 15, 2020

... mainstream outlets, including The New York Times, Associated Press, have taken deep dives into Reade’s charges, and come up with a whole lot of confusion. Even in the era of #MeToo, Reade’s story is problematic. For one thing, she’s changed it multiple times. Last year, she came forward to echo the charges of Las Vegas activist Lucy Flores (who said Biden once grabbed her shoulders and kissed the back of her head), telling the Associated Press that he “rubbed her shoulders and neck” and “played with her hair” several times when she worked for him in 1993.

That’s not good, but it’s not rape.

Reade now says she made claims of sexual harassment, but not assault, to her supervisors in Biden’s office; they vehemently deny hearing any such complaint. She says she was told to find a new job by a supervisor, but she has also changed her recollection of which supervisor it was when speaking to reporters in recent weeks (all of the people she named deny it). The AP contacted 21 former Biden staffers, none of whom remember any Reade complaint against their boss. Reade also claims she complained to the Senate personnel office; there is no record of it.

... Reade’s brother, in the past, has said she told him, too. But he briefly changed his story for The Washington Post, saying only that she’d told him about harassment by Biden, then texting a Post reporter to say he did remember his sister saying Biden touched her “under her clothes.” (Her brother refused to talk to the Times, AP, or Salon).

Finally, Reade seems to have, or have had, a strange obsession with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an op-ed posted on Medium in 2018, she wrote, “President Putin has an alluring combination of strength with gentleness. His sensuous image projects his love for life, the embodiment of grace while facing adversity.” Since the Biden assault story broke, she has insisted she was merely writing a novel about Putin, but the Medium post was pretty clearly a political screed, headlined “Why A Liberal Democrat Supports Vladimir Putin.” She claimed that she quit working for Biden because she loves “Russia with all my heart” and was sickened by “the reckless imperialism of America” As the Times’ Michelle Goldberg points out, last December she tweeted, bizarrely, “I worked for the Senate, I know the plan to bring Russia to its knees” ...

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/tara-reade-joe-biden-democrats/

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

74. Yikes

Who are the nutcases in the comments section of the Nation article?

[Beartracks]

198. "troublesome" is putting it lightly. Wow. And...

... this is the "accuser" on which all the rightwingers are basing their claim that #MeToo Democrats are hypocrites.



===========

[Drunken Irishman]

53. lmao even here, Tara Reade lies.

She said her mom called in to King to report her being sexually harassed and fired - yet, in the audio, there is no indication of this. The mother doesn't bring up her being harassed or fired.

She can't tell the truth. Literally everything she says is a lie it seems.

[rockfordfile]

54. A Sanders supporter is posting this crap.

[Judi Lynn]

58. Disgusting seeing someone trying to peddle it here.

[DFW]

57. This is right before Robert Packwood resigned from the Senate

He was a Republican Senator well-known for harassing women.

Once upon a time, I worked at the U.S. Senate. Staffers go in and out of the offices of other Senators all the time, and those offices are concentrated in a few Senate Office Buildings near the Capitol.

From the timing, it looks like someone is trying to get some milage out of this, Swiftboat style.

[MFM008]

60. Sorry

compared to maggots record of assault and rape
Its not even credible.

[honest.abe]

66. Why "out of respect" if she was sexually assaulted??

How can anyone who was sexually assaulted have any kind of respect for the man who did it? This doesnt make sense.

[Skya Rhen]

75. Exactly! The transcript has the exact words of her mother referring to "respect"...

Link to tweet

?s=20

[George II]

87. So this unnamed woman is talking about an unnamed Senator and an unspecified assault....

....and the so-called assault victim finally filed a police report 27 years later but failed to name the assaulter.

This whole story is doing more harm than good for the #MeToo movement.

[honest.abe]

161. Yes, that clearly indicates she told her mother nothing about sexual assault.

So many inconsistencies in this story.

[ProfessorGAC]

67. A Case of Swiftboating?

At least in my mind. I'm as sympathetic as I can possibly be to women who endure this nonsensical behavior, but a story with a foundation of jello that keeps changing is pretty difficult to accept.
Besides, this accusation seems like weak sauce given the history of the opponent.
Exactly how does a serial harasser & philanderer use this. It's one case vs. dozens. Don't see how this does anything to change the GE aside from third party voting from the gullible on the left.
If Joe did anything untoward, shame on him.
I'm voting for him anyway.
Nobody's perfect, and this is from many years ago!

[LisaL]

68. They couldn't find something from 1903?

Oh give me a freaking break. Some woman calling in claiming her daughter is having some unspecified problems is evidence?

[Hortensis]

83. :) Her mom's dead, but after 1993 she should have

learned more about her daughters' problems than at that time. Reade's history is filled with question marks, including...frequent prevarication, and even petty crime.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

69. 1993 was around the time of Bob Packwood

Republican Senator from Oregon. Remember him?

If there was anything to a claim against Joe Biden the person making the claim would likely have been listened to.

[The Magistrate]

72. Quite True, Sir

"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[democrattotheend]

89. No, I was only 9

I know he was a Republican senator from Oregon who had some sort of scandal, but that's all I know.

[yardwork]

73. Why didn't Reade name Biden in the police report she filed this month?

Tara Reade filed a police report a few weeks ago. She didn't name Biden. Why not?

Reade and her surrogates are naming Biden in the media, but not in her official complaint to the police. Why?

Could it be that Reade, who is a lawyer, knows that it is a crime to make a false accusation in a police report, but she can get away with smearing a public figure in the media?

[uponit7771]

76. "Reade confirmed to POLITICO it was her mother's voice." the person who's lied a shit ton of times..

... has confirmed it was her mothers voice?

Why post this here?

thx

[still_one]

79. In April 2019 Reade said Biden's handsiness made her feel uncomfortable, but did not consider

Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2020, 01:48 PM - Edit history (2)

Biden's actions to be sexualization

"In April of 2019, Reade originally said that Joe Biden’s handsiness made her feel uncomfortable when she worked as a Senate aide in 1993. At the time, however, she said that she did not consider Biden’s actions to be sexualization, instead comparing her experience to that of being a beautiful lamp."

Now she changes that story from a year ago, saying she was sexually assaulted. Not only is the timing too coincidental, but Ms. Reade has credibility issues:

https://medium.com/@eddiekrassenstein/evidence-casts-doubt-on-tara-reades-sexual-assault-allegations-of-joe-biden-e4cb3ee38460

Some updates included in the above link makes her story even more bizarre:

"UPDATE 4/2/20: We were able to contact a longtime friend of Reade’s who wished to remain anonymous, but they said they “do not believe her allegations,” claiming she has always been one to seek attention. Note: We reached out to Ms. Reade for comment but she refused.
UPDATE 4/25/20: We have been in contact with a former boss of Reade’s who claims Reade stole from her non-profit animal rescue while she was a volunteer at the organization."

https://medium.com/@eddiekrassenstein/biden-accuser-tara-reade-allegedly-stole-from-a-non-profit-organization-e276cac68a2b


“Look, this isn’t about protecting women. This isn’t about the #metoo movement. This isn’t about Joe Biden. This is about truth. Tara Reade stole from me. She lied to me. She stole from my organization. She manipulated me and she duped me. I want that to be shared because it’s important information. And I have documentation, images and emails to prove it.”

— Lynn Hummer, Founder/President of Pregnant Mare Rescue and self-proclaimed ‘feminist’

This isn't "victim shaming" as some may wish to project. It is questioning the credibility of the accuser.

Joe Biden has also denied claims of the accuser which seem to get lost in this story

[Hortensis]

84. After nearly two decades of praising Biden for supporting women

against sexual abuse, Reade also has an obvious current motive for swinging 180 degrees to employ this era's most effective means of taking out a male politician.

Reade supported Biden's top opponent.

Plus, this is an era of extremely ruthless political crimes and maneuvers. Republicans and some in the opponent's camp routinely engage in extremely ruthless patterns of behavior and claim great virtue in it.

Time and motive line up: Right as Biden was shown to be running away with the 2020 nomination, Reade changed her years of admiration to accusation -- of Biden forcibly finger-raping her -- just as Trump famously bragged of but with success. (Trump's victims all said they blocked him.)

Credibility? She has none.

[democrattotheend]

91. Thanks, this is helpful

This is why I posted the story here - to get useful information to help evaluate and hopefully rebut her claims. As an employment discrimination lawyer, I'm hesitant to just write off anyone claiming harassment at work, but the timing of her story does seem very convenient and there are some holes, some of which may be due to the passage of time but others that really cast doubt.

[still_one]

95. We won't ever really know, but her changing story does present her with credibility issues

[mcar]

81. This is not evidence

[George II]

86. No new evidence "surfaced" in that politico article. If it doesn't mention anything....

....about a sexual assault OR Joe Biden, and it was a call from an "unnamed woman", what evidence is that?

This is just getting more ridiculous by the day.

IF Biden did anything, why doesn't this woman show her face on a legitimate news/interview show and say precisely what happened and when? She keeps relying on hearsay, rumor, now a 27-year old audio of someone she claims was her mother.

[Tom Rinaldo]

88. I'll post this here now because it won't in any way feed this frenzy by my doing so

I doubt very much the story is true, especially in the recent version. Humans are complicated and sometimes unpredictable so nothing with a remote wisp of credibility can be totally ruled out in the abstract. But I will go with the overwhelming odds that this never happened, or involved a misunderstanding of some sort at most if there is even a shred of truth to it.

OK, that was my preface. Here is my bottom line. In the larger picture, looking at the totality of the choices we are facing, and the dire implications of what we all will go through if we get this election wrong, it would not effect my personal decision of who to support now for president even if Reade's allegations gain in perceived plausibility over the coming weeks. It's not that I don't care about the issue of sexual misconduct against women by men with power (or any men for that matter). But here is reality. Joe Biden is almost certainly innocent, but even if he isn't, if he hasn't confessed to this alleged misconduct by now there is absolutely no reason to think he will before the Democratic convention. So barring some incredibly damning evidence coming out against him soon (which I can't even imagine what would be required to reach that threshold) Biden is not going to back out of the Presidential race and Joe Biden will become the Democratic nominee. And either Joe Biden or Donald Trump will therefor be the next President of the United States. And Donald Trump faces dozens of highly credible allegations of sexual misconduct against women, up to and including full consummated rape. And Donald Trump also happens to threaten not only the continuation of our Democracy, and the health and security of most Americans on any number of fronts, he literally threatens the future habitability of our planet with his climate science denial.

So i will not peddle in any sketchy allegations that could undermine the chances of Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump. Period.

[ProfessorGAC]

90. Said The Same Above

This is dirt compared to PINO?
The choice is abundantly clear.
One guy who maybe, got too familiar with touching, compared to serial adulterer & harrasser, who bragged about it. What's more dangerous? A potato chip or a hand grenade?

[Demsrule86]

123. Well said and for shame to those who do...do they want another four years of Trump?

[treestar]

92. So what

Those who support Dump don’t get any advantage on this type of subject.

[DenverJared]

94. There is no new evidence

She could have been complaining about having problems with any number of things from a shortage of ink toner to stress on the job to a very noisy work environment.

Tara Reade is a fraud and she is being hauled everywhere as a mascot by certain nefarious characters probably on Putin's or Trump's payroll.

Nothing more.

[GeorgiaPeanut]

97. LMAO

The story is written by none other than .... (drumroll)

Holly Sanders-Stein-Putin-Otterbein. Straight to trash.

[treestar]

102. good catch

went to the link to see that.

[sheshe2]

136. Bazinga!

[OilemFirchen]

103. Seems to have crawled its way to the New York Post.

So there you have it. Perhaps it'll alleviate your concern a bit if you start a new thread.

Here's the link:

https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/video-appears-to-show-tara-reades-mother-referencing-biden-claim/

[democrattotheend]

109. CNN is reporting on it now too

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/25/politics/tara-reade-mom-larry-king/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_allpolitics+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Politics%29

[zackymilly]

105. Fake news. Bernie aides are pushing this story. Joe is innocent. n/t

[Azathoth]

106. Attacking Reade is not a good idea

"Her story changed!"
"Why is she coming forward now?!"
"She's got secret political motivations!"
"Look at these unsubstantiated accusations about her character that I found on a blog!"

We've heard each and every one of these lines before from the right, including with Ford. This isn't a winning approach for us and the overall hypocrisy is just going to piss off a lot of women and convince them of the "both sides are the same" narrative.

Reade's allegations are 25 years old. Biden has done tremendous amounts of good on women's issues in those intervening years. We have to move forward and accept that any talk of Trump assaulting women is just going to be hurled right back at us.

[Drunken Irishman]

110. Wrong. There is no moving forward. Either Biden raped her or she's lying.

Those are the two options. If we can't question Reade's continued lies, and changes in her story, and therefore accept what she is saying without refute, then we can't move on. It's not simpatico. You either think she's lying or you think she could be telling the truth. If you think the latter, then Biden should not be the nominee if he raped a woman. If you think the former, then we have absolutely every obligation to question her narrative or motive to clear Biden's name of these horrible accusations.

But you can't just move forward and accept that Biden may be a rapist. Sorry. But that's a bullshit choice.

[BlueStater]

121. Yes, thank you.

Nice to see some actual clarity in this thread.

[Happy Hoosier]

147. With all due respect.... horseshit.

Women deserve to be be heard. But no accuser is above vetting.

She lost credibility with me when she posted her "tic tok" tweet. That's no someone who is traumatized, IMO. This is coming as a survivor of childhood sexual assault.

[Cha]

150. Reade's "story" Stinks.. We will call it out.. it's Bullshit.

[peggysue2]

107. Really?

This is what constitutes new evidence:

Out of respect for an unnamed, prominent senator, the unnamed caller says that her unnamed daughter chose not to go to the press.

Politico should go unnamed for presenting this dreck. I understand this 'new evidence' originated with the Intercept.

Maybe a bleach injection would cleanup these purveyors of slime and character assassination.

This isn't new. It's same old, same old in lobbing garbage during an election cycle. And the underlying strategy? Use an opponent's main strength (Biden's decency) and turn it into a weakness. Remember John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran running against GW, the rich kid whose Daddy got him off the hook for irresponsible behavior?

Turn the screws, flip-flop the narrative and you have the only Trump defense the GOP can offer--our guy is no worse than your guy.

The really despicable part of the scenario? The sour-grapes Left cheering this sort of stuff.

[Demsrule86]

111. That actually shows that Biden did not do what she said...hardly the story of a woman raped. As for

shooting the messenger consider yourself shot...this is from the intercept...this is where the story originated...trashing. She was fired and based on her actions...she undoubtedly deserved it.

[Takket]

114. Thanks for this thread.....

The first time I heard about Reade was a few weeks ago when I saw many Sanders "supporters" (i put that in quotation marks because it is hard to tell the real thing from Russian trolls amplifying anti-Democrat messages) saying they would never vote for Biden because he is a rapist and "justice for tara".

Didn't think much of it..... because I know you really can't take anything you read on twitter seriously without a reputable news source to back it up, because Russia is EVERYWHERE.

Then I saw this today and the headlines made it sound like the mom said her daughter was raped on Larry King but having actually heard the clip it is NOTHING of the sort. For all we know the "daughter" of this caller could have left her job because Biden winked at her and she complained and it went nowhere...... We know he was "touchey feely" but I've never seen that as anything he does maliciously, and I believe since #metoo has changed the culture people have felt more empowered to say they don't like having their personal space invaded, even if it is by something that was once considered culturally acceptable like hug given without asking. and since Biden was "called out" on that a year or so ago and educated on it, I haven't seen him do it. I consider the matter closed. Maybe Biden rubbed her shoulders? Made her feel uncomfortable? That certainly isn't assault.

At the same time I am very distressed hearing rape culture/GOP dog whistles like "why is she only coming forward now?" being used on DU. This is the EXACT SAME shit we had to hear and explain during Ford's testimony.

It doesn't matter WHEN a victim chooses to come forward. In Ford's case she considered her assault behind her in her life until such a time when her rapist was suddenly about to take a seat on SCOTUS, and she felt, before he gained that much power, that she had to say something.

So if Reade sees Biden about to be president and feels now she needs to come forwards, and we democrats are truly to practice what we preach, then we need to "believe women". But to me "believe women" doesn't mean "they are always telling the truth", it means "don't just dismiss women for rape culture excuses." don't toss them aside and say "why now?" or "what was she wearing?" or "was she drinking that night?" Nor do i think other vices in life mean you weren't raped (stealing from the charity). That's GOP bullshit.

Reade deserves to have her story heard. Ford did. She had tons of credibility, she had a witness, she had the timeline in place, she had a consistant. and the GOP denied her a fair investigation and rammed Kavanaugh through.

Reade on the other hand, from what I've seen so far, doesn't have any credibility. The story about the CNN call is misleading, and her story keeps changing. Ford had a consistent and believable story from the beginning. I believe every woman should be heard, regardless of the political party of the accused, but ultimately their credibility and evidence is what makes a case, and I don't see that from what I've read about Reade so far. Especially if she won't even name Biden in a police report.

[Gothmog]

117. There are so many different versions of this story

Link to tweet

[Kingofalldems]

125. DU now gets at least one OP a day attacking Joe Biden.

We cannot accept this at all. Remember Al Franken and Hillary Clinton.

[Demsrule86]

135. How is this allowed since Biden is the nominee?

[Me.]

126. How Many Threads Is There Going To Be On This?

and your purpose in posting?

[Pambert]

128. Delete this crap. Reade isn't mentioned. Rape isn't mentioned

Bernie Sanders lost. Get on Biden's side now. He's the Democrat.

[Skya Rhen]

139. +1000

[GeorgiaPeanut]

140. I completely agree

The piece in Politico is written by a yellow journalist

Holly Sanders-Stein-Putin-Otterbein. She has ZERO credibility because she writes unauthenticated and biased stories like these with no qualms or remorse.

Even Politico is embarrassed by her.
Here is her bio page from Politico: https://www.politico.com/staff/holly-otterbein

[beathimlikeadrum]

137. Tara

Just from looking at her twitter account it is clear she is not mentally right. Shame on the so-called journalists pushing this.

[marble falls]

138. I think the mud is just too deep tho pay any attention to it.

[Cha]

145. NO.. you're Smearing our Dem Candidate, Joe Biden., Stop It, KWR65.

It's a false accusation.

[Pambert]

148. Can't believe the thread is still up

Weak shit like this against our nominee should belong in Free Republic.

[Cha]

149. Exactly.. we have a our Democratic Nominee..

Why are False Accusations Allowed?!

[Happy Hoosier]

146. So.... she "respected" a man she claims raped her?

Yeah, I'm gonna call BS on that.

[Cha]

154. Tara "Tic Toc" Reade..

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Pambert]

155. Her "tic tic" comment implies deliberate timing

A true victim of rape does not time her pledge for justice for maximum damage to her attacker in a political race.
Especially not after praising him three years earlier on Twitter.

[honest.abe]

160. I think the situation was Biden simply being affectionate and nothing more.

She invented the additional "sexual assault" allegations later to take Biden out and help Sanders. I think she told her mother and others she was being harassed to get attention. She probably got some pleasure and satisfaction out of making people think she was attractive to "powerful" Senators. Notice the mother never made mention of sexual assault.

I do think Biden may need to explain this a bit more than just denying anything happened. This could fester in the media much like the stupid email server crap Hillary had to endure in 2016.

[Baltimike]

162. let it sink. nt

[Gothmog]

166. This lady's story is not credible

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

167. DC police have determined that Reade's complaint is now on inactive status

Link to tweet

[jmg257]

171. Well sheesh it was a long time ago. Seems the Statute of limitations was a bit ago.

Most crimes by law cannot be prosecuted if a certain period of time has elapsed between the time of the incident and the time the victim reports the incident. This is referred to as the “statute of limitations.” For the most serious types of sexual assault (first and second degree), the statute of limitations is 15 years. For third- and fourth-degree sexual assault, the statute of limitations is 10 years.

https://blog.scrofanolaw.com/what-is-the-statute-of-limitations-for-sexual-assault-in-dc/

[betsuni]

175. This bullshit worked on Franken so they're recycling it.

[totodeinhere]

183. I don't think that the analogy holds up. It was Democrats in the Senate who took down Franken

such as Kirsten Gillibrand, who to this day does not regret it. On the other hand, I see no indication that this same dynamic is in play with the false accusations against Biden.

[Demsrule86]

188. They are hoping Democrats will do the same here...reignite the division between Sanders and Biden

supporters too. And consider the post is by a Democratic.

[totodeinhere]

191. First you said "they" are recycling it, but now you are saying they are hoping that Democrats

Last edited Tue Apr 28, 2020, 05:29 PM - Edit history (1)

will do the same. Well recycling a story and hoping for a story are two different things.

[Bucky]

177. Now another corroborating witness, a Biden supporter, is coming forward

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-neighbor-corroborates-joe-bidens-accuser-2020-4

Yeah, don't shoot the messenger. But at first blush this lends credibility to Tara Reade's story.

I hate this situation. but all the arguments about "why didn't she come forward sooner?" mimic the defences of Brett Kavanaugh a little too much for my comfort.

There is still the problem of her changing narrative. I don't know if that is unusual for victims of harassment by powerful men, however. I also know her recent switch to being a looney toon fan of Vladimir Putin gives her a motivation for fabricating or enhancing the story. But I don't I think being a looney toon fan of reprehensible politicians makes one less likely to be a victim of harassment.

I don't know how I feel. But this sure as hell isn't the hill I would like to fight on.

[videohead5]

178. I just don't believe Joe would cheat

On Jill. No woman in Biden's Senate office heard anything about this at the time and they never experienced anything like this from Biden. There is no pattern. Why did Tara Reade file a complaint with the DC police and leave Biden's name off of it? I think they are butt hurt Bernie supporters trying to get Biden out so Bernie can get the nomination.

[DeterDeter]

179. hmm

Last edited Tue Apr 28, 2020, 02:11 PM - Edit history (1)

I hate that we are here too, and while it’s true that victims can tell their stories incrementally, the part that I keep coming back to is where she said in April of 2019 that she wanted to emphasize that it wasn’t Biden itself, that it wasn’t sexual (and compared it to being a “lamp”). Those could go along with some of her other stories (that she felt sexually harassed by his staff when they asked that she serve drinks at an event because Biden supposedly “liked her legs”, and that while he put his hand on her neck in a way that made her uncomfortable, that she didn’t think it was sexual…actually, I know that she has had a few different versions, so I’m not sure if the April 2019 article was just about the neck touching and the drinks thing came later. In any case, it is incredibly damaging to her case that she specifically emphasized that it wasn’t sexual or that the problems she had wasn’t with Biden itself, but for “his staff”, etc.).

The neighbor in the article said that they “revisited their original conversation from the 90s in April of 2019 after the first article" with the dramatically different account of her experience came out, and the neighbor said “oh, I remember that!” So they have clearly been in contact, I'm just wondering why the neighbor was not offered as a corroborating witness when outlets like the Post were having trouble corroborating (aka, her brother saying that he remembers “sexual harassment” and then texting them a few days later with the assault corroboration). If I was the neighbor who was told in April 2019 that it was “coming up again”, I’d be like “Uh, I remember you being so upset that he fingered you! You have to let people know the full story”. The neighbor just seems so blasé about that. Or, if I were the neighbor talking to her in April of 2019, I would have said "You have to see if some of the other woman coming out now [re: the "shoulder touching"] had experiences like yours."

While it seems reasonable to believe that she had a very negative experience working there, perhaps felt sexually harassed or that there was a toxic work environment and told people about it, the comparisons to Christina Blassey Ford are just not accurate because any story discrepancies were so minor compared to what this woman is offering. And I’m sorry, the Russia posts and saying that she got all her news from “her son in Seattle or David Sirota” make me scratch my head. It’s sad that the Me Too movement is being weaponized like this.

[Skya Rhen]

184. Bingo! Personally, I don't trust the neighbor and don't believe for a second that she's a Biden

supporter. The tongue can say anything - doesn't make it true.

[DeterDeter]

185. Robinson of Current Affairs apparently deleted these tweets re: him "advising" Tara's brother

[link:

Link to tweet

?s=20|

[Bucky]

186. We definitely need to hear more about this neighbor

Does she have a history of voting for in supporting Democrats? Does she have any Republican past?

We also need need to push progressive press to cover all the many more and very recent allegations of sexual assault leveled against Trump.

And of course Reade herself needs to account for why she changed her story. I'm just saying I'm not ready to leave the "I believe her" camp yet.

This door needs to be investigated and vetted out, because it's not going to be swept under the mat.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

181. Christine Blasey Ford was willing to put her testimony under oath.

People with superficially similar "long ago" claims, like Tara Reade and Juanita Broaddrick, have not. Broaddrick actually has denied her own claims the only time she ever went under oath.

While putting allegations under oath doesn't automatically make one's story true, it makes the accuser more credible than someone who does not, IMHO. The willingness to subject one's self to penalty of perjury does not go unnoticed to me.

[HarlanPepper]

182. Lol

Being a Russian asset doesn’t make you immune to harassment. But you can’t see the angle here? She’s a Russian asset who loves Trump and wants him re-elected. The end.

[Demsrule86]

190. No it doesn't lend any credibility to her story...and the convenient neighbor who breathlessly

supports Biden even after Reade told said neighbor some 27 years ago that he is a rapist and who never repeated the story is pretty unbelievable. And surprise, surprise none involved will take lie detector tests or go under oath...give me a break. If some believe this shit, I have a really nice bridge in Brooklyn...no longer in use but well kept to sell them. Biden is the nominee ....it is either Biden or Trump. Sanders will not be the nominee period. And we should support Biden fully. Trump is the only alternative. This story is the same sort of bullshit that took Franken down-politically motivated crap.

[HarlanPepper]

180. The PutinGOP thanks you for amplifying the messaging.

[Skya Rhen]

189. The friend did NOT merely come forward on her own! Tara contacted her and they "discussed" the story

Link to tweet

[totodeinhere]

192. In an investigation the New York Times found "no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden."

The New York Times wrote that in its recent investigation of Reade’s allegation, no other accusation of sexual assault “surfaced in the course of reporting, nor did any former Biden staff members corroborate any details of Ms. Reade’s allegation. The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-senate-papers_n_5ea83f9ec5b6e55df8d86846

[Gothmog]

193. I trust Speaker Pelosi and Senator Klobuchar

Link to tweet

[peggysue2]

196. As do I, Gothmog

Despite the Far Left and Far Right pushing this story, the NYT investigated the matter and no evidence supporting Reade's claim was found.

This is a dead horse that the left and right are desperately trying to resurrect. They've decided that weaponizing the MeToo movement is the way to go.

Shame on all of them!

[Gothmog]

197. Senator Klobuchar-I stand by Vice President Biden.

Link to tweet

[RhodeIslandOne]

199. Tara is full of shit

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[budkin]

200. If you're the Trump campaign, where are you ever going to get with allegations like this?

There's at least 12 women who claimed Trump sexually assaulted (some flat out raped) them.