Pelosi: Biden case "closed"

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In April 2019, a woman named Tara Reade reached out to me with a clear, consistent story to tell about her experience as a staffer in Joe Biden’s Senate office in 1993. I spent hours on the phone with her, and many more tracking down possible witnesses and documents, trying to confirm her account.

Reade told me that a senior aide told her Biden liked her legs and that he wanted her to serve cocktails at a fundraiser for him, a request she found demeaning and declined. When she later complained to others in the office that Biden would put his hands on her shoulder, neck, and hair during meetings in ways that made her uncomfortable, she says she was blamed and told to dress more conservatively. Within a few months, she said, her responsibilities had been stripped and she felt she was being pushed out of the job. She went back home to California deflated.

Reade told me that she wanted me to think of this story as being about abuse of power, “but not sexual misconduct.” Her emphasis was on how she was treated in Biden’s office by Senate aides, who she said retaliated against her for complaining about how Biden touched her in meetings.

I wanted to break this story. Badly. About half a dozen women had stepped forward around the time I spoke with Reade to say they were bothered by how Biden had touched them at events. I wrote a column praising them for staring down the political media that had given him a pass for all those years. Reade’s story took these complaints further — showing how even lower-grade inappropriate conduct can have real consequences for a woman’s career, an important subject that we still don’t talk about nearly enough.

I knew I wasn’t the only reporter Reade was talking to.

I continued reporting on her story for a few more weeks after the story broke, but I didn’t get enough. Vox did not publish anything about Reade in 2019. Neither did the major outlets that I know were pursuing the story, including the Times, the Washington Post, and the Associated Press.

Eight women have now said they’ve been made uncomfortable by Biden in public settings.

A recently uncovered tape of her mom on Larry King Live appears to corroborate Reade’s claim that she was struggling in Biden’s office in 1993.

Reade said to Halper that she also told her brother about the alleged assault and harassment. He told the Washington Post in an interview that he remembers his sister was upset in 1993 about Biden touching her. He followed up with a Post reporter a few days later over text message to say Reade also said Biden “put his hands under her clothes.”

Since then, a former neighbor of Reade’s, Lynda LaCasse, has come forward in an interview with Business Insider. She said Reade spoke about the harassment and assault claims in 1995.

I helped Reade in 2019 request documents from a few offices to try to find the record. (Personnel files wouldn’t be released to a third party, like a reporter.) First, she put in a request with the Senate secretary’s office, which maintains some employment records. That office provided a copy of her payroll history, which confirmed her dates of employment and salary.

We next tried the Office of Personnel Management, which maintains federal records of employment, but the office was not able to track down a file in its electronic system. I then checked with a source who worked in a warehouse across the country where it would most likely have ended up to see if there was a physical file stashed there. He couldn’t find one.

One place the complaint could have landed is back in the Senate office, though that wouldn’t be proper protocol. Biden is now under pressure to check files maintained by the University of Delaware. He gave the university his Senate documents in 2012 under the condition they’d remain sealed until two years after his time in office. The time frame was extended when he decided to run for president.

When asked on Morning Joe if he would have the documents reviewed, Biden said he would not.

Biden says that if a complaint exists, it would be held by the National Archives and they should release any relevant documents. He also sent a letter to the Senate secretary’s office asking for any relevant records, a request the office declined because any records that might exist are “strictly confidential.”

A year ago, Reade went to mainstream, national outlets including the Times, the Post, and the Associated Press. It was in the middle of a competitive RAT primary. She had no obvious connection to any candidate. And if voters or the party pushed Biden out, it was unclear who would benefit.

But RATS have largely lined up behind Biden. Top Barack Obama alumni have said that they vetted Biden fully in 2008 and found no evidence of the kind of behavior Reade describes. Rising RAT star Stacey Abrams recently said, “I believe Joe Biden.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren penned an op-ed with Biden. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, seen as a Me Too leader for her push to oust Sen. Al Franken after he was accused of sexual misconduct, headlined an event for Biden this week.

To Reade, though, none of this is that complicated.

“My story never changed. I just didn’t come forward with all the details. It’s really simple,” she said to me. “I held back this story because I was afraid of a powerful man.”



https://www.vox.com/2020/5/7/21248713/tara-reade-joe-biden-sexual-assault-accusation
 
christiefan915 said:
Are you admitting that leggiecrite is writing your material lol?

I asked for you to show a list of Clinton lies that equal or exceed trump's lies, can you do it? It's either yes or no.
Click to expand...

That published list of lies is bullshit and you should know that, therefore your question contains a false premise.

Now answer mine lol.
 
History there “legion, anonymous, and whoever else you are today,” as I’ve said, at best a he said/she said, and Trump has set the bar so low this is single A, outside of the FOX bubble, history
 
Dark Soul said:
That published list of lies is bullshit and you should know that, therefore your question contains a false premise.

Now answer mine lol.
Click to expand...

That list has video back up for many of the lies, so your evasion is a no go.

I accept your concession that you can't show a list of Clinton lies that equal or exceed trump's lies lol.

Vade in pace.
 
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