Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (45,668 posts)
Why I'm skeptical about Reade's sexual assault claim against Biden: Ex-prosecutor
During 28 years as a state and federal prosecutor, I prosecuted a lot of sexual assault cases. The vast majority came early in my career, when I was a young attorney at a prosecutor’s office outside Detroit.
A year ago, Tara Reade accused former Vice President Joe Biden of touching her shoulder and neck in a way that made her uncomfortable, when she worked for him as a staff assistant in 1993. Then last month, Reade told an interviewer that Biden stuck his hand under her skirt and forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. Biden denies the allegation.
When women make allegations of sexual assault, my default response is to believe them. But as the news media have investigated Reade’s allegations, I’ve become increasingly skeptical. Here are some of the reasons why:
►Delayed reporting … twice. Reade waited 27 years to publicly report her allegation that Biden sexually assaulted her. I understand that victims of sexual assault often do not come forward immediately because recounting the most violent and degrading experience of their lives, to a bunch of strangers, is the proverbial insult to injury. That so many women were willing to wait in my dreary government office, as I ran to the restroom to pull myself together after listening to their stories, is a testament to their fortitude.
Even so, it is reasonable to consider a 27-year reporting delay when assessing the believability of any criminal allegation. More significant perhaps, is Reade’s decision to sit down with a newspaper last year and accuse Biden of touching her in a sexual way that made her uncomfortable — but neglect to mention her claim that he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers.
As a lawyer and victims’ rights advocate, Reade was better equipped than most to appreciate that dramatic changes in sexual assault allegations severely undercut an accuser’s credibility — especially when the change is from an uncomfortable shoulder touch to vaginal penetration.
-more-
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/29/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-tara-reade-column/3046962001/
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213368165The same ex State and Federal Prosecutor wrote the following piece about the Kavanaugh accusations:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-victim-sexual-assault-reluctance-to-report-brett-kavanaugh-0926-story.htmlCompare and contrast what happens with a virtually unprovable accusation against a Democrat, versus the same situation with a Republican:
Attacking Biden's accuser: "Even so, it is reasonable to consider a 27-year reporting delay when assessing the believability of any criminal allegation."
Same author on Kavanaugh: "President Trump has reduced the complexities of why women hesitate reporting sexual assaults to a truism that late reporting means the assault did not occur."
Attacking Biden's accuser: "After the alleged assault, Reade said she complained about Biden's harassment to Marianne Baker, Biden’s executive assistant, as well as to top aides Dennis Toner and Ted Kaufman. All three Biden staffers recently told The New York Times that she made no complaint to them."
Kavanaugh: Not a single person corroborated Blasey Ford's story and many refuted it.
Attacking Biden's accuser: "Reade told The Times she filed a written complaint against Biden with the Senate personnel office. But The Times could not find any complaint."
Kavanaugh: Blasey Ford never filed any civil or criminal complaint.
Attacking Biden's accuser: "Reade has said that she cannot remember the date, time or exact location of the alleged assault, except that it occurred in a “semiprivate” area in corridors connecting Senate buildings."
Kavanaugh: Blasey Ford couldn't remember dates, times or even guess at where her supposed assault occurred, Nor could she recall how she got there or how she got home.
And finally the author attacks the woman's motivations purely on her political opinions: "By this January,
Reade was all in for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Her unwavering support was accompanied by an unbridled attack on Biden." and "In March 2019, Reade essentially dismissed the idea of Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election as hype." and "But at a very minimum,
Reade's wild shifts in political ideology and her sexual infatuation with a brutal dictator of a foreign adversary raise questions about her emotional stability."
The author attempt to sound poignant in his hit-piece on Kavanagh by invoking the "injustice" suffered by Anita Hill: "Little has changed in the 27 years since Republican damage control morphed Anita Hill from victim to villain during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Clarence Thomas. If anyone truly did not understand why women wait so long to report their sexual assault, they should understand now."
I wonder if he appreciates the irony and hypocrisy of his views towards sexual assault claims. And I would really like to know how much justice was dispensed during his tenure as a prosecutor:
"Michael J. Stern was a state prosecutor, near Detroit, and a federal prosecutor, for 25 years, in Detroit and Los Angeles."
