I suppose this might end up in the Pit, but this works for now. Al Gore has been accused by a local masseuse of sexual assault back in 2006: latest article. This has been all over the local papers, and was broke by The Enquirer (not the most reliable source, I know). The cops confirm that they investigated the charge, but shut it down for lack of evidence. Enquirer says they paid no money for the story.
Seems out of character for Gore, but who the hell knows what lies behind a politician’s facade?
Is it odd that the national news hasn’t picked up on this story? Even FOX seems to be giving it a pass, at least on their website.
From the link:
*
Randall Vogt, the woman’s attorney, had reported to Portland police in December 2006, two months after the encounter, that Gore made “unwanted sexual advances” during a massage session. But the woman didn’t show up for three interviews with police because Vogt said she didn’t want the publicity. Then, on Jan. 8, 2009, the therapist came to Portland police with a lengthy written statement, detailing her allegations of Gore’s sexual advances and answered detectives’ questions.*
The alleged victim didn’t even report the incident until two months after it allegedly happened. She didn’t cooperate with the cops despite repeated attempts to interview her, and then three years after the fact, she makes a statement? No physical evidence is likely to exist, and I think her credibility is…suspect at best.
I heard about this on the radio in the last couple days. The commentator did a polite comment to the effect of “WTF?” and shrugged about it, noting that the police said there wasn’t any evidence, and why is it only coming up now?
Speaking as a survivor of sexual assault, I’ll just note that if something did happen, she really hurt her own case by her apparent reluctance to testify. Any physical evidence that might be around in a case like that has to be followed up on quickly. As she’s going for a civil suit right now, there’s a lesser standard to be met for proof, but it won’t help her that she didn’t follow up until last year.
Heh… ‘suspect at best’ is a really nice way to put it, Oakminster.
I am not much of a Gore fan, but this sounds specious to me.
I would have used the word ‘meretricious’ but I don’t know what that means.
Missed the edit window: I noted from the article that the statute of limitations is still running, so I was wrong in my statement about a civil suit; it’s not clear what may happen.
It wouldn’t be quite appropriate to this context. From an online dictionary, it means: a. Attracting attention in a vulgar manner: meretricious ornamentation. b. Plausible but false or insincere; specious: a meretricious argument. It doesn’t quite mean “completely made up and bogus”, which is what folks seem to be implying.
It comes from the Latin “meretrix”, or prostitute. Heh.
Roddy
It seems odd that a high-profile person like Gore would show up at a toney hotel where everybody recognizes him, arranges for a massage through the hotel staff, then assaults the person who shows up. It doesn’t seem to pass the common sense test.
However, I remember working on a Congressional Delegation that passed through Lisbon (the Black Caucus on its way to observe elections in South Africa) and was shocked that there were local hookers roaming the floor where they were staying and that an all-night party was still in progress when I arrived at 0300. Not only that, they had stolen the key to the “gifts” room and stolen a case of very expensive 20-year old port, then refused to pay for it. The hotel staff obviously knew about the hookers, but it was never reported to the media.
The Washington Post is reporting on it today throught the vehicle of reporting on the Enquirer’s coverage of it. Slate has been on it too. I would say that it’s not being overlooked as such by the national media, but it’s being handled gingerly because while no one wants to be outright disrespectful to a claim of sexual assault, as others have said, the allegations are so weird, so out of tune with his public character, and so conveniently timed to his separation that it’s hard to get on board with them.
There’s simply no evidence, apart from the word of the claimed victim, who refused to speak at the time and thus denied investigators the opportunity to verify her story. Even her initial report was months after the fact.
I’m willing to believe that anyone can be stupid, but not willing to believe it in the face of almost no evidence that anything actually happened. Sorry - provide something more than the victim’s unsupported and self-serving allegation, and we can talk.
FOX wouldn’t shut up about it yesterday, even though what they had to say was pretty limited to, “So this woman made this accusation and the police looked into it and said there’s nothing there.” Didn’t stop them from putting up huge pictures and accusatory headlines, of course.
And they’re still on about it today. Today it’s Friend Of Accuser Supports Her Story or somesuch (I’m paraphrasing). More big pictures and accusing headlines, of course.
It’s gotten some national coverage. I saw a New York Times story about it the other day. But it’s a weird story and there’s no evidence. Who knows if anything happened?
While I am not going to stake my life on its veracity, the news report I heard yesterday said that the accuser claims she has a pair of pants with Al Gore’s DNA on them…
How is a masseuse that works in hotel rooms shocked by requests for happy endings, regardless of whether she would ever comply?
“I was shocked, and I did not massage beyond what is considered a safe, nonsexual area of the abdomen,” she said. "He further insisted and acted angry, becoming verbally sharp and loud.
“I went into much deeper shock as I realised it appeared he was demanding sexual favours or sexual behaviours.” from the Telegraph.co.uk article linked above.
I actually read some of her complaint and she sounds more credible there. I can see how she might have been reluctant to come forward at the time. That said, she doesn’t seem to have much of a case.
Well, it all seemed fishy to me, but I thought I’d throw the red meat to the Dope and see what transpires. The local media won’t shut up about it, despite the local cops saying “there’s no story here”. Unless she can come up with a credible witness or actual DNA material, it’s a he-said-she-said situation.
