# Former staffer accuses Joe Biden of sexual assault **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 27, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393 "2020-03-27T03:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/421 "2020-04-15T18:10:43Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > This is deus ex machina stuff. > > Evidence of a payoff? Nobody with that amount of money is stupid enough to hijack their efforts by leaving a pay trail. And yet, somehow, payoffs by rich people are sometimes publicly exposed. > [@](#): > > Admitting she made it up? Why would anyone do that who wants to successfully torpedo someone? If you are going to lie, you live the lie. Why would the other person be recording? And yet, somehow, sometimes people who lie are recorded lying. > [@](#): > > It seems like you are turning the standard on its head. Unless the accused can demonstrate near absolute proof of his innocence, then he is guilty. I’ve said no such thing. I’m speaking of how, IMO, the public should respond to allegations of sexual assault. > [@](#): > > But everyone (except those who sexually assault and rape women) wants to do what’s right and wants to fight sexual assaults and rapes. Respectfully, that doesn’t put you on any moral high ground. Shifting the burden to a near impossible standard and putting more innocent men in prison or denying them jobs does not advance that goal one whit. It impedes it. When false allegations are allowed to pass as true, it harms that goal. There has to be a fair system. None of this conflicts with what I’ve advocated for. I haven’t advocated for anyone to be jailed. I’ve said that all allegations should be taken seriously and fully investigated without the accuser being denigrated barring proof of dishonesty – that certainly hasn’t happened for many or most of the allegations against Trump (or the ones against Kavanaugh), and I’m not sure if it’s occurred for this allegation against Biden. That’s what I think the standard that society should set for allegations against powerful men. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/422 "2020-04-16T23:24:46Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > The SJWs are a small group of malcontents. They don’t speak for most Democrats or most liberals. But because of the internet and the culture we live in, anything they do is amplified on social media and I do believe it causes problems. They are relatively powerful here. I wish the most Democrats would take charge. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/423 "2020-04-17T07:56:42Z")
SJWs aren’t actually a thing. They are a concept created by conservatives to attack people for being against bigotry. It involves a combination of nutpicking–picking out the very small number of people on the extremes–and then using that to apply to a larger group by misrepresenting what their position actually is. It is apt in this discussion, though. The claim that we should always believe accusers (or “women” as some do it to make it a sexism issue) is made by SJWs. In other words, it doesn’t really exist. All one has to do is acknowledge one example of a fake rape accusation, and that falls away. It remains the most common tactic when you can’t actually win an argument on the merits. Accuse your opponent of believing something they don’t. This is just a more sophisticated version. Until people stop falling for this nonsense, even the worst ideas from conservatism will have currency, simply because of these rhetorical tricks. Any term that started as an attack on people who were arguing the moral high ground should be discarded. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/424 "2020-04-17T08:08:15Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > But everyone (except those who sexually assault and rape women) wants to do what’s right and wants to fight sexual assaults and rapes. This is just clearly false. People who want to stop something will not reflexively assume that the accuser is lying. They will not do special pleading on rape, requiring it to be held to the standard of a court of law, but having no problem accusing anyone of anything else without such proof. They are not going to remain silent when they believe such is going on (which was a huge part of what #MeToo is trying to fight). The world is full of peopl3e who claim that they believe the right things, what conservatives coined “virtue signaling.” But how people act is what shows what they really believe. They can even lie to themselves sometimes. No racist thinks they are racist. No sexist thinks they are sexist. And no rape apologist thinks they’re making excuses for rape. If it were as easy as that, we wouldn’t have these problems. The fact is, 1 in 5 women have reported being sexually assaulted. The Democrats and most on the left have said this is a problem that needs to be fixed. The Republicans are silent about this. That shows they don’t see it as something that needs to be fixed. We live in a society where people are actively lying about what #MeToo says in order to try and shut down a movement about stopping rape. Those people clearly do not think rape is a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/425 "2020-04-17T17:38:01Z")
You can believe whatever _you_ want. From where I’m standing, SJWs are a thing; they are a problem; and if they keep up their bullshit, the pendulum is going to swing back so hard in the other direction that America is going to eventually elect leaders who make Donald Trump look like Mr. Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/426 "2020-04-17T17:41:30Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > You can believe whatever _you_ want. From where I’m standing, SJWs are a thing; they are a problem; and if they keep up their bullshit, the pendulum is going to swing back so hard in the other direction that America is going to eventually elect leaders who make Donald Trump look like Mr. Rogers. And the people who vote for Mr. Worse Than Trump are deluding themselves that so-called SJWs represent anything more than a very tiny fraction of American society. Basically, it’s voting for neo-Confederate racist because of a boogeyman representing no more than one out of every 10,000 Americans. But of course, that’s just a dodge. Racists will vote for racist candidates because they are racists; not because someone made them do it. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/427 "2020-04-18T00:52:26Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > You can believe whatever _you_ want. From where I’m standing, SJWs are a thing… Please identify a few hundred thousand of them so I’ll know just whom to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/428 "2020-04-21T19:25:39Z")
Are they still investigating? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/429 "2020-04-22T18:03:49Z")
[NPR appears to be doing some investigating](https://www.npr.org/2020/04/19/837966525/on-the-record-a-former-biden-staffers-sexual-assault-allegation). I doubt anyone who assumes the NYTimes is untrustworthy is going to trust NPR, though. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/430 "2020-04-23T22:22:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > SJWs aren’t actually a thing. Oh but they are. You obviously don’t pay attention to what’s been going on at college campuses over the last decade or so. As just one example, [Erika Christakis would still be at Yale if SJW weren’t “a thing.”](https://www.thefire.org/resources/spotlight/yale-university-school-feature/halloween-costume-controversy/) Another example: at Haverford College, the student council recently resolved that “Hawaiian shirts” are “cultural appropriation” despite the irony that not a single native Hawaiian was involved in the decision. The examples go on and on. I’m a solid progressive, and SJW nonsense embarrasses me. But I don’t deny that it’s real (or even that it begins with the best of intentions). ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/431 "2020-04-25T01:31:56Z")
Apparently video has come out from an episode of Larry King live that allegedly has the alleged victim’s mother calling in to the show and bringing up issues her daughter was having with a prominent senator. [https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?\_\_twitter\_impression=true](https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?__twitter_impression=true) Not a smoking gun, but perhaps if true does lend some credence to the possibility something happened. Allegedly… ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/432 "2020-04-25T06:08:54Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Apparently video has come out from an episode of Larry King live that allegedly has the alleged victim’s mother calling in to the show and bringing up issues her daughter was having with a prominent senator. > > [https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?\_\_twitter\_impression=true](https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?__twitter_impression=true) > > Not a smoking gun, but perhaps if true does lend some credence to the possibility something happened. > > Allegedly… Grim is really trying to make this dog hunt. It seems to only be a thing among strong Bernie supporters who don’t identify as Democrats and are highly unlikely to vote for Biden regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/433 "2020-04-25T15:47:36Z")
Nah the right wingers are onto it too. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/434 "2020-04-25T17:05:42Z")
It’s clear that _something_ happened, but that doesn’t mean Biden stuck his fingers up her skirt. It’s possible she felt violated somehow and she might have a legitimate reason to feel that way - maybe she got her hair smelled, told him she didn’t appreciate it, and then he demoted her or ignored her. Or maybe none of that happened. Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/435 "2020-04-25T17:14:14Z")
> [@pool](#): > > Apparently video has come out from an episode of Larry King live that allegedly has the alleged victim’s mother calling in to the show and bringing up issues her daughter was having with a prominent senator. > > [https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?\_\_twitter\_impression=true](https://amp.dailycaller.com/2020/04/24/joe-biden-accuser-tara-reade-cnn-call-mother-larry-king?__twitter_impression=true) > > Not a smoking gun, but perhaps if true does lend some credence to the possibility something happened. > > Allegedly… For starters, the caller’s identity can’t be corroborated since her mother is deceased. And secondly, the caller is being extremely vague. She claims that her daughter is having “problems with a senator” and chose not to go the press “out of respect for him”. This doesn’t mean anything without context. Workplace issues can encompass far more things than sexual harassment. And I highly doubt problematic senators are such a rarity that the timing of that call and Reade’s departure from her job means that it can only be none other than Biden. Still, let’s say that call is indeed her mom and what she’s saying is 100% legit. So she felt brave enough to contemplate going to the press about being sexually assaulted by a prominent senator in 1993, but somehow continued to publicly sing his praises in the years thereafter until… now? Why the sudden about-face? Why didn’t she come forward last year when Biden has already declared his candidacy and the first wave of sexual harassment allegations were already receiving media attention? She would have actually appeared far more credible then. Why wait until he became the presumptive Democratic nominee? ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/436 "2020-04-25T23:38:38Z")
The daughter verified it’s her mum’s voice. CNN are onto it now too. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/437 "2020-04-25T23:55:04Z")
It’s still horseshit. Your daughter was sexually assaulted and your response is, not to go to the police, not to hire a lawyer, but to call Larry King? And then be all coy about the senator’s name instead of just fucking blasting it right there which WOULD actually direct a shitstorm his way? This whole thing has “publicity-hungry narcissistic fabulism” written all over it. But in any case, Biden should come right out and declare that it’s bullshit. That’s literally all he needs to do. “This is bullshit, and American lives are at stake right now and we don’t have time for this. Next question.” ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/438 "2020-04-26T01:20:29Z")
> [@Manwich](#): > > The daughter verified it’s her mum’s voice. > > CNN are onto it now too. Which daughter? Did you mean Tara or a sister of hers? If the former, she’s not exactly a neutral party who can be trusted to tell the truth at this point. > [@Lamoral](#): > > It’s still horseshit. Your daughter was sexually assaulted and your response is, not to go to the police, not to hire a lawyer, but to call Larry King? And then be all coy about the senator’s name instead of just fucking blasting it right there which WOULD actually direct a shitstorm his way? This whole thing has “publicity-hungry narcissistic fabulism” written all over it. But in any case, Biden should come right out and declare that it’s bullshit. That’s literally all he needs to do. “This is bullshit, and American lives are at stake right now and we don’t have time for this. Next question.” All of this. This is such sloppily put together attempt at a political take-down that has the signature of Jacob Wohl all of over it if you didn’t know any better. The most enraging aspect about it is how many people insist on taking it seriously in the name of “fairness” either out of fear of being called hypocrites by Republicans or because of embittered Bernie supporters. I will absolutely put the blame on #MeToo as well for enshrining the norm of treating all allegations as if they’re equal and 100% honest to the point it’s become taboo to express healthy skepticism at a particular accusation. This is how Al Franken was turfed from the senate, and a certain faction of people are interested in making sure the same happens to Biden. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/439 "2020-04-26T03:18:53Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > Which daughter? Did you mean Tara or a sister of hers? If the former, she’s not exactly a neutral party who can be trusted to tell the truth at this point. > All of this. This is such sloppily put together attempt at a political take-down that has the signature of Jacob Wohl all of over it if you didn’t know any better. The most enraging aspect about it is how many people insist on taking it seriously in the name of “fairness” either out of fear of being called hypocrites by Republicans or because of embittered Bernie supporters. I will absolutely put the blame on #MeToo as well for enshrining the norm of treating all allegations as if they’re equal and 100% honest to the point it’s become taboo to express healthy skepticism at a particular accusation. This is how Al Franken was turfed from the senate, and a certain faction of people are interested in making sure the same happens to Biden. I mean, if we want to be fair we should also be paying attention to the stories of these women: > **[Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations)** > > Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s. > Litigation includes his then-wife Ivana's rape claim during their 1990 divorce (she later recanted); businesswoman Jill Harth's 1997 lawsuit alleging breach of contract and sexual harassment (she settled the former claim and forfeited the latter); and former Apprentice contesta... ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/440 "2020-04-26T03:53:25Z")
People have paid attention to them. And the people who don’t _care_ have _not_ paid attention to them. In either case, _there’s nothing that can be done._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=23)