# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/61 "2020-03-27T16:59:43Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I guess we have learned what it takes for Republican voters to start listening to women: an allegation against a Democrat. > > I’m not like Trump voters who have thoroughly bought into a cult of personality. If Biden did something wrong, dump him. > > How many Trump voters in this thread will say that about their cult leader? But would Biden voters revert to Bernie? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/62 "2020-03-27T16:59:50Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I’m not a professional in any related field. Something much, much more thorough than the pitiful Senate investigation into Kavanaugh. If I were a party bigwig, I’d hire the best PI agency from the city/area in question, and write a huge check telling them to find out the accuracy of the accusation as best they can. As pitiful as it was, it was still conducted by the FBI, which has weight. People can lie their ass off to a PI firm. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/63 "2020-03-27T17:10:09Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Jimmy Dore played the whole podcast as did the Hill, on YouTube. Jimmy said when she came forward before she was dox’d and called a Russian agent. When she came out before it was not sexual assault. What she said then is fundamentally different now as she alleges a crime took place. Furthermore from her social media it appeared she was saying positive things about Biden which must have muddied the waters the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/64 "2020-03-27T17:10:18Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > This of course ignores the fact that Kavanaugh was a federal judge for 15 years prior to his SCOTUS nomination I’m guessing that one person in a thousand could have named who Kavanaugh was as a federal judge. But, more to the point, Republicans said everything under the sun during the Kavanaugh hearings and “Sure, but Republicans said that” isn’t especially meaningful by itself. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/65 "2020-03-27T17:11:53Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > As pitiful as it was, it was still conducted by the FBI, which has weight. People can lie their ass off to a PI firm. It was deliberately barred from investigating certain possible witnesses and pursuing certain lines of inquiry. It was a bullshit sham of an investigation, deliberately limited both in time and scale by the GOP for political reasons. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/66 "2020-03-27T17:27:27Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > But would Biden voters revert to Bernie? No. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/67 "2020-03-27T17:46:42Z")
I predict that this is only first in a flood of women coming forth with similar accusations. I’m quite certain that Trump’s campaign and the big Republican hate machine have others lines up after her, so the Biden campaign should be prepared for an onslaught, not to take this as a single incident that can be dealt with on its own. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/68 "2020-03-27T17:48:20Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It was deliberately barred from investigating certain possible witnesses and pursuing certain lines of inquiry. It was a bullshit sham of an investigation, deliberately limited both in time and scale by the GOP for political reasons. I know you are actually committed to this cause but I sure as shit hope you don’t think this is getting Bernie installed. -\>note lack of smilie here\<- ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/69 "2020-03-27T17:48:39Z")
This November, I think a lot of Democrats will get a taste of what being a Trump voter was like in 2016: Where, no matter how bad your guy may be, you just cannot abide the thought of his opponent winning office. Not that I’m saying that Trump and Hillary are the same. But it’s the same sentiment - “We’ll vote for our candidate no matter what and nothing will change our ballot.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/70 "2020-03-27T17:50:10Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > There isn’t time for an actual investigation. Eh? …There’s 7 months between now and Election Day. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/71 "2020-03-27T17:50:22Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > I predict that this is only first in a flood of women coming forth with similar accusations. I’m quite certain that Trump’s campaign and the big Republican hate machine have others lines up after her, so the Biden campaign should be prepared for an onslaught, not to take this as a single incident that can be dealt with on its own. Sounds like a dumb prediction. Why did none of them come out during the “touchy Joe” news cycle? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/72 "2020-03-27T17:51:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Eh? …There’s 7 months between now and Election Day. You mean, they could wrap up an investigation the day before the election and that’s ok? That’s the idea you are saying right now? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/73 "2020-03-27T17:52:27Z")
Who do the anti bernies want to go for if biden flames out? Is Gary Hart still alive? > **[Political prophet Allan Lichtman: Trump is more likely to lose because of...](https://www.salon.com/2020/03/27/political-prophet-allan-lichtman-trump-is-more-likely-to-lose-because-of-coronavirus/)** > > Allan Lichtman has a record of successfully predicting presidential elections — and he thinks Trump could lose 2020. Lichtman also told Salon last week that if Trump loses as a result of the coronavirus, his opponent is almost irrelevant; it simply won’t matter whether the Democrats have nominated Biden or Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Trump’s potential defeat has “nothing to do with Joe Biden whatsoever,” Lichtman said, although in his formula Biden is not “charismatic,” meaning that Key 13 would turn in Trump’s favor. “Remember, the basic theory behind the keys is that elections are essentially votes up or down on whether or not the party holding the White House should get four more years.” He added that while he is not advocating for any candidate, “this notion that [Sanders] is unelectable is just false. You and I have talked about this before: the whole notion of electability is nonsense. Except for these once-in-a-generation candidates [he earlier cited Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama] — we have no idea who is electable.” ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/74 "2020-03-27T18:03:36Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I know you are actually committed to this cause but I sure as shit hope you don’t think this is getting Bernie installed. -\>note lack of smilie here\<- In my dreams… but no, even if Biden withdrew, I doubt Bernie would get it. Unfortunately! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/75 "2020-03-27T18:05:05Z")
What’s Howard Dean doing these days? He may be just what the doctor ordered in this crisis. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/76 "2020-03-27T18:57:11Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Who do the anti bernies want to go for if biden flames out? Is Gary Hart still alive? > […] > Lichtman also told Salon last week that if Trump loses as a result of the coronavirus, his opponent is almost irrelevant Seems like, in that case, the delegates should go to someone whose policies are most like Biden’s since that’s what the primary electorate wanted. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/77 "2020-03-27T19:01:28Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Seems like, in that case, the delegates should go to someone whose policies are most like Biden’s since that’s what the primary electorate wanted. From the polling I’ve seen, the biggest reason Biden’s supporters gave, by far, for supporting him is that they thought he was the most likely to beat Trump. ISTM this primary was about voters’ perceptions of electability far more than policy preferences. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/78 "2020-03-27T19:39:59Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > From the polling I’ve seen, the biggest reason Biden’s supporters gave, by far, for supporting him is that they thought he was the most likely to beat Trump. ISTM this primary was about voters’ perceptions of electability far more than policy preferences. You don’t think his policies are part of why they thought he was most likely to beat Trump? ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/79 "2020-03-27T19:42:06Z")
But I’d say the main reason more people think Bernie is not electable is because of his policies. We aren’t talking about concepts completely divorced from each other. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/80 "2020-03-27T19:47:51Z")
It’s clear that Biden engaged in questionable behavior with women and made them feel uncomfortable. She had a chance to tell her story at a time when a lot of women were coming forward with pretty candid accounts of their interactions with Biden. Still, I could consider the possibility that she didn’t feel comfortable telling the whole story - maybe it was too painful. But her favorable comments about Putin and knowing the extent to which Putin is involved in disrupting the mainstream political element that Biden represents makes the timing very suspicious. I’m also suspicious of the Intercept, which is one of the main outlets airing her story. They’re unapologetically pro-Sanders. This former staffer is on record as supporting Sanders. The timing of it all just smacks of another conspiracy theory. My default position is that we’ve been through a primary with full knowledge of Biden’s past indiscretions. It’s a matter of whether we are to believe that Biden outright committed clear and obvious “sexual assault” that went beyond the forgivable. I don’t think he did. But I could be wrong, and I could be led to change my mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=5)