# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/81 "2020-03-27T20:09:07Z")
> [@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? Not really. What it takes to point out hypocrisy when it comes form the other side, yes. Not very many people here (including the people who identify as Republicans LIKE Trump) You are one of very few who have said to dump him. Some want a whole other level of investigation (just to be sure), and others don’t care what evidence, they are voting for him anyway (Well, because FUCK TRUMP) and even some others who will pretend this isn’t a thing. I was not against any investigation into Kavanaugh. I am not against an investigation into Biden. What I am against is the hypocrisy that gets espoused here when the other side does it. I have been saying for years, that both sides of the political spectrum are bad. I can already hear the cries of “Not nearly AS BAD” coming from people who would rather point fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Kearsen1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen1)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/82 "2020-03-27T20:14:28Z")
> [@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. It’s always the big check just to ask questions. Which is what CarnalK was inferring earlier, when he said it wouldn’t be enough for you. It hasn’t been and likely never will be , ENOUGH. At some point, investigations get slowed, no new evidence is there (like the Kavanaugh case), and the evidence that was presented wasn’t credible ENOUGH to stop a confirmation hearing. I predict the same thing here. Not necessarily because the Democrats want to cover it up but simply because evidence that is so far past is HARD to corroborate. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SPEND. ---
**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, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/83 "2020-03-27T20:15:03Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > You don’t think his policies are part of why they thought he was most likely to beat Trump? Good point! Yes, that probably had something to do with it. ---
**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, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/84 "2020-03-27T20:21:21Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > It’s always the big check just to ask questions. Which is what CarnalK was inferring earlier, when he said it wouldn’t be enough for you. It hasn’t been and likely never will be , ENOUGH. This is just ridiculous. It didn’t even take an investigation (beyond publicly available info) to have “ENOUGH” info to dump Franken (rightly so). And we didn’t require the pitiful non-investigation into Kavanaugh to rightly determine that he was unacceptable for SCOTUS based on his personal conduct (i.e. how he responded to the allegations against him). And I’d happily dump Biden right this minute, if it were up to me. But it’s not, and an investigation is the best those of us who value opposing sexual assault are likely to get right now. And sometimes, _investigations actually find evidence_ confirming or refuting allegations – for example, Cosby, Weinstein, the Duke Lacrosse case that was determined to be a hoax, and many more. Real and thorough investigations very often actually are “ENOUGH”, but they often don’t occur. > [@](#): > > I predict the same thing here. Not necessarily because the Democrats want to cover it up but simply because evidence that is so far past is HARD to corroborate. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SPEND. Yes, it would likely be very hard. So what? Are you advocating that nothing be done, and this allegation be ignored? An investigation might not turn up anything at all. But maybe it will. We don’t know if a real and thorough investigation into Kavanaugh would’ve turned up anything, because there wasn’t such an investigation. We do know that it turned up facts – even old facts – for Cosby and Weinstein. If you’re advocating that investigations are dumb, then I strongly disagree. If you’re not arguing that, then I’m not sure what you’re arguing beyond some sort of specific personal criticism against me. ---
**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, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/85 "2020-03-27T20:24:16Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > Not really. What it takes to point out hypocrisy when it comes form the other side, yes. > Not very many people here (including the people who identify as Republicans LIKE Trump) > > You are one of very few who have said to dump him. Some want a whole other level of investigation (just to be sure), and others don’t care what evidence, they are voting for him anyway (Well, because FUCK TRUMP) and even some others who will pretend this isn’t a thing. > > I was not against any investigation into Kavanaugh. I am not against an investigation into Biden. > > What I am against is the hypocrisy that gets espoused here when the other side does it. > > I have been saying for years, that both sides of the political spectrum are bad. > > I can already hear the cries of “Not nearly AS BAD” coming from people who would rather point fingers. “Both sides are the same!” What a joke. God what incredibly, pathetically lazy thinking. ---
**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, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/86 "2020-03-27T20:27:07Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > You are one of very few who have said to dump him. That is not what I said. > [@](#): > > What I am against is the hypocrisy that gets espoused here when the other side does it. Hypocrisy is the bugaboo for avoiding reason. A charge of hypocrisy is nothing but an ad hominem, an argument that matters not at all. Sorry you’re so worked up over fighting hypocrisy. It’s a stupid battle to pick, because it literally doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/87 "2020-03-27T20:28:46Z")
who is happier about this story? Trump fans or Bernie fans? Maybe it’s a tie. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/88 "2020-03-27T20:54:20Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What are we supposed to do with the accusation now? > > We already know that Trump is a serial sexual assaulter. We know that Biden has inappropriately touched other women before – this is not really new information. > > I hate sounding like an apologist, but Biden is the best of some rather shitty options, which is shitty, but I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the survival of this country. > > I know I’m going to get torched for this, so flame away. Not necessarily. It’s a potential quandary. If the two candidates for President are both guilty of sexual harrassment, what do you do? And if one of them is Donald Fucking Trump, what does a good person do? Quandary. I hope this story is bullshit, of course. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/89 "2020-03-27T21:02:24Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > But would Biden voters revert to Bernie? Against Trump? Shit yeah I would. That’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/90 "2020-03-27T21:47:43Z")
God, Trump’s going to win again, isn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/91 "2020-03-27T21:58:44Z")
Trump likely wins unless he’s 6 feet under ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/92 "2020-03-27T22:26:58Z")
This may be exactly the break the Bernie Sanders campaign is looking for! It’s kind of sickening, actually, how readily and eagerly Bernie’s supporters are pushing this story online. It’s just like 2016, all over again. ---
**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, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/93 "2020-03-27T22:27:17Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sounds like a dumb prediction. Why did none of them come out during the “touchy Joe” news cycle? While a Sanders comeback is looking decidedly less likely, the Democratic primaries are not done at this point, much less back then. There is absolutely no reason for the Republicans (and especially Trump’s campaign) to use any of their ammunition against someone who is not the Democratic candidate this far before the elections, and plenty of reasons for them not to. Once Biden is actually running against Trump and not against Sanders (the rest of the field is gone at this point), then the Republicans will start seriously campaigning against him, and bring out the big guns. And even then, they’ll probably hold some of this back until closer to the election - like has been pointed out on this thread, there’s plenty of time for investigation now. ---
**Author:** ![str8cashhomie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@str8cashhomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/str8cashhomie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/94 "2020-03-27T22:54:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Not necessarily. It’s a potential quandary. If the two candidates for President are both guilty of sexual harrassment, what do you do? And if one of them is Donald Fucking Trump, what does a good person do? Quandary. > > I hope this story is bullshit, of course. As far as voting in the GE between Biden and Trump, in most conceivable outcomes for this sexual assault allegation you’re right. Rationally the only voters this should matter for are people who would vote for Trump based on his policies but want to vote for his opponent due to his sexual misconduct accusations. I think this is an astronomically small group, so I don’t think it’s the main issue. The main issue as far as GE politics goes is that if this story has legs, it’s a huge enthusiasm swing in favor of Trump. Voters aren’t entirely rational and this will lead left-leaning voters to stay home and right-leaning voters to show up at the polls more than if the story doesn’t go anywhere. This accusation is coming out at a weird time because the DNC could try to take some drastic measure to overrule the primary delegate math and choose someone they think they think is safer than Biden. I don’t think it makes sense to do that without more corroboration of the accusation, but there needs to be some way to avoid going into a general election if this story does really go somewhere and more evidence builds to support this accusation, or if more accusers come forward. I don’t know how the party should manage that. I do think if the DNC just has to throw out the delegate rules and meet in a smoke-filled room to pick a candidate (an outcome which I hope the party manages to avoid) they should pick either Buttigieg or Klobuchar. If Biden does get the nomination and it ends up looking likely that he is a rapist it frankly is a terrible look for the country. Because of FPTP, people will basically have to vote a candidate with sexual assault accusations, which therefore means that powerful men being unaccountable for their sex crimes is just something we life with, essentially exactly the cultural issue that MeToo was aimed at fighting. ---
**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 28, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/95 "2020-03-28T01:30:05Z")
> [@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. Which Lichtman says is delusional. ---
**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 28, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/96 "2020-03-28T01:35:00Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > While a Sanders comeback is looking decidedly less likely, the Democratic primaries are not done at this point, much less back then. There is absolutely no reason for the Republicans (and especially Trump’s campaign) to use any of their ammunition against someone who is not the Democratic candidate this far before the elections, and plenty of reasons for them not to. Once Biden is actually running against Trump and not against Sanders (the rest of the field is gone at this point), then the Republicans will start seriously campaigning against him, and bring out the big guns. And even then, they’ll probably hold some of this back until closer to the election - like has been pointed out on this thread, there’s plenty of time for investigation now. That’s all well and good but you said that you had no doubt a flood of similar accusations will follow. So what’s with this bullshit “wait and see” stance? ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/97 "2020-03-28T01:36:27Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Should be investigated thoroughly. > > The fact that she has written love letters to Vladimir Putin, and she comes forward now that Biden is the nominee against Putins puppet (Trump) is kind of bothersome. > > [https://web.archive.org/web/20190404043945/https://medium.com/@shewrites94/why-a-liberal-democrat-supports-vladimir-putin-f54ca2a3a405](https://web.archive.org/web/20190404043945/https://medium.com/@shewrites94/why-a-liberal-democrat-supports-vladimir-putin-f54ca2a3a405) > > Should still be investigated though. > \*\* > Its sad that of all the moderate candidates, the voters picked Biden\*\*. They could’ve had Buttigieg who would’ve been a much better candidate. Or Harris. Yup. “Gaffey Joe” has absolutely NO charisma, NO personality, NO accomplishments, and NO message to try to sell to the U.S. electorate. In _other_ words: he sucks. Way to go, Dems - NOT! ---
**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 28, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/98 "2020-03-28T01:42:32Z")
“It takes a blathering old man to beat a blathering old man” -Sun Tzu ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/99 "2020-03-28T01:46:51Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > … > She appears to have changed her story because her previous version wasn’t getting any traction. But this version sounds even more fake, with lines out of a badly written novel. This is a common form of lying–of constantly making things bigger and bigger. It’s not a common way that victims act–they remember the trauma and stick with it, with only minor details varying due to memory. > > Changing your story in a substantial way is a legitimate reason to treat an accusation with suspicion. As is her repeating Russian propaganda at a time when Russia is currently known to be trying to mess with our election process. These are far more substantive than claiming someone is lying because someone else doesn’t remember, alleging a calendar proves something didn’t happen, and other such things. … Yes, and not to mention she is a big Sanders supporter, and people are saying she is just doing this to get Sanders the Nom. Or to make sure America pays for it’s error in not letting Sanders win. She had a somewhat believable story, that Biden hugged her and that was unwelcome. And yes, I could accept Biden doing that, altho he didnt remember it. But first she was Bidens buddy and she thought he was great. Then she claimed he hugged her at a unwelcome time. _Now_ she’s claiming rape- just as her candidate sanders is about to concede.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393/100 "2020-03-28T02:01:48Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > And then due to the extreme time lapse, no evidence one way or the other is found (JUST LIKE MOST CASES but also like the Kavanaugh case), then what? Well, this is a little different. See, a long time lapse is understandable if the accussee is now just thrust upon the national stage, like Kavanaugh or Thomas. But this happened in 1993. Since then, Biden was Veep for 8 years- why not speak out then? And then Biden ran for President in 2016- why not speak out then? And why not speak out when Biden began his 2020 campaign. But why oh why would a Sanders supporter chose \*this \*moment, when Biden has pretty much won and sanders has no real chance- to speak out?:rolleyes: why? It’s obvious. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/former-staffer-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault/850393.md?page=6)