Should you trust Joe Biden?

If you’ve been confused by the assault allegation against Biden, here is the most important and credible story out there.

There was already a lot to question about the accusation that Joe Biden sexually assaulted Tara Reade 27 years ago. Now Micheal Stern, a former prosecutor who has prosecuted many sexual assault cases, carefully examines the allegations.  He also reminds us that if we must blindly accept every allegation of sexual assault, the #MeToo movement is just a hit squad. And it’s too important to be no more than that.

Take a look at Stern’s careful and convincing argument that brings in all the facts without cherry-picking. (If you’re not convinced, read the full story: USA Today.)

Timing: “For 27 years, Reade did not publicly accuse Biden of sexually assaulting her. But then Biden’s string of March primary victories threw Sanders off his seemingly unstoppable path to the Democratic nomination. On March 25, as Sanders was pondering his political future, Reade finally went public with her claim. The confluence of Reade’s support of Sanders, distaste for the traditional American democracy epitomized by Biden, and the timing of her allegation should give pause to even the most strident Biden critics.”  

Convenient memory lapse: “Reade has said that she cannot remember the date, time or exact location of the alleged assault, except that it occurred in a semi-private area in corridors connecting Senate buildings. The first thing that comes to mind from my defense attorney perspective is that Reade’s amnesia about specifics makes it impossible for Biden to go through records and prove he could not have committed the assault, because he was somewhere else at the time.”

Losing her job: Did she quit because she didn’t want to serve drinks at an event — or was she fired because she filed a complaint? Big difference. Stern said, “Leaving a job after refusing to serve drinks is vastly different than being fired as retaliation for filing a sexual harassment complaint with the Senate. The disparity raises questions about Reade’s credibility and account of events.”

Praising Biden: “In the 1990s, Biden worked to pass the Violence Against Women Act. In 2017, on multiple occasions, Reade retweeted or ‘liked’ praise for Biden and his work combating sexual assault. In the same year, Reade tweeted other compliments of Biden, including: ‘My old boss speaks truth. Listen.’ It is bizarre that Reade would publicly laud Biden for combating the very thing she would later accuse him of doing to her. “

Where’s the formal complaint? “It is odd that Reade kept a copy of her employment records but did not keep a copy of a complaint documenting criminal conduct by a man whose improprieties changed ‘the trajectory’ of her life. It’s equally odd The Times was unable to find a copy of the alleged Senate complaint.” 

That Larry King call:  According to her late mother, Reade didn’t go to the press originally “out of respect” for the man who assaulted her? That’s what she supposedly said in a 1993 recorded call to Larry King. 

“As a prosecutor, this would not make me happy. Given that the call was anonymous, Reade’s mother should have felt comfortable relaying the worst version of events. When trying to obtain someone’s assistance, people typically do not downplay the seriousness of an incident. They exaggerate it. That Reade’s mother said nothing about her daughter being sexually assaulted would lead many reasonable people to conclude that sexual assault was not the problem that prompted the call to King.”

It’s not him. “In last year’s interview with The Washington Post, Reade laid the blame on Biden’s staff for ‘bullying’ her. She also said, ‘I want to emphasize: It’s not him. It’s the people around him.’ ”

Only one assault? “Last year, several women claimed that Biden made them uncomfortable with things like a shoulder touch or a hug. (I wrote a column critical of one such allegation by Lucy Flores.) The Times and Post found no allegation of sexual assault against Biden except Reade’s. Men who commit a sexual assault are likely accused more than once … like Donald Trump.

Micheal Stern acknowledges, “I’ve dreaded writing this piece because I do not want it to be used as a guidebook to dismantling legitimate allegations of sexual assault. But not every claim of sexual assault is legitimate. I know that “Believe Women” is the mantra of the new decade. It is a response to a century of ignoring and excusing men’s sexual assaults against women. But men and women alike should not be forced to blindly accept every allegation of sexual assault for fear of being labeled a misogynist or enabler. 

We can support the #MeToo movement and not support allegations of sexual assault that do not ring true”.