Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Says Biden Sexual Assault Allegation 'Not Clear-Cut'

[alp227]

Source: NPR

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says an accusation of sexual assault against former Vice President Joe Biden is "not clear-cut," but that it remains of great importance to listen to survivors and allow for proper due process in such cases.

Speaking to NPR's Morning Edition, Ocasio-Cortez said, "There have been investigative journalists that have corroborated certain aspects of her account — that is undeniable — [and] have raised questions about other aspects of her account." She is concerned, though, that an early rush to take sides could signal hypocrisy from her party and potentially alienate victims of sexual violence.

"It certainly seems as though something has happened. I'm not sure," she said, later adding, "Frankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that — that it is not clear-cut."

Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, says that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 by pinning her against a wall and penetrating her vagina with his fingers. She also said other behavior, like touching her shoulders, made her feel uncomfortable. Reade could not remember the exact location or date of the alleged assault but said it happened when a supervisor asked her to deliver a duffel bag to Biden on Capitol Hill.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/851715944/rep-ocasio-cortez-says-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-not-clear-cut

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Reade in 2019: "...this is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power."

[DURHAM D]

1. So what is her idea of "due process"? nt

[alp227]

5. At 5:50 of the audio

Steve Inskeep asked exactly that and if AOC wanted a police investigation. AOC had no answer other than saying Reade wanted to be heard. Inskeep should have asked AOC about the inconsistencies in Reade's story.

[The Magistrate]

2. She Can Do Better Than That, Sir, And Ought To

"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

[George II]

3. "Proper due process"? Until a formal, specific charge is filed there is no "due process" called for.

Reade keeps dangling this out on Twitter, but still has been very vague and inconsistent.

[CaptYossarian]

4. To compare accusations,

Biden's one sketchy accusation is like getting shot with a rubber band.

Trump's 25, along with his confession on tape, is like a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun.

Any voters on the fence now?

[HotTeaBag]

27. Yeah, some folks are tired of voting for men who can't seem to keep their

hands inappropriately off of women.

[CaptYossarian]

28. That explains the 50% turnout.

[still_one]

6. Gee, how profound. In other words Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has no idea, and neither does anyone

else

Why is this LBN?

[marble falls]

10. Why is this LBN? Good question.

[Thekaspervote]

12. Very typical of AOC! She thinks she knows better than anyone else

Including all the experts and law officials that have completely debunked reade’s claim

For starters law officials have put the case on INACTVE for lack of evidence and her constantly changing story ..in others words her lies!!

[still_one]

17. No question about it, Reade has major credibility issues, not the least is her constantly

changing story of what happen.

Which story is it?

There is no evidence, that is the bottom line, so it comes down to she said he said

[JudyM]

22. Actually she didn't claim to know better at all. She was focusing on the importance of the voters'

perception of the issue, as well as that of survivors in general, and made no claim about what voters think or the right way to approach it.

[FM123]

7. Some things are clear-cut though, like who sat on the Senate Ethics Committee in 1993.

Mitch McConnell.
He was investigating senators who were sexually harassing senate staffers (like Oregon's Bob Packwood). If Reade told three staffers at the time, how did that info somehow not get back to McConnell - it was on his watch. If this alleged incident happened as it is reported, I would bet my last dollar that Mitch would be screaming on Fux News day and night that "Joe did it, I know it". And he is not.

[Hav]

8. The headline and first sentence were so promising

Yes, one should listen and due process is important. And due process is something that both sides deserve.
I'm also wondering who the investigative journalists are that corroborated certain aspects of her story. Those like Farrow certainly couldn't corroborate the assault charges and they couldn't find anything close to that behavior in Biden's past.
It's pretty dangerous to be that vague and ambiguous concerning such a topic and what the findings so far were. It makes it sound as if certain parts of the account about the rape could be corroborated when that isn't the case and I know AOC didn't mean it that way.

And no, it doesn't necessarily seem that something happened. And what exactly is supposed to have happened? One has to be careful and more precise when addressing a series of changed charges that range from verbal misconduct to rape.

[kacekwl]

9. Better to remain silent and he thought a fool

than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

[brush]

21. Exactly. I thought the Speaker had straightened her out...

Last edited Thu May 7, 2020, 01:14 PM - Edit history (1)

about this last month after an earlier interview she gave in this matter where she wasn't sure if she would back our party's nominee because of this bs, Al Frankening.

Now she's done it again. I'm tired of her grandstanding for attention. Hope she doesn't get re-elected. There's no place for fifth columnists in the Democratic Party who undermine our campaign to rid the nation of trump.

[NoMoreRepugs]

11. This spaghetti thrown against the wall attempt to find

something to stick on Biden is going to be resurrected from the dead dozens more times before the next plate of spaghetti is cooked.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. AOC doesn't have to have or to verbalize an opinion on everything

There are times when silence is preferable to public displays of ignorance

[comradebillyboy]

20. She can't help herself it seems...

[Me.]

14. Tap Dancing

Guess the Biden people didn't live up to her demands but she's already in trouble with her stimulus cote so she doesn't want to throw him under the bus entirely

[Walleye]

15. Wow, Congresswoman, don't go out on a limb there.

Has Bernie even made any statement defending Joe? He and AOC need to state it clearly, like Speaker Pelosi has done several times.

[Bayard]

16. Where is this, "assault", supposed to have happened?

In Biden's office? I would assume, if that's the case, he would have been mindful of people coming and going from there, and being caught in the act.

Hadn't thought about his before, but are there cameras? If not in the offices, in the hallways that would have shown her entering and exiting?

[Hav]

19. It supposedly happened in some hallways

in broad daylight in the midst of the frenzy caused by Senator Packwood's abuse allegations.
Yep, a freaking Senator strolling around the Senate, pushing a woman against the wall and penetrating her genitals and no one notices it.

[Bayard]

23. Oh

Even more believable then!

[beastie boy]

18. With all due respect to NPR, this is not what AOC says.

The allegations themselves are very clear cut: Tara Reade alleges that Biden sexually assaulted her. AOC's "not clear cut" remark refers to the "messy moment" created by these allegations. Try as she may, she finds it difficult to find Reade's allegations credible. She proposes to put an end to sensationalized innuendo with a further independent politics-free investigation into the allegations and see if this investigation can uncover any evidence to make these allegations credible. That's exactly what Biden is proposing.

[brush]

24. Let's all get some sense about this. Biden was thoroughly...

vetted by Axelrod and Plouffe in '08 before he was selected by Obama to be his running mate. That's good enough for Speaker Pelosi, all other prominent Democrats, and Sanders even.

Apparently that's not good enough for the rookie congresswoman who seems determined to keep this silliness in the news. I have a feeling it's going to be to her detriment.

[murielm99]

25. Why are we relying on her opinion?

Maybe some of her unemployed and covid-infected constituents might need her help. That would be a far better use of her time than giving an expert legal opinion such as, "not clear-cut."

[LanternWaste]

26. Despite my affinity for Rep. Cortez, her response is "a messy moment... not clear-cut."

[mvd]

29. I think she's one of our best, but..

she is still young and sometimes doesn’t get a moment right. She will mature. I am using her avatar instead of Sanders while Biden is our nominee.