Are there "double standards" between the charges against Donald Trump and those against Joe Biden? Last month, a 56-year-old American woman, Tara Reade, accused the Democratic candidate of having sexually assaulted her when he was a senator in 1993. The Biden team denied, and in the face of doubts, in particular because of a testimony that changed between 2019 and 2020, the main American media did not cover the matter much. But on Friday, a 1993 video resurfaced and appears to corroborate part of Tara Reade's testimony: that she had confided in her mother at the time. Enough to put pressure on Joe Biden.
It all dates back to April 2019. A few weeks before Joe Biden officially launched into the Democratic primary, seven women accused him of having made inappropriate gestures towards them, kissing them on the forehead - or even the mouth - or their feeling the hair. One of these women is Tara Reade. In particular, she claims that Senator Joe Biden "took her by the shoulders" several times and "stroked her neck" with her finger. At that time, she also said that she was demoted after refusing to play the waitresses.
Joe Biden, on the other hand, ended up defending for what he described as demonstrations of "affection" and said that he "never thought he had acted inappropriately". While the controversy does not drop, Biden explains himself on video. He believes that "the norms of society on everyone's living space have changed" and promises "to pay much more attention to it".
A story that has changed in a year
It was only a month ago that Tara Reade clarified and said that she had been sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. In a podcast presented by Katie Halper, a conservative personality, she tells of being alone with him: "He pushed me against the wall then put his hand under my skirt and penetrated me with his fingers," says she.
The timing of her announcement - while Joe Biden is taking a near-decisive lead in the primary - raises legitimate questions: Reade, a Democrat activist, first supported Marianne Williamson but voted for Bernie Sanders in California. Conservative media are seizing the case and demanding that these charges be examined with the same thoroughness as those against Donald Trump or judge Brett Kavanaugh. A figure of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, Alyssa Milano is criticized by defending Joe Biden when she has always advocated the philosophy of "believing women".
Video of mother's testimony emerges
In mid-April, the New York Times published its investigation. Tara Reade no longer remembers the exact place and date of the alleged events, but this is not unusual - this was also the case for Christine Blasey Ford's charges against Brett Kavanaugh. On the one hand, two friends affirm that Reade confided in them in 1993 and in 2008. Reade also claims to have told everything to her mother at the time, but the latter died. On the other, an official in Joe Biden's cabinet denies that the young woman came to see her and the Times finds no trace of her complaint in the Senate. When contacted by the newspaper , the other accusers of the candidate did not report any sexual assault. The daily therefore concludes that there is no evidence of recurrent sexual misconduct by Joe Biden.
We arrive on Friday. The Intercept site claims that Tara Reade's mother called Larry King's program on CNN in August 1993 and reported an incident involving her daughter and a senator. In the process, the video resurfaces and Tara Reade confirms that it is indeed her mother's voice.
This is my mom. I miss her so much and her brave support of me. https://t.co/okU80kqWAI
- taratweets (Alexandra Tara Reade) (@ReadeAlexandra) April 24, 2020#BREAKING: HERE is the video from August 11,1993's 'Larry King Live' described by @TheIntercept (and Tara Reade) as allegedly featuring her mother calling in and alluding to Reade's sexual assault claims against @JoeBiden (blog here by @ScottJW) https://t.co/fCgEqBnX7n pic.twitter.com/V5FGHskv56
- Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 24, 2020“I wonder, what recourse does a parliamentary employee in Washington have, aside from contacting the media? My daughter left her job there, and after working for a well-known senator, she chose not to speak to the media out of respect for him, ”said the viewer. "She has a story to tell, but she was silent out of respect for her employer?" Asks Larry King. "That's it," she replies.
August 11, 1993 corresponds to the period in which Tara Reade left her post. And if his mother does not provide details proving that her daughter reported a sexual assault to him, Joe Biden should not be able to remain silent for long.
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Biden expresses regret to female emblem of victims of harassment, 30 years later
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