Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein is being lambasted for apparent double standards after attacking Tara Reade, the former Joe Biden staffer who alleges the Democrat presidential candidate sexually assaulted her.
The Californian politician unequivocally supported Christine Blasey Ford when she accused then Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 2018. However, now that it’s a Democrat facing the charges, Feinstein’s singing an entirely different tune.
Discussing Reade’s claims, which date back to 1993, Feinstein questioned why she waited 27 years to make them public.
“I don’t know this person at all who has made the allegations,” she said. “She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years? He was vice president.” When asked whether she believes Reade, Feinstein responded: “No, I do not.”
Blasey Ford’s 2018 allegations against Brett Kavanaugh related to an incident in 1982, 36 years earlier.
Feinstein is the latest prominent Democrat who staunchly defended Ford in her allegations against Kavanaugh, but is now raising doubts about Reade’s claims. “During every step of this process, I’ve found every single piece of information from Dr Christine Blasey Ford eminently credible, sincere and believable. She knew this would have a huge effect on her life and she was incredibly brave to come forward,” she tweeted in September 2018.
Dianne Feinstein had no problem airing unsubstantiated allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. And yet, this. https://t.co/brzt5oTefL
The marked contrast in Feinstein’s response has prompted a scathing reaction online, with award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald among those blasting the veteran senator.
“Feinstein’s argument to attack Tara Reade as a liar – ‘She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years?’ – applies more to Blasey Ford than Reade. Blasey Ford said nothing publicly for decades, even while Kavanaugh was confirmed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals,” Greenwald wrote.
Feinstein’s argument to attack Tara Reade as a liar — “She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years?” — applies more to Blasey Ford than Reade. Blasey Ford said nothing publicly for decades even while Kavanaugh was confirmed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Yet: https://t.co/wzngMJrJBMpic.twitter.com/ZdGhhBFS6k
“Democrats who weaponize sex assault allegations for their own political gain – casually picking and choosing which women to believe or to smear as liars based on the partisan identity of the accused male politician – are craven and repugnant,” he added.
Feinstein’s comments have drawn criticism from both the conservative and liberal sides of the political spectrum. Intercept columnist Mehdi Hasan accused her of undermining the entire Me Too movement with her “reckless remarks,” while Donald Trump Jr noted that the accusations against Kavanaugh were known to Feinstein’s office for months before they became public, and urged the Democrat to “sit this one out.”
You mean Senator Feinstein who believed Blasey Ford so much that she sat on the accousatuons of serial rape against Brett Kavanaugh for 3 months before bringing them to light?Yea, she may want to sit this one out and let the lucid people discuss. https://t.co/RhQEfZghEF
Again, whether Tara Reade’s allegations are true or not, whether you believe her or not, to borrow right-wing tropes like ‘why didn’t she come forward before?’ is unforgivable. People like Sen. Feinstein are undermining the entire #metoo movement with such reckless remarks.
Reade recently accused Biden of sexually assaulting her back in 1993 when he was a senator and she worked on his staff. She alleges that he kissed and touched her without her consent. The Democratic presidential candidate denies the allegations. “They aren’t true. This never happened,” he said last week.
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