In an interview with CNN, former Deconmatic gubernatorial candidate and nonprofit CEO Stacey Abrams was in defense of Joe Biden last night, telling Don Lemon that she believes Biden over Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation that made headlines this weekend.
“I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources,” said Abrams, who is hoping to be selected to be Biden’s VP. “The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden.”
Abrams is widely thought to be selected as Joe Biden’s running mate, so the fact that she sided with Biden is not surprising, but she is also a Democratic woman and advocate for womens’ rights. The fact that she is happy to support Biden after the results of only one investigation, which concluded that the allegation is “not credible,” is concerning.
The New York Times investigation is only one investigation of at least a few that should be conducted to decide whether the allegation is credible. The New York Times investigation was also done before this weekend when more information came out about the alleged sexual assault and harrassment. Abrahams surely knows that one examination is not a complete investigation and that calling the allegation untrue is premature.
There is with no doubt some politics and partisanship playing out here, and not even Stacey Abrahams, a Washington outsider (for now), is immune to it. It is understable that her beliefs will be swayed by the desire to be Biden’s running mate, and knowing Biden personally will also naturally sway her opinion — but it is too early to dismiss the allegation entirely.
Biden is a Democrat and appears to have humane beliefs about violence against women, but this does not mean he should be exonerated from the same standards that Republican politicians accused of sexual assault are held to. It may seem more likely that a Republic would commit sexual assault, but Biden should not just earn a pass here: In his own words, Reade’s accusations need to be “respectfully heard” and “rigorously vetted.” And have they really been rigorously vetted with all new information taken into consideration?
Abrahams also cited the Kavanaugh allegations of sexual assault of 2018 in her decision: “Tara Reade deserved to have her story listened to and investigated. What was happening with Christine Blasey Ford was there there was no investigation. There was a rush to move it forward so no investigation was conducted,” she said — but Abrahams is rushing this allegation’s investigation process, too.
Joe Biden is innocent until proven guilty — so he is innocent. But we owe Reade more than one investigation into her claims. Wouldn’t a Democrat and an advocate for women’s rights want to wait for more than one investigation’s results before coming to a rushed conclusion?
