Over the weekend, far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) sent shockwaves across the political landscape when she said that she believed Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade. After significant backlash on social media, Omar clarified that she will still be voting for Joe Biden come November.
“Ms. Omar I am not an admirer,” a user tweeted at Omar. “We don’t think -we know- that MAGA and Russia are working to defeat a mod dem. I found the comments irresponsible. You should’ve said: ‘I don’t know If Tara Reade is telling the truth and of course, as a surrogate of Bernie’s, I didn’t want Biden.'”
Omar said in response, “Believing survivors is consistent with my values. Yes, I endorsed against Biden and I didn’t pick him as our nominee. With that said, in this interview I did on May 6th, we talked about that and quotes aren’t always in context. I will vote for him and help him defeat Trump.”
Believing survivors is consistent with my values. Yes, I endorsed against Biden and I didn’t pick him as our nominee. With that said, in this interview I did on May 6th, we talked about that and quotes aren’t always in context. I will vote for him and help him defeat Trump.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 25, 2020
Speaking with the U.K.’s Sunday Times, Omar said that justice should not be “denied” regarding Reade’s allegation against Biden. She also allegedly told the interviewer that Biden would not be the nominee if she had the final decision.
“I do believe Reade,” said Omar. “Justice can be delayed, but should never be denied.”
While the mainstream media and other prominent Democrats have tirelessly tried to dismiss Reade as a liar – a treatment far different that Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford – other Democrats have flatly stated that they will vote for Joe Biden even though they believe Reade. Author Linda Hirshman gave this argument legs in a recent op-ed for The New York Times:
All major Democratic Party figures have indicated they’re not budging on the presumptive nominee, and the transaction costs of replacing him would be suicidal. Barring some miracle, it’s going to be Mr. Biden.
So what is the greatest good or the greatest harm? Mr. Biden, and the Democrats he may carry with him into government, are likely to do more good for women and the nation than his competition, the worst president in the history of the Republic. Compared with the good Mr. Biden can do, the cost of dismissing Tara Reade — and, worse, weakening the voices of future survivors — is worth it.
Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a member of the radical “Squad” along with Omar, said that Reade’s allegation against Biden is not “clear cut” while conceding that “something has happened” between the two.
“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,” Ocasio-Cortez told NPR. “It certainly seems as though something has happened. I’m not sure… Frankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that – that it is not clear-cut.”
In March, Reade claimed that then-Senator Joe Biden sexually assaulted her while she served as an aide in his Senate offices during the Clinton administration. She has since detailed her account in multiple interviews and filed a criminal complaint against the former vice president with the Washington, D.C., police department. A former neighbor of Reade and Reade’s brother have both publicly stated that Reade told them of the alleged assault in the 1990s. Recently surfaced evidence also suggests that Reade’s mother called in to CNN’s Larry King in the 1990s to complain about a prominent senator with whom her daughter had “problems.”
Earlier this month, The Associated Press reported that two other people, both of whom wished to remain anonymous, said that Reade spoke of Biden’s behavior prior to going public. Following that, new evidence emerged that appeared to support Reade’s claim when the San Louis Obispo Tribune reported on court documents from 1996 that revealed she had complained to her then-husband about sexual harassment from someone in Biden’s office in 1993.
“The declaration — exclusively obtained by The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California — does not say Biden committed the harassment nor does it mention Reade’s more recent allegations of sexual assault,” reported the outlet. “Reade’s then-husband Theodore Dronen wrote the court declaration. Dronen at the time was contesting a restraining order Reade filed against him days after he filed for divorce, Superior Court records show.”
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