In a series of social media posts Sunday, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz slammed The New York Times’ editorial board for what he described as an “amazing Freudian slip” in its call for the Democratic National Committee, rather than journalists, to investigate Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The stakes of the accusation against Biden “are too high to let the matter fester — or leave it to be investigated by and adjudicated in the media,” the NYT editorial board said in a much-criticized editorial published Saturday.
“In 2018, this board advocated strongly for a vigorous inquiry into accusations of sexual misconduct raised against Brett Kavanaugh when he was nominated to a seat on the Supreme Court,” the editorial reads. “Mr. Biden’s pursuit of the presidency requires no less. His campaign, and his party, have a duty to assure the public that the accusations are being taken seriously. The Democratic National Committee should move to investigate the matter swiftly and thoroughly, with the full cooperation of the Biden campaign.” The investigation, the Times’ editors specify, “should be strictly limited to information about Ms. Reade and conducted by an unbiased, apolitical panel, put together by the D.N.C. and chosen to foster as much trust in its findings as possible.”
“Absolutely astonishing — New York Times not only rejects role of media, but calls for an investigation done by ‘an unbiased, apolitical panel, put together by the DNC,'” Washington Examiner’s Byron York tweeted. In response, Cruz tweeted, “Amazing Freudian slip from NYT. It’s the same principle as Bloomberg media saying ‘we won’t investigate Mike Bloomberg as a candidate, because he’s our boss.'”
Responding to Jonathan Swan saying that while he’s seen “some spectacularly stupid stuff from NYT ed board,” this might “take the cake,” Cruz wrote, “It’s who they are. They don’t even pretend anymore.”
“They are Dem hacks, not journalists,” Cruz wrote in a follow-up post. “Imagine this NYT editorial: ‘allegations have arisen that President Nixon was behind the break-in at the Watergate. The media cannot investigate. We believe the Committee to Re-Elect the President should launch a ‘thorough’ investigation.'”
Amazing Freudian slip from NYT. It’s the same principle as Bloomberg media saying “we won’t investigate Mike Bloomberg as a candidate, because he’s our boss.” https://t.co/wcKW2sjb8W
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 3, 2020
It’s who they are. They don’t even pretend anymore. https://t.co/iKLiP3rjR4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 4, 2020
They are Dem hacks, not journalists. Imagine this NYT editorial: “allegations have arisen that President Nixon was behind the break-in at the Watergate. The media cannot investigate. We believe the Committee to Re-Elect the President should launch a ‘thorough’ investigation.” https://t.co/iKLiP3rjR4
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 4, 2020
In the editorial calling on the DNC to investigate the Biden accusation, the Times summarizes the evidence both lending credibility to and undermining the credibility of Reade’s claim that in 1993 Biden forced himself on her in a deserted hallway in the Capitol, reached under her skirt, and penetrated her with his fingers:
Ms. Reade’s brother and multiple friends have said that she told them of the incident around the time it occurred. Some bits of evidence lend credence to her claim, even as others prompt skepticism. When Ms. Reade’s brother, Collin Moulton, first spoke to The Washington Post about his sister’s accusations, for instance, he mentioned only that she talked about Mr. Biden touching her neck and shoulders; several days later, Mr. Moulton texted The Post to say that he also recalled her sharing that Mr. Biden had put his hand “under her clothes.” …
Ms. Reade’s account has some apparent inconsistencies. Last year, she was one of several women who came forward with complaintsof Mr. Biden hugging or touching them in ways that made them uncomfortable, but she did not raise the assault accusation until this March. She says she tried to share her story with the media earlier, only to get “shut down.”
Members of Mr. Biden’s staff from that period have denied that Ms. Reade expressed any complaints about Mr. Biden, and they reject the idea that the office tolerated any harassment.
Ms. Reade says that she filed a formal harassment complaint with a congressional personnel office in 1993. (She says the report did not mention the assault.) Although she kept some of her employment records from that time, she says she does not have a copy of that complaint.
The DNC has since responded to the Times’ demand that it investigate the presumptive nominee, calling the demand “absurd,” insisting that Biden has been “fully vetted” because the Barack Obama campaign conducted a background check on the former VP back in 2008.
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