Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA) is facing blowback in response to her attempt to dismiss the sexual assault allegations brought against Joe Biden by his former Senate staffer Tara Reade — particularly in light of Feinstein’s stance on the uncorroborated allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and the senator’s declaration that victims “must be able to come forward only when they are ready.”
As reported by CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju on Thursday, asked about the Democrats’ apparent “double standard” in their response to Reade’s allegations that Biden forced himself on her and penetrated her with his fingers in 1993, a claim for which there is some corroborating evidence, and Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation against Kavanaugh, for which there is no corroborating evidence, Feinstein insisted that the situation is “totally different” and not “comparable.”
“Kavanuagh was under the harshest inspection that we give people over a substantial period of time,” said Feinstein, as reported by Raju.
“And I don’t know this person at all who has made the allegations,” the senator added. “She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years? He was Vice President.”
“Why didn’t she say something — you know when he was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee or after that?” Feinstein asked.
After touting Biden’s record on advocating for sexual assault victims, Feinstein said “to attack [Biden] this way to me is absolutely ridiculous,” Raju reports.
Feinstein’s attempt to discredit Reade’s accusation based on the timing is particularly glaring as the senator specifically made the point during the Kavanaugh confirmation process to defend victims who wait to tell their stories.
“Victims must be able to come forward only when they are ready,” Feinstein tweeted on Sept. 21, 2018.
“The president’s instinct to attack women and victims of assault was on display again today,” Feinstein wrote in a follow-up post. “70% of sexual assault victims do NOT report their attack to police for a range of reasons: fear of retaliation, shame and belief the police won’t take them seriously. Dr. Blasey Ford has seen her worst fears come true. She’s receiving death threats and has been forced to leave her home. It’s time to stop blaming the victim and treat these allegations with the seriousness and respect they deserve.”
President Trump, I've said many, many times that my actions were motivated by Dr. Ford's request for confidentiality. Victims must be able to come forward only when they are ready.
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 21, 2018
Dr. Blasey Ford has seen her worst fears come true. She’s receiving death threats and has been forced to leave her home. It’s time to stop blaming the victim and treat these allegations with the seriousness and respect they deserve.
— Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 21, 2018
Feinstein’s clashing stances on the two very similar accusations and situations has sparked strong backlash online, as documented by Twitchy.
Adding to the criticism is the additional corroborating evidence that surfaced on the same day the Democratic senator made the comments. As The Daily Wire noted, a local California newspaper reported Thursday that court documents from 1996 show that Reade told her then-husband, Theodore Dronen, that in 1993 she was sexually harassed while working for Biden. Dronen’s court statement read in part:
I met Petitioner in the spring of 1993 while working in Washington, D.C. At the early stages of our dating, Petitioner felt comfortable confiding in me as we both worked for Members of Congress, and we shared many other common interests. On several occasions Petitioner related a problem that she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s office. Petitioner told me that she eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senator’s office and left her position. I was sympathetic to her needs when she asked me for help, and assisted her financially, and allowed her to stay at my apartment with my roommate while she looked for work. It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on Petitioner, and that she is still sensitive and effected by it today.
The Tribune notes that Reade’s now former husband did not specifically name Biden as the source of the harassment, stating only that the apparently “very traumatic” harassment occurred “in U.S. Senator Joe Biden’s office.”
Biden’s then-chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, disputed Reade’s claims, telling The Tribune, “I have consistently said what is the truth here — that she never came to me. I do not remember her, and had she come to me in any of these circumstances, I would remember her. But I do not, because she did not.”
While multiple people have now said that Reade did tell them at the time that she was harassed by Biden, there was zero corroborating evidence backing Blasey Ford’s claim against Kavanaugh. An extensive investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which involved interviews with 45 individuals and 25 written statements, ultimately did not find “any evidence to substantiate or corroborate any of the allegations” against Kavanaugh. All of the alleged witnesses named by Blasey Ford either denied any knowledge of her claim or flatly refuted it.
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