Sen. Feinstein Criticizes Tara Reade Allegation, Slams 'Absolutely Ridiculous' Attack
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who was one of the harshest critics of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he was accused of improper sexual conduct in 2018, said Tara Reade’s accusations against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden are entirely different.
Kavanaugh had been accused of sexual misconduct by Christine Blasey Ford based on an incident that Ford claimed took place in the 1980s, but which Kavanaugh denied.
Reade has accused the former vice president of sexually assaulting her in 1993 while Biden was a U.S. senator representing Delaware.
Reade worked for Biden from 1992 to 1993, and has said Biden kissed, groped and digitally penetrated her during an unwanted sexual advance. Biden claims the incident never happened.
In a series of tweets, CNN reporter Manu Raju relayed Feinstein’s comments regarding the matter on Thursday.
Feinstein said the two cases were “totally different,” he tweeted.
“Kavanuagh was under the harshest inspection that we give people over a substantial period of time,” Feinstein said, according to his tweets.
“And I don’t know this person at all who has made the allegations. She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years? He was vice president,” Feinstein added.
Feinstein, who was one of the first officials contacted by Ford in 2018, said that “to attack [Biden] this way to me is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Why didn’t she say something — you know when he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee or after that?” Feinstein said.
She said there was no double standard and that Reade’s claims are not “comparable” to those against Kavanaugh.
Dianne Feinstein, ranking Democrat on Senate Judiciary, argued to us that the Kavanuagh situation is “totally different” than the Tara Reade allegations against Biden. “Kavanuagh was under the harshest inspection that we give people over a substantial period of time.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 7, 2020
“And I don’t know this person at all who has made the allegations. She came out of nowhere. Where has she been all these years? He was Vice President,” Feinstein said. She touted his record and then said “to attack him this way to me is absolutely ridiculous.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 7, 2020
“Why didn’t she say something — you know when he was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee or after that?” Feinstein rejected the notion of a Dem double standard and argued the situation isn’t “comparable” to Kavanaugh
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 7, 2020
Feinstein’s comments rubbed some the wrong way:
A leading Democrat uses classic anti-survivor talking points:@DianneFeinstein says of #TaraReade: “Where has she been all these years?”
I guess that discredits every survivor who doesn’t report immediately.
So much for #MeToo.https://t.co/4CLyjQb69m
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) May 7, 2020
As a professional and expert in the field of sexual violence/trauma, I can say that Sen Feinstein has demeaned herself and the Dem Party by engaging in rape denial and showing that she has no understanding of how victims disclose. She needs to be quiet. https://t.co/BVDsXWxuzQ
— Prof Zenkus (@anthonyzenkus) May 8, 2020
Feinstein on Thursday also cited her long friendship with Biden as a reason not to believe his former aide.
“I’ve known Biden, he was the one that put me on the Judiciary Committee as the first woman back in, well 26 years ago and worked with him ever since on assault weapons and a lot of things,” she said, according to The Hill.
“And I have a great respect for his integrity, for his fidelity to his family his friends. And so these accusations are very disturbing because they do have an impact on an individual, and every indication I would have is that they would be false until I was shown otherwise.”
When asked whether she believed Reade, Feinstein replied: “No, I do not.”
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