Undoubtedly, and unfortunately, Tara Reade will be a staple of this season’s political discourse. The gist of the problem, according to the spin on the story I see most often, is not whether Ms. Reade’s allegations are true, but that Democrats are caught in a vise of inconsistency created by the near universal support given by Democrats to Christine Blasey Ford in her allegations against Brett Cavanaugh. This really should not pose much of a problem at all.
Part of the problem is caused by the misguided notion that every woman’s allegations should be believed, until proven otherwise. While maybe politically expedient, that’s a dangerous presumption and flies in the face of experience and established principles of law and justice. In our system of justice, the accused is presumed innocent and the accuser has the burden of proof. There are sound policy reasons behind this, and it is not unique to the United States. It can be found in the Declaration of Universal Human Rights.
Now, I understand that political discourse does not follow the rules and precepts of criminal procedure, but it is not only contrary to entrenched norms, but completely unnecessary, to presume the truth of a woman’s allegations of sexual abuse. It is sufficient to take them seriously and give them an impartial and thorough investigation. Let judgment follow the facts. If judgment comes before the facts, it is far too easy to find the facts to fit the judgment and ignore those that don’t.
I do not intend to delve into all of the details of the Tara Reade case. There is much written already, and there is much to come I am sure. I merely want to point out some of the differences between the Tara Reade and Christine Blasey Ford cases.
Tara Reade has a history of making up stories and being a very unreliable relator of facts. Ms. Ford has no such history.
Both women waited decades to make their stories public, but Ms. Ford was 15 years old at the time, while Ms. Reade was a grown woman with the means and know how to lodge a complaint.
Brett Cavanaugh was not a public figure until his nomination to the Supreme Court, while Mr. Biden has been a national figure for decades. Ms. Ford had no particular reason to come forward until Cavanaugh was nominated, Ms. Reade has no plausible explanation for why she has not come forward until now.
Ms. Ford was reluctant to make her allegations public and had to be convinced to do so. Ms. Reade complains that she is not getting enough television interviews.
Ms. Ford has never contradicted her allegations, while Ms. Reade was an ardent advocate for Mr. Biden until recently.
If you want to know more about how Ms. Reade’s story and behavior is full of holes, there is a comprehensive account at https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/04/29/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-tara-reade-column/3046962001/.
By all means, let there be an investigation and a full and fair airing of the facts, but to suggest that it is hypocritical to have supported Ms. Ford but not Ms. Reade is completely absurd. No one need apologize for being skeptical of the latter.