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There's a story spreading that Joe Biden sexually assaulted a former aide named Tara Reade, and Berners are amplifying it with hashtags like #IBelieveTara and #TimesUpBiden. Here are a bunch of reasons why this story is NOT to be trusted (thread):
ONE: Reade has apparently changed her story multiple times, saying as recently as last year that Biden "did not make her feel sexualized." >>>
TWO: Reade claims #TimesUp wouldn't help her with legal assistance, but as @raising_hill points out, TimesUp only provides it if you come to them with an attorney––and she didn't have one. >>> https://twitter.com/raising_hill/status/1242987371857088514?s=20
THREE: The people doing the most to spread this story are notorious for indulging conspiracy theories or falsifying claims. Katie Halper, who interviewed Reade, lies about Syria and Assad all the time, and invites Syria truthers on her podcast. >>>
In addition, Ryan Grim, who wrote The Intercept story about Reade and TimesUp, falsifies claims to smear Democrats he doesn't like. Here's a story I broke in April 2018 about how he made up a controversy to smear then-candidate @GilCisnerosCA: >>> https://thedailybanter.com/2018/05/intercept-refuses-to-back-down-from-likely-false-story/
FOUR: The people doing the most to amplify this story, like Katie Halper and Shaun King, are die-hard Bernie-or-Busters who have gone from "Joe Has Dementia" to "Where's Joe?" to "Joe Committed Sexual Assault." Another huge red flag. >>>
FIVE: Tara Reade has a history of praising Vladimir Putin in Medium articles available via internet archives. In this one, she says, "President Putin scares the power elite in America because he is a compassionate, caring, visionary leader." >>> https://archive.is/Vi7Hf
Side Note: People are sharing a clip of a Dr. Phil episode where a woman who says Putin is in love with her, saying that it's Tara, but take that with a huge grain of salt, as it probably isn't. >>>
SIX: If Reade's story was legitimate, what was stopping her from going to Ronan Farrow, Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor or any other reporter who's done so much to change the conversation on sexual assault? Why would she EVER go to Katie Halper first? >>>
SEVEN: Joe Biden may be touchy-feely, but Donald Trump is a rapist with many credible accusations against him (like this one). >>> https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/2/19/21144280/e-jean-carroll-elle-fired-trump-defamation-lawsuit
In short: Biden has been vetted to death, and if there really WAS a skeleton like this in his closet, it would have come out long ago. Don't give this story any oxygen. Let it die of starvation. Now let's get this man in the White House. (End Communication)
PS: to the people in my mentions saying “But Ryan Grim broke the Christine Blasey Ford story!”—no he didn’t. https://twitter.com/Wilson__Valdez/status/1243628945788080128?s=20
PPS Amanda Marcotte of @Salon wrote today about the holes in Reade’s accusations against Biden—and broke that she cared more about suing people who called her a Russian agent online than suing Biden. https://www.salon.com/2020/03/31/a-woman-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault-and-all-hell-breaks-loose-online-heres-what-we-know/
