My main takeaway from the New York Times' #TaraReade story is that serious journalists exhaustively tried to see if there was a way to corroborate her allegations, that Ms. Reade alleged that she made formal complaints to the U.S. Senate offices, but that no such records exists.

Multiple statutes require that Senate offices - like all federal agencies - retain all government records and personnel files.

For Ms. Reade's allegations to be true, Senate HR would have had to destroyed all records of a formal complaint - a wide conspiracy w/ multiple actors.

Yes, I know, #BelieveWomen. All credible accusations of sexual assault ought to be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

But I'm sorry, #TaraReade's tall tales are not credible accusations. This does not pass the smell test; it requires a willing suspension of disbelief.

The other really big tell here is that Ms. Reade did not file a police report in 1993. But now in April 2020, after Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee - she does.

This is like when opposing counsel blows a notice deadline, and writes back-dated letters trying to fudge it.

As to the substance of #TaraReade's allegations, she's claiming that a U.S. Senator raped her in the hallway of the Russell Senate Office Building.

If you've ever worked on Capitol Hill, you would know how incredible this is. Incredible - as in it is very hard to believe.

The hallways of the Russell Senate Office Building are busy 24/7, like a Manhattan subway station. There is a constant stream of staffers, Capitol Police, constituents, lobbyists trying to pigeonhole Senators, photographers trying to snap a candid shot.

There is no such thing as a "semi-private" space in the halls of the Russell Senate Office Building.

To allege that a U.S. Senator committed an act of sexual assault in the busy halls of the Senate - on a weekday - and that no one noticed, is at best far fetched.

So I can't claim to know the motives of #TaraReade.

I'm not going to go into the ugly politics of character assassination. I'll let the substance of her allegation - or lack thereof - speak for itself.

... But Bernie Bro dead-enders, their candidate down 300 delegates, were pining for some bombshell to sink Joe Biden's candidacy for months.

It would have to be the world's greatest coincidence that The Intercept just happens to publish this lurid accusation in April 2020.

I read the New York Times story as the most serious attempt by a reputable newspaper to see if there was any substance to The Intercept's #TaraReade story.

After an exhaustive attempt, All the News Fit to Print couldn't corroborate Ms. Reade's lurid accusations.