https://www.usatoday.com/story/opin...ault-allegation-tara-reade-column/3046962001/ Why I'm skeptical about Reade's sexual assault claim against Biden: Ex-prosecutor If we must blindly accept every allegation of sexual assault, the #MeToo movement is just a hit squad. And it's too important to be no more than that. Michael J. Stern During 28 years as a state and federal prosecutor, I prosecuted a lot of sexual assault cases. The vast majority came early in my career, when I was a young attorney at a prosecutor’s office outside Detroit. A year ago, Tara Reade accused former Vice President Joe Biden of touching her shoulder and neck in a way that made her uncomfortable, when she worked for him as a staff assistant in 1993. Then last month, Reade told an interviewer that Biden stuck his hand under her skirt and forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. Biden denies the allegation. When women make allegations of sexual assault, my default response is to believe them. But as the news media have investigated Reade’s allegations, I’ve become increasingly skeptical. Here are some of the reasons why: ►Delayed reporting … twice. Reade waited 27 years to publicly report her allegation that Biden sexually assaulted her. I understand that victims of sexual assault often do not come forward immediately because recounting the most violent and degrading experience of their lives, to a bunch of strangers, is the proverbial insult to injury. That so many women were willing to wait in my dreary government office, as I ran to the restroom to pull myself together after listening to their stories, is a testament to their fortitude. Even so, it is reasonable to consider a 27-year reporting delay when assessing the believability of any criminal allegation. More significant perhaps, is Reade’s decision to sit down with a newspaper last year and accuse Biden of touching her in a sexual way that made her uncomfortable — but neglect to mention her claim that he forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. As a lawyer and victims’ rights advocate, Reade was better equipped than most to appreciate that dramatic changes in sexual assault allegations severely undercut an accuser’s credibility — especially when the change is from an uncomfortable shoulder touch to vaginal penetration. ►Implausible explanation for changing story. When Reade went public with her sexual assault allegation in March, she said she wanted to do it in an interview with The Union newspaper in California last April. She said the reporter’s tone made her feel uncomfortable and "I just really got shut down” and didn't tell the whole story. It is hard to believe a reporter would discourage this kind of scoop. Regardless, it's also hard to accept that it took Reade 12 months to find another reporter eager to break that bombshell story. This unlikely explanation damages her credibility. ►People who contradict Reade’s claim. After the alleged assault, Reade said she complained about Biden's harassment to Marianne Baker, Biden’s executive assistant, as well as to top aides Dennis Toner and Ted Kaufman. All three Biden staffers recently told The New York Times that she made no complaint to them. And they did not offer the standard, noncommittal “I don’t remember any such complaint.” The denials were firm. “She did not come to me. If she had, I would have remembered her,” Kaufman said. Toner made a similar statement. And from Baker: “I never once witnessed, or heard of, or received, any reports of inappropriate conduct (by Biden), period." Baker said such a complaint, had Reade made it, "would have left a searing impression on me as a woman professional, and as a manager.” ►Missing formal complaint. Reade told The Times she filed a written complaint against Biden with the Senate personnel office. But The Times could not find any complaint. When The Times asked Reade for a copy of the complaint, she said she did not have it. Yet she maintained and provided a copy of her 1993 Senate employment records. It is odd that Reade kept a copy of her employment records but did not keep a copy of a complaint documenting criminal conduct by a man whose improprieties changed “the trajectory” of her life. It’s equally odd The Times was unable to find a copy of the alleged Senate complaint. ►Memory lapse. Reade has said that she cannot remember the date, time or exact location of the alleged assault, except that it occurred in a “semiprivate” area in corridors connecting Senate buildings. After I left the Justice Department, I was appointed by the federal court in Los Angeles to represent indigent defendants. The first thing that comes to mind from my defense attorney perspective is that Reade’s amnesia about specifics makes it impossible for Biden to go through records and prove he could not have committed the assault, because he was somewhere else at the time. For instance, if Reade alleged Biden assaulted her on the afternoon of June 3, 1993, Biden might be able to prove he was on the Senate floor or at the dentist. Her memory lapses could easily be perceived as bulletproofing a false allegation. ►The lie about losing her job. Readetold The Union that Biden wanted her to serve drinks at an event. After she refused, "she felt pushed out and left Biden's employ," the newspaper said last April. But Reade claimed this month in her Times interview that after she filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Senate personnel office, she faced retaliation and was fired by Biden’s chief of staff. Leaving a job after refusing to serve drinks at a Biden fundraiser is vastly different than being fired as retaliation for filing a sexual harassment complaint with the Senate. The disparity raises questions about Reade’s credibility and account of events. ►Compliments for Biden. In the 1990s, Biden worked to pass the Violence Against Women Act. In 2017, on multiple occasions, Reade retweeted or “liked” praise for Biden and his work combating sexual assault. In the same year, Reade tweeted other compliments of Biden, including: “My old boss speaks truth. Listen.” It is bizarre that Reade would publicly laud Biden for combating the very thing she would later accuse him of doing to her. ►Rejecting Biden, embracing Sanders. By this January, Reade was all in for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Her unwavering support was accompanied by an unbridled attack on Biden. In an article on Medium, Reade referred to Biden as “the blue version of Trump.” Reade also pushed a Sanders/Elizabeth Warren ticket, while complaining that the Democratic National Committee was trying to “shove” Biden “down Democrat voters throats.” Despite her effusive 2017 praise for Biden’s efforts on behalf of women, after pledging her support to Sanders, Reade turned on Biden and contradicted all she said before. She claimed that her decision to publicly accuse Biden of inappropriately touching her was due to “the hypocrisy that Biden is supposed to be the champion of women’s rights.” ►Love of Russia and Putin. During 2017 when Reade was praising Biden, she was condemning Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s efforts to hijack American democracy in the 2016 election. This changed in November 2018, when Reade trashed the United States as a country of “hypocrisy and imperialism” and “not a democracy at all but a corporate autocracy.” Reade’s distaste for America closely tracked her new infatuation with Russia and Putin. She referred to Putin as a “genius” with an athletic prowess that “is intoxicating to American women.” Then there’s this gem: “President Putin has an alluring combination of strength with gentleness. His sensuous image projects his love for life, the embodiment of grace while facing adversity.” In March 2019, Reade essentially dismissed the idea of Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election as hype. She said she loved Russia and her Russian relatives — and "like most women across the world, I like President Putin … a lot, his shirt on or shirt off.” Pivoting again this month, Reade said that she “did not support Putin, and that her comments were pulled out of context from a novel she was writing,” according to The Times. The quotations above, however, are from political opinion pieces she published, and she did not offer any other "context" to The Times. Reade's writings shed light on her political alliance with Sanders, who has a long history of ties to Russia and whose stump speech is focused largely on his position that American inequality is due to a corporate autocracy. But at a very minimum, Reade's wild shifts in political ideology and her sexual infatuation with a brutal dictator of a foreign adversary raise questions about her emotional stability. ►Suspect timing. For 27 years, Reade did not publicly accuse Biden of sexually assaulting her. But then Biden's string of March primary victories threw Sanders off his seemingly unstoppable path to the Democratic nomination. On March 25, as Sanders was pondering his political future, Reade finally went public with her claim. The confluence of Reade’s support of Sanders, distaste for the traditional American democracy epitomized by Biden, and the timing of her allegation should give pause to even the most strident Biden critics. ►The Larry King call. Last week, new "evidence" surfaced: a recorded call by an anonymous woman to CNN's "Larry King Live" show in 1993. Reade says the caller was her mother, who's now deceased. Assuming Reade is correct, her mother said: "I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him." As a prosecutor, this would not make me happy. Given that the call was anonymous, Reade’s mother should have felt comfortable relaying the worst version of events. When trying to obtain someone’s assistance, people typically do not downplay the seriousness of an incident. They exaggerate it. That Reade’s mother said nothing about her daughter being sexually assaulted would lead many reasonable people to conclude that sexual assault was not the problem that prompted the call to King. Reade’s mother also said her daughter did not go to the press with her problem “out of respect” for the senator. I’ve never met a woman who stayed silent out of “respect” for the man who sexually assaulted her. And it is inconceivable that a mother would learn of her daughter’s sexual assault and suggest that respect for the assailant is what stands between a life of painful silence and justice. The "out of respect" explanation sounds more like an office squabble with staff that resulted in leaving the job. Indeed, in last year's interview with The Washington Post, Reade laid the blame on Biden’s staff for “bullying” her. She also said, “I want to emphasize: It’s not him. It’s the people around him.” ►Statements to others. Reade’s brother, Collin Moulton, told The Post recently that he remembers Reade telling him Biden inappropriately touched her neck and shoulders. He said nothing about a sexual assault until a few days later, when he texted The Post that he remembered Reade saying Biden put his hand "under her clothes.” That Reade’s brother neglected to remember the most important part of her allegation initially could lead people to believe he recounted his Post interview to Reade, was told he left out the most important part, and texted it to The Post to avoid a discussion about why he failed to mention it in the first place. In interviews with The Times, one friend of Reade’s said Reade told her she was sexually assaulted by Biden. Another friend said Reade told her that Biden touched her inappropriately. Both friends insisted that The Times maintain their anonymity. On Monday, Business Insider published an interview with a friend of Reade’s who said that in 1995 or 1996, Reade told her she was assaulted by Biden. Insider called this friend, Lynda LaCasse, the “first person to independently corroborate, in detail and on the record, that Reade had told others about her assault allegations contemporaneously.” But Reade alleged she was assaulted in 1993. Telling a friend two or three years later is not contemporaneous. Legal references to a contemporaneous recounting typically refer to hours or days — the point being that facts are still fresh in a person's mind and the statement is more likely to be accurate. The Insider also quoted a colleague of Reade’s in the mid-1990s, Lorraine Sanchez, who said Reade told her she had been sexually harassed by a former boss. Reade did not mention Biden by name and did not provide details of the alleged harassment. In prior interviews, Reade gave what appeared be an exhaustive list of people she told of the alleged assault. Neither of the women who talked to Business Insider were on that list. The problem with statements from friends is that the information they recount is only as good as the information given to them. Let’s say Reade left her job because she was angry about being asked to serve drinks or because she was fired for a legitimate reason. If she tried to save face by telling friends that she left because she was sexually assaulted, that’s all her friends would know and all they could repeat. Prior statements made by a sexual assault victim can carry some weight, but only if the accuser is credible. In Reade’s case, the statements coming from her friends are only of value if people believe Reade can be relied on to tell the truth, regardless of the light in which it paints her. ►Lack of other sexual assault allegations. Last year, several women claimed that Biden made them uncomfortable with things like a shoulder touch or a hug. (I wrote a column critical of one such allegation by Lucy Flores.) The Times and Post found no allegation of sexual assault against Biden except Reade's. It is possible that in his 77 years, Biden committed one sexual assault and it was against Reade. But in my experience, men who commit a sexual assault are accused more than once ... like Donald Trump, who has had more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault leveled against him and who was recorded bragging about grabbing women’s genitalia. ►What remains. There are no third-party eyewitnesses or videos to support Tara Reade’s allegation that she was assaulted by Joe Biden. No one but Reade and Biden know whether an assault occurred. This is typical of sexual assault allegations. Jurors, in this case the voting public, have to consider the facts and circumstances to assess whether Reade’s allegation is credible. To do that, they have to determine whether Reade herself is believable. I’ve dreaded writing this piece because I do not want it to be used as a guidebook to dismantling legitimate allegations of sexual assault. But not every claim of sexual assault is legitimate. During almost three decades as a prosecutor, I can remember dismissing two cases because I felt the defendant had not committed the charged crime. One of those cases was a rape charge. The facts of that case made me question the credibility of the woman who claimed she was raped. In the end, she acknowledged that she fabricated the allegation after her boyfriend caught her with a man with whom she was having an affair. I know that “Believe Women” is the mantra of the new decade. It is a response to a century of ignoring and excusing men’s sexual assaults against women. But men and women alike should not be forced to blindly accept every allegation of sexual assault for fear of being labeled a misogynist or enabler. We can support the #MeToo movement and not support allegations of sexual assault that do not ring true. If these two positions cannot coexist, the movement is no more than a hit squad. That’s not how I see the #MeToo movement. It’s too important, for too many victims of sexual assault and their allies, to be no more than that. Michael J. Stern, a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors, was a federal prosecutor for 25 years in Detroit and Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelJStern1
Two top of mind issues here: 1. This is written by “a” prosecutor, presumably with a political interest in this. After all, what attorney works for free on a political issue? 2. Change the names to Ford and Kavanaugh, and reread this article. This difference being, is Reade seems much more credible. After all, unlike Ford, she did not feel the need to “Wash” her social media accounts before testifying, right? Then again, neither Trump or Biden have their hands clean, do they? How do we change our system to attract competent people who are not steeped in moral turpitude?
Understandable, understandable Yes it's perfectly understandable Comprehensible, Comprehensible Not a bit reprehensible It's so defensible
A year ago, Tara Reade accused former Vice President Joe Biden of touching her shoulder and neck in a way that made her uncomfortable, when she worked for him as a staff assistant in 1993. Then last month, Reade told an interviewer that Biden stuck his hand under her skirt and forcibly penetrated her with his fingers. Reade told The Times she filed a written complaint against Biden with the Senate personnel office. But The Times could not find any complaint. When The Times asked Reade for a copy of the complaint, she said she did not have it. In the 1990s, Biden worked to pass the Violence Against Women Act. In 2017, on multiple occasions, Reade retweeted or “liked” praise for Biden and his work combating sexual assault. In the same year, Reade tweeted other compliments of Biden, including: “My old boss speaks truth. Listen.” It is bizarre that Reade would publicly laud Biden for combating the very thing she would later accuse him of doing to her. By this January, Reade was all in for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Her unwavering support was accompanied by an unbridled attack on Biden. In an article on Medium, Reade referred to Biden as “the blue version of Trump.” Reade also pushed a Sanders/Elizabeth Warren ticket, while complaining that the Democratic National Committee was trying to “shove” Biden “down Democrat voters throats.” Reade’s brother, Collin Moulton, told The Post recently that he remembers Reade telling him Biden inappropriately touched her neck and shoulders. He said nothing about a sexual assault until a few days later, when he texted The Post that he remembered Reade saying Biden put his hand "under her clothes.”
Agreed.No accusations of sexual assault but one who cant remember when or where it happened and changed her story.Trump on the other hand... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-ru...-sexual-misconduct_n_57ffae1fe4b0162c043a7212 A Running List Of The Women Who’ve Accused Donald Trump Of Sexual Misconduct On Oct. 8, 2016, The Washington Post published footage from 2005 of serial misogynist Donald Trump bragging that as a famous man, he can get away with anything. Like kissing women without waiting for permission. And grabbing women by the pussy. Trump has defended these comments, repeatedly, as “locker room talk.” When pressed by Anderson Cooper during the second presidential debate, he said that he absolutely had not sexually assaulted women. But since Trump’s remarks emerged ― and well before then ― women have shared their allegations of sexual abuse against the Republican presidential nominee. Trump and his administration have repeatedly denied all of the accusations, tweeting that women he didn’t know were making “false accusations.” In October 2017, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that all of Trump’s accusers were lying. Below is a working list of women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. These alleged incidents span more than three decades, from the early 1980s to 2016, and are presented here based on the date they became public. * * * 1. Karen Johnson Her account: Johnson alleged that Trump grabbed her vagina without her consent and forcibly kissed her at a New Year’s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago in the early 2000s. The allegation was first revealed in journalists Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy’s book, “All the President’s Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator,” excerpted by Esquire. “When he says that thing, ‘Grab them in the pussy,’ that hits me hard because when he grabbed me and pulled me into the tapestry, that’s where he grabbed me ― he grabbed me there in my front and pulled me in,” Johnson told Levine and El-Faizy. Trump’s response: N/A When we found out: Oct. 9, 2019 When she says it happened: Early 2000s * * * 2. E. Jean Carroll Her account: In an excerpt of her memoir published in New York magazine, Carroll, a longtime Elle magazine advice columnist, alleged that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. The then-real estate mogul spotted Carroll, then 52, at Bergdorf Goodman. Recognizing her as “that advice lady,” he asked if she would help him buy a gift for an unnamed woman. Carroll agreed, and after browsing gifts, Trump allegedly led her to the lingerie section. He suggested that she try on a lace bodysuit, and after expressing reservations, she reluctantly agreed. “The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,” she wrote. Trump then held her against a wall and began pulling down her tights, according to Carroll. “The next moment, still wearing correct business attire, shirt, tie, suit jacket, overcoat, he opens the overcoat, unzips his pants, and, forcing his fingers around my private area, thrusts his penis halfway — or completely, I’m not certain — inside me,” she wrote. Trump’s response: In a statement to New York magazine, the White House said: “This is a completely false and unrealistic story surfacing 25 years after allegedly taking place and was created simply to make the President look bad.” Trump later responded in a longer statement, accusing Carroll of fabricating “false stories of assault” for publicity, and attacked New York magazine as “a dying publication [trying to] prop itself up by peddling fake news.” He also falsely claimed that “I’ve never met this person in my life,” despite a picture of Carroll and Trump at a party that was included in the book excerpt. When we found out: June 21, 2019 When she says it happened: The fall of 1995 or spring of 1996 * * * 3. Alva Johnson Her account: Johnson, a former staffer on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, told The Washington Post that the president kissed her without her consent outside of a rally in Florida on August 24, 2016. “I immediately felt violated because I wasn’t expecting it or wanting it,” Johnson said. “I can still see his lips coming straight for my face.” She said she turned her face away from Trump’s kiss, which landed on the side of her mouth, telling the Post that it felt “super-creepy and inappropriate.” Johnson filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 25, 2016, seeking unspecified damages for emotional pain and suffering. Trump’s response: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded to Johnson’s accusation, calling it “absurd on its face.” When we found out: Feb. 25, 2019 When she says it happened: August 2016 * * * 4. Ninni Laaksonen Her account: Laaksonen, a former Miss Finland, told Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat that Trump groped her in July 2006 while she was in New York competing in the Miss Universe pageant. She says the incident occurred right before she and three other contestants, along with Trump, appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” “Trump stood right next to me and suddenly he squeezed my butt,” she told Ilta-Sanomat. “He really grabbed my butt. I don’t think anybody saw it but I flinched and thought: ‘What is happening?’” Laaksonen also says that at a party she attended during that time, she was told by another guest that Trump liked her “because [she] looked like Melania when she was younger.” Trump’s response: Trump did not dispute this allegation specifically, but has denied the broader accusations that he walked into pageant changing rooms unannounced. When we found out: Oct. 27, 2016 When she says it happened: 2006 * * * 5. Jessica Drake Her account: Drake, an adult film actor and director, said in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred that Trump grabbed her, kissed her without her consent and offered her $10,000 to have sex with him at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament. She said that she met Trump at a booth for her employer at the time, Wicked Pictures, where Trump flirted with her and asked for her number. According to Drake, later that night he invited her to his penthouse suite. She said she brought along two other women because she “didn’t feel right going alone.” During the press conference, Drake said that Trump “grabbed each of us tightly in a hug and kissed each one of us without asking for permission.” Drake said he was wearing pajamas and there was a body guard present. Later that night, Drake said a man called her on Trump’s behalf to ask her to dinner, but she declined. According to Drake, Trump then called her directly and, after she declined again, asked: “What do you want? How much?” Drake said in the press conference that she declined once more, then received a call from a man on behalf of Trump offering her $10,000 and the use of his private jet to “accept his invitation.” Trump’s response: The campaign issued a statement calling Drake’s allegations “false and ridiculous.” “The picture is one of thousands taken out of respect for people asking to have their picture taken with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not know this person, does not remember this person and would have no interest in ever knowing her,” the campaign said, calling Drake’s announcement “just another example of the Clinton campaign trying to rig the election.” Also, during a policy speech on Saturday morning in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Trump threatened to sue all the women who have accused the candidate of sexual assault. When we found out: Oct. 22, 2016 When she says it happened: 2006 * * * 6. Karena Virginia Her account: Virginia said in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred that Trump groped her while she was leaving the US Open in 1998. She said that she was waiting for a car to take her home when Trump approached her with a group of a few other men. According to Virginia he said, “Hey look at this one!” and “Look at those legs.” Virginia alleged that he then grabbed her right arm with his right arm, then touched the inside of her right breast before reportedly asking, “Don’t you know who I am?” Virginia said that her shock soon turned to shame and that she changed the way she dressed as a result of the encounter, hoping to avoid unwanted male attention. She was 27 at the time. Trump’s response: A Trump campaign spokesperson denied the accusation in a statement to The Washington Post: “Voters are tired of these circuslike antics and reject these fictional stories and the clear efforts to benefit Hillary Clinton.” When we found out: Oct. 20, 2016 When she says it happened: 1998 * * * 7. Cathy Heller Her account: Heller, now 63, told The Guardian that the first and only time she interacted with Trump, “he grabbed her, went for a kiss, and grew angry with her as she twisted away.” This was all while Heller was having Mother’s Day brunch at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, with her husband, in-laws and children. She alleges that Trump said, “Oh, come on” when she protested and held her still while he kissed her on the side of the mouth before walking away. A relative who was seated at the table that day confirmed to The Guardian that Trump was “very forceful” and got “in her face.” Trump’s response: Trump campaign spokesperson Jason Miller told The Guardian: “There is no way that something like this would have happened in a public place on Mother’s Day at Mr. Trump’s resort. It would have been the talk of Palm Beach for the past two decades.” When we found out: Oct. 15, 2016 When she says it happened: Around 1997 (Heller says she is not 100 percent sure) * * * 8. Summer Zervos Her account: Zervos, a contestant on season five of “The Apprentice” (and a self-described Republican) said in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred that Trump assaulted her on several occasions. She said the first time, she met with Trump in his office and he kissed her on the mouth, which Zervos rationalized as simply a strange greeting. On a separate occasion, she said she met with Trump at the Beverly Hills Hotel to discuss business opportunities. Instead Trump grabbed her while she sat next to him and began kissing her and touching her breasts, Zervos said in her statement. Trump later walked her into the bedroom, she told reporters, and “began thrusting his genitals.” The two did go on to have dinner and discuss real estate, according to Zervos. When asked why she chose to come forward now, she said: “I want to be able to sleep when I’m 70.” As of December 2017, Zervos is moving forward with a defamation lawsuit against Trump. Trump’s response: Trump denied Zervos’ allegation in a lengthy statement. ”I vaguely remember Ms. Zervos as one of the many contestants on The Apprentice over the years. To be clear, I never met her at a hotel or greeted her inappropriately a decade ago. That is not who I am as a person, and it is not how I’ve conducted my life,” Trump said in an October 2016 statement. “In fact, Ms. Zervos continued to contact me for help, emailing my office on April 14th of this year asking that I visit her restaurant in California.” (Head here to read the full statement.) When we found out: Oct. 14, 2016 When she says it happens: 2007 * * * 9. Kristin Anderson Her account: Anderson says she was out at a Manhattan nightclub with friends, sitting on a red velvet couch, when she felt Trump reach into her skirt and touch her vagina through her underwear, The Washington Post reports. She told the paper that the incident was brief, but that she and her friends were “very grossed out.” Anderson was in her early 20s at the time, and an aspiring model. Trump’s response: A spokeswoman for Trump told The Washington Post that he “denies this phony allegation by someone looking to get some free publicity. It is totally ridiculous.” It’s worth noting, though, that Anderson did not approach the Post with her story. She was contacted by a reporter who’d heard about her experience from other people, and reportedly deliberated for several days about whether or not to go public. When we found out: Oct. 14, 2016 When she says it happened: The early 1990s * * * 10. Samantha Holvey Her account: Holvey told CNN that while she was competing in the 2006 Miss USA pageant, Trump inspected each contestant before the pageant. “He would step in front of each girl and look you over from head to toe like we were just meat, we were just sexual objects, that we were not people. You know when a gross guy at the bar is checking you out? It’s that feeling,” she told CNN, adding that it was the “the dirtiest I felt in my entire life.” Trump’s response: Trump did not specifically dispute this allegation, but has denied the broader accusations that he walked into pageant changing rooms unannounced. When we found out: Oct. 14, 2016 When she says it happened: 2006 * * * 11. Lisa Boyne Her account: Boyne told HuffPost that during the summer of 1996, Boyne, Trump, modeling agent John Casablancas and others went to dinner in Lower Manhattan. Boyne, who at the time worked at a think tank, said the women at the dinner were all sitting at a circular booth bookended by Trump and Casablancas. According to Boyne, the women could only exit the booth by walking on the table. She told HuffPost that Trump did not pursue her sexually, but asked her opinion on who at the table he should sleep with. Women And Power A weekly exploration of women and power. Trump’s response: Hope Hicks responded to the allegation in a statement to HuffPost: “Mr. Trump never heard of this woman and would never do that.” When we found out: Oct. 13, 2016 When she says it happened: 1996 * * * 12. Jessica Leeds Her account: More than 30 years ago, Leeds was traveling for work when she sat next to Trump on a flight to New York. Leeds, who is now 74, told The New York Times that she and Trump spoke for a bit, then about 45 minutes into the flight he lifted the armrest between them and began to grab her breasts and put his hand up her skirt. “He was like an octopus,” she told The New York Times. “His hands were everywhere.” Trump’s response: Trump vehemently denied the story. An attorney representing him has called upon The New York Times to retract it and has threatened to sue the publication. (The New York Times responded.) When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: The early 1980s * * * 13. Rachel Crooks Her account: Crooks says she was assaulted by Trump in an elevator while working as a receptionist for a real estate investment and development company in Trump Tower. She told The New York Times that upon meeting Trump, she introduced herself and shook his hand, but he would not let go. Trump began to kiss her on the cheeks, then directly on the mouth. “It was so inappropriate,” she told the Times. “I was so upset that he thought I was so insignificant that he could do that.” Crooks was 22 at the time. Trump’s response: See above. When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: 2005 * * * 14. Mindy McGillivray Her account: McGillivray, 36, told the Palm Beach Post that Trump groped her while she was attending a concert at Mar-a-Lago, his estate-slash-private-club in Palm Beach, Florida. She was there to help a friend who was photographing the concert, when she says Trump groped her. “All of a sudden I felt a grab, a little nudge. I think it’s Ken’s camera bag, that was my first instinct. I turn around and there’s Donald,” McGillivray told the Palm Beach Post. “This was a pretty good nudge. More of a grab,’’ she continued. “It was pretty close to the center of my butt. I was startled. I jumped.” Trump’s response: A day after the account was published, CNN reported that Trump’s campaign was drafting a lawsuit against the paper. When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: 2003 * * * 15. Natasha Stoynoff Her account: In a harrowing essay for People, Stoynoff ― a journalist ― described how Trump assaulted her while she was interviewing him and his wife, Melania, at their Palm Beach estate. She writes that Trump insisted on giving her a private tour of the grounds, at which point he pinned and kissed her: “Trump shut the door behind us. I turned around, and within seconds, he was pushing me against the wall, and forcing his tongue down my throat ... I was grateful when Trump’s longtime butler burst into the room a minute later, as I tried to unpin myself.” Trump’s response: At a campaign rally, Trump questioned her claims saying, “Look at her. ... I don’t think so.” When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: 2005 * * * 16. Jennifer Murphy Her account: Murphy, a contestant on Season 4 of “The Apprentice,” told Grazia that Trump kissed her on the lips after a job interview. “He walked me to the elevator, and I said goodbye. ... When he pulled my face in and gave me a smooch. I was like ‘OK,’” she told Grazia. “I didn’t know how to act.” Murphy also told the publication that she still planned to vote for Trump. Trump’s response: N/A When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: 2005 * * * 17. Mariah Billado Her account: Billado, a former Miss Teen USA contestant, told BuzzFeed that Trump walked into the changing room while the contestants were half-dressed. “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here’” Billado said. She remembered Trump responding: “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.” Billado was one of four former Miss Teen USA contestants to tell BuzzFeed the same story (the other three chose to stay anonymous). Trump’s response: In a statement to the Washington Post, a spokesperson for Trump denied all allegations that he walked into the changing room while women were naked. “These accusations have no merit and have already been disproven by many other individuals who were present,” the statement read. “When you see questionable attacks like this magically put out there in the final month of a presidential campaign, you have to ask yourself what the political motivations are and why the media is pushing it.” When we found out: Oct. 12, 2016 When she says it happened: 1997 * * * 18. Tasha Dixon Her account: Dixon told CBS 2 Los Angeles that when she was 18 and competing in a Miss Universe pageant, Trump walked into the changing room while the participants were changing. “Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked changing into our bikinis,” Dixon said. “He just came strolling right in. There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Other girls were naked.” Trump’s response: In a statement to the Washington Post, a spokesperson for Trump denied all allegations that he walked into the changing room while women were naked. “These accusations have no merit and have already been disproven by many other individuals who were present,” the statement read. “When you see questionable attacks like this magically put out there in the final month of a presidential campaign, you have to ask yourself what the political motivations are and why the media is pushing it.” When we found out: Oct. 11, 2016 When she says it happened: 2001 * * * 19. Cassandra Searles Her account: Yahoo News reported that last summer, Cassandra Searles ― Miss Washington 2013 ― posted a photo on Facebook of her fellow contestants and the question: “Do y’all remember that one time we had to do our onstage introductions, but this one guy treated us like cattle and made us do it again because we didn’t look him in the eyes? Do you also remember when he then proceeded to have us lined up so he could get a closer look at his property?” In a follow-up comment on the post, she reportedly added: “He probably doesn’t want me telling the story about that time he continually grabbed my ass and invited me to his hotel room.” Trump’s response: Trump did not specifically dispute this allegation, but has denied the broader accusations that he walked into pageant changing rooms unannounced. When we found out: June 2016 When she says it happened: Unclear, but possibly in 2013 * * * 20. “Jane Doe” Her account: In June, a California woman — “Jane Doe” ― filed a lawsuit alleging that Trump raped her at a party when she was 13 years old. As Buzzfeed reported, an initial hearing in the case had been scheduled for December 2016. However, on Nov. 4 of that year ― several days after the attorney for “Jane Doe” announced a press conference, then abruptly canceled it at her client’s request ― she instructed her attorney to dismiss the lawsuit. Trump’s response: Trump has vigorously denied the claims, saying that the lawsuit was designed to smear his presidential campaign. When we found out: June 2016 When she says it happened: 1994 * * * 21. Bridget Sullivan Her account: Sullivan, a former Miss Universe contestant, told BuzzFeed that Trump would hug her and give her “a squeeze that your creepy uncle would.” She added that before the Miss Universe contest in 2000, Trump came backstage to wish all of the contestants good luck. “The time that he walked through the dressing rooms was really shocking,” she said. “We were all naked.” Trump’s response: Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks told BuzzFeed that some of the stories mentioned in BuzzFeed’s report “are totally false” and pointed to the fact that Trump has tweeted, “Nobody has more respect for women than Donald Trump!” When we found out: May 18, 2016 When she says it happened: 2000 * * * 22. Temple Taggart McDowell Her account: The year that Taggart McDowell was crowned Miss Utah, Trump had just taken ownership of the Miss USA pageant. She says that when she was first introduced to him, he kissed her. “He kissed me directly on the lips,” Taggart McDowell told The New York Times when she came forward with her story. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, gross.’ He was married to Marla Maples at the time … I was like ‘Wow, that’s inappropriate.’” Trump’s response: Trump told NBC he doesn’t know who she is and denies he ever assaulted her. When we found out: May 2016 When she says it happened: 1997 * * * 23. Jill Harth Her account: Harth worked with Trump in the 1990s (she and her partner operated a competition called American Dream Calendar Girls), but it ended in a bitter legal battle. In a 1997 lawsuit, Harth alleged in court documents that Trump repeatedly sexually harassed her, at one point groping her under the table. (The documents were surfaced by The Boston Globe.) Though she eventually dropped that suit, she stands by her story. “How can people not believe me now?” she asked “Inside Edition” after footage of Trump emerged in which he said he can grab women by the pussy. Trump’s response: In a May New York Times article on Trump’s treatment of women that also included Harth’s account, Trump said it was, in fact, Harth who had pursued him. When we found out: April 2016 When she says it happens: 1993 * * * 24. Ivana Trump Her account: In a 1992 deposition during their divorce, Trump’s first wife described an incident in which she says her then-husband forced her to have sex with him. (Spousal rape is still rape.) The deposition came to light in the 1993 Trump biography Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump. Ivana later softened her claims, saying that she “felt violated” as the love and tenderness she was accustomed to from her husband was absent that night, but she was not accusing him of a crime. She followed-up with a statement obtained by CNN last June telling in which she said “the story is totally without merit.” Trump’s response: He denies it ever took place. When we found out: 1993 When she says it happens: 1989 This article, originally published in October 2016, has been updated to include additional allegations made public in February, June and October 2019.
First, comparing Biden's alleged sexual misconduct with Trump's is like saying I can throw a football -- and so can Tom Brady. A relevant difference is, except for the Alva Johnson dropped lawsuit, Trump's sex incidents happened when he was a private citizen and not a U.S. senator. But a positive for Trump is that one proves he's not a racist.
Biden likely touched her shoulder and neck per the first allegation (that is his MO) but I am skeptical of the second allegation of force-ably penetrating her with his fingers.