Fox News is blasting CNN over a 1993 video clip that appears to support Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
The video appears to show Reade’s late mother calling CNN’s “Larry King Live” to ask for advice regarding her daughter’s “problems” while working for a “prominent senator.” The caller, whom Reade claims is her mother, does not mention sexual assault or refer to the specific details of Reade’s claim. “The only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him,” says the caller.
Reade’s mother passed away in 2016 and there is no way to confirm the identity of the caller.
In a criminal complaint filed this month, Tara Reade elaborates on previous claims that Joe Biden touched in inappropriately in 1993 while she was working as a staff assistant in his Senate office. In one instance, Reade claims Biden pushed her up against a wall, put his hands up her skirt, and penetrated her with his fingers. Reade says she was fired when she tried to speak up about the incident.
“CNN has largely ignored Reade’s claims, drawing criticism from media watchdogs that often contrast it with how the liberal network handled allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh with hundreds of stories and countless segments,” noted Fox News. “CNN finally published its first story on Reade’s claims on April 17th, weeks after they were made.”
Indeed, the “Larry King Live” video clip wasn’t even located by CNN, but by a conservative group called NewsBusters.
“That CNN couldn’t pull this clip out of their own archives, even after Reade mentioned it in a recent interview, seems to demonstrate that CNN just lacks hustle to investigate this story or just wants to keep the story buried,” says Jeffrey McCall, a DePauw University professor and media critic. “Either way, this comes off as journalist misconduct.”
The situation is uncomfortable for Democrats, who have leaned heavily into sexual assault allegations against President Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“Have had a lot of prominent Democrats write me, many in the past few minutes, say they think this Larry King video is damaging for Joe Biden, and bolsters Tara Reade’s credibility,” says Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice PAC and a Bernie Sanders supporter. “But they think speaking about it will help Trump so they won’t say anything.”
“We lose ALL moral authority if we embrace ‘the lesser of two accused rapists,'” added Peter Dauo, a former Hillary Clinton adviser who has called on Biden to withdraw.