{"id":12712,"date":"2020-04-29T08:28:56","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T12:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=12712"},"modified":"2020-04-29T08:28:56","modified_gmt":"2020-04-29T12:28:56","slug":"mainstream-media-goes-above-and-beyond-to-protect-sexual-predator-joe-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=12712","title":{"rendered":"Mainstream Media Goes Above and Beyond to Protect Sexual Predator Joe Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Washington Post Headline \u201cAmplifies\u201d Concerns Over Double Standard On Biden Sexual Assault Allegation<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->by Jonathan Turley<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"featured featured-video video-ct sticky-video\" data-v-275a95fe=\"\">\n<div class=\"contain\" data-v-275a95fe=\"\">\n<div class=\"info\" data-v-275a95fe=\"\">\n<div class=\"caption\" data-v-275a95fe=\"\">\n<p class=\"title\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-79133 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathanturley.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/220px-biden_2013.jpg?resize=220%2C275&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"220px-Biden_2013\" width=\"220\" height=\"275\" data-attachment-id=\"79133\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jonathanturley.org\/2014\/05\/15\/vice-presidents-youngest-son-hunter-given-lucrative-position-with-ukrainian-oil-company\/220px-biden_2013\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathanturley.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/220px-biden_2013.jpg?fit=220%2C275&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"220,275\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"220px-Biden_2013\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathanturley.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/220px-biden_2013.jpg?fit=220%2C275&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonathanturley.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/220px-biden_2013.jpg?fit=220%2C275&amp;ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>The Washington Post is facing intense criticism over a headline on the sexual assault allegation against former Vice President Joe Biden by former Senate aide Tara Reade.\u00a0 Various witnesses have come forward to support Reade by saying that she told them of the assault in the 1990s and a new clip has emerged on CNN of Reade\u2019s mother raising the controversy on Larry King Live in 1993.\u00a0 The Washington Post, which had exhaustive and hard-hitting coverage of the allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh, crafted one of the most convoluted headlines humanly possible:\u00a0<em>\u201cDevelopments in allegations against Biden amplify efforts to question his behavior.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Unlike the Kavanaugh stories, the headline focused the story on efforts to discredit Biden as opposed to the assault allegation by Reade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The headline was seen by critics of the double standard being applied to the Biden allegation.\u00a0 It raises similar objections to how Democratic leaders and commentators spent years protecting Bill Clinton from an array women alleging everything from sexual harassment to rape.\u00a0 A more obvious headline would be \u201c<em>Two Additional Witnesses Come Forward To Support Biden Accuser.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Developments in allegations against Biden amplify efforts to question his behavior <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OWXvnKzvvN\">https:\/\/t.co\/OWXvnKzvvN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Post Politics (@postpolitics) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/postpolitics\/status\/1254957071562407939?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It is important to note that columnists and reporters like Washington Post reporter Matt Viser do not write headlines or approve them.<\/p>\n<p>There has been an almost universal spin in the media to portray the Biden allegation as a political story of how Republicans are seeking to use the story against him.\u00a0 There is a true element to that story. However, the disconnect with the Kavanaugh coverage is quite extraordinary.\u00a0 There was little equivocation in either the headlines or the stories.<\/p>\n<p>The disconnect is even more striking among Democratic leaders.\u00a0 I\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jonathanturley.org\/2018\/09\/25\/hiranos-hedge-kavanaugh-not-entitled-to-presumption-of-innocence-due-to-his-ideological-views\/\">previously wrote<\/a>\u00a0on the position of Democratic senators, before Christine Blasey Ford even testified, that they believed her and opposed Kavanaugh.\u00a0 That was an allegation from high school that had not been previously voiced in public.\u00a0 Yet, Democratic senator denounced anyone who did not believe Ford based solely on her account.\u00a0Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/video\/2018\/09\/18\/sen_hirono_on_kavanaugh_men_need_to_shut_up_accuser_needs_to_be_believed_and_i_believe_her.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">declared that all men need to \u201cshut up\u201d:\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cNot only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely come forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed. Guess who\u2019s perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It\u2019s the men in this country, and I just want to say to the men of this country to shut up and step up. Do the right thing for a change.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Other Democratic senators could not go public any faster with immediate support for Ford as a clear victim.\u00a0 Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn). stated \u201cLet me just say right at the outset: I believe, Dr. Ford. I believe the survivor here.\u201d\u00a0 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., NY) declared \u201cI believe her. Many, many, many Americans believe her. Many, many women in America who have been taken advantage of certainly believe her.\u201d\u00a0 Sen. Kirsten GIllibrand (D., NY) said \u201cI believe her because she\u2019s telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A wide array of members demanded that the Congress must believe women who raise such allegations or they are abusing these victims.\u00a0 Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who just endorsed Biden yesterday, attacked those who did not simply accept the word of Ford: \u201cSenate Republicans chose to send a clear message to all women: do not speak out, and if you do \u2013 do not expect to be heard, believed or respected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reade specifically struck out at Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Cal.), who was one of the most vocal politicians demanding that Ford\u2019s allegations be accepted and Kavanaugh rejected.\u00a0 Reade stated \u201cKamala Harris is my representative and I reached out to her for help. No response.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the time (and today with regard to the Biden accusations) I was concerned about the lack of a presumption of innocence before any testimony had even occurred.\u00a0 After telling all men everywhere to \u201cshut up\u201d and just stand with Ford, Hirano was pressed on whether Kavanaugh has \u201cthe same presumption of innocence as anyone else in America?\u201d For most people, the question would be an easy one to answer in the affirmative, Hirono demurred and declined to say that she would afford Kavanaugh this core presumption of the rule of law. She said that she would \u201cput his denial in the context of everything that I know about him in terms of how he approaches his cases.\u201d She said that she would consider his \u201cideological agenda\u201d and her view that \u201che very much is against women\u2019s reproductive choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once again,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jonathanturley.org\/2018\/09\/23\/blind-justice-or-blind-rage-the-kavanaugh-ford-and-the-politics-of-belief\/\">I have always maintained that women need to be heard and taken seriously in raising these allegations.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0I have also objected to those who would toss aside due process and simply accept accusations without investigation. Notably, while most are remaining silent and refusing to respond to media inquiries, some Democrats are now adopting that approach for Biden and, rather than saying that Reade must be believed, they are now saying that she must be heard.\u00a0 Biden supporter A<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/alyssa-milano-joe-biden-tara-reade-new-developments\">lyssa Milano tweeted out \u201cI hear and see you, Tara.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 She notably did not say \u201cI believe you,\u201d in sharp contrast with the Ford allegation.\u00a0 During the Kavanaugh hearing, some of us were slammed for not treating the Ford allegations as per se dispositive.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is no denying the fact that the many in media and the Democratic leadership have, again, adopted a sharply different approach to a story where a leading Democrat is accused of sexual assault.\u00a0 There was no equivocation and circumspection during the Kavanaugh controversy. The spin is staggering and the silence is deafening.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/wapo-headline-amplifies-concerns-over-double-standard-biden-sexual-assault-allegation\">https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/wapo-headline-amplifies-concerns-over-double-standard-biden-sexual-assault-allegation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington Post Headline \u201cAmplifies\u201d Concerns Over Double Standard On Biden Sexual Assault Allegation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}