"You're nothing": Joe Biden rape victim comes forward in brave audio interview [up: she filed a criminal complaint]

BLEEN · Mar 25, 2020

Off topic: Oh cool! Having the banner on the bottom of the page now is brilliant. It being a staff post thing or in the OP wasn't the best because some people's posting/reading habits will completely not see the message if they're in the middle of the page, selectively quoting things for later, etc. Good job on that, staff. Now it's impossible to miss when posting! When did that get added as a feature?

On topic: What the fuck, Biden? November is going to be insane. Stepping down might have to be looked at long and hard. This woman is braver than I.

Edit* The off topic part I mean in a general sense. People should exercise common sense when entering a thread.

Mekanos · Mar 25, 2020

Akainu said:
Y'all were perfectly willing to vote for him already knowing he was a creep. We had a change for better and y'all didn't want it.

People are voting for who they think other people will vote for. It's a sick and twisted self fulfilling prophecy and seemingly something both major parties are fine with. I can't think of a bigger indictment of this country and its political systems.

Euron · Mar 25, 2020

I'm going to have an aneurysm discussing this with my Biden supporting friend. The discussion so far:

- Nobody cares about this anyway because of Coronavirus

- It was tweeted out with a Bernie hashtag so it's clearly politically motivated

- Trump did it too and he's still in office

How many candidates did we have? And we went with Joe fucking Biden? The Democratic Party is a hypocritical embarrassment.

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

ishimoto said:
Sex & Scandal at Duke

Lacrosse player, sorority girls and the booze-filled culture of the never-ending hookup on the nation's most embattled campus Duke University

www.rollingstone.com

keep in mind while reading this that the duke lacrosse players absolutely did not rape her. and that the prosecutor in this case want to jail for his conduct.

Yeah because the police and prosecutors heavily pressured this woman into making a false confession under duress and threat of arrest. Are you trying to suggest the same thing has happened to Tara Reade? If not then stop.

Rolling Stone has made some massive journalistic errors in their time, but that has no bearing on this woman's account lf her assault from Biden. Stop suggesting it does.

ishimoto · Mar 25, 2020

muteKi said:
I mean if you want to make this about the media's inability to actually the hold state accountable for misconduct and investigate when they lie through their teeth to preserve their privilege you are more than welcome to but understanding that in the context of this specific case that (I know I always say this) you're not making the point you think you're making

i'm making the point that an association with Rolling Stone does not improve your credibility. Not sure what other point you think I was trying to make, I was very clear. And as I stated, that is not a comment on the claims being made by this woman. I actually believe her. But Rolling Stone is not a credible publication.

Cotton McKnight · Mar 25, 2020

jeelybeans said:
Not really a fan of "and this is why Bernie should be crowned the nominee" being the answer from a subset of era. Bernie has nothing to do with any of this.

Goodbye Biden hello next in line with the most delegates...oh my...what's this, it's Bernie. So yeah if you follow the rules that the DNC set up to begin with, yes Bernie does belong in the the mix.

If it was Bernie who had sexually assaulted a woman back in the 1990s, I'd be saying he needs to drop out too.

BADMAN · Mar 25, 2020

The Last Wizard said:
Sorry, I'm saying they're not for the people.

Ahhhhh gotcha, misread lol

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

Euron said:
I'm going to have an aneurysm discussing this with my Biden supporting friend. The discussion so far:

- Nobody cares about this anyway because of Coronavirus

- It was tweeted out with a Bernie hashtag so it's clearly politically motivated

- Trump did it too and he's still in office

How many candidates did we have? And we went with Joe fucking Biden? The Democratic Party is a hypocritical embarrassment.

The woman who was raped supports the candidate who didn't rape her over the candidate who did. Shocker.

Honestly, tell your friend to fuck off.

ishimoto · Mar 25, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
Are you trying to suggest the same thing has happened to Tara Reade? If not then stop.

Rolling Stone has made some massive journalistic errors in their time, but that has no bearing on this woman's account lf her assault from Biden. Stop suggesting it does.

uhhhh I did not suggest that the same thing happened to her. Not in any way. You didn't read anything from me that suggests that.

and as I posted, I am not commenting on the veracity of this woman's claims. I said that. crystal clear. I actually believe her. but an association with rolling stone does not improve her credibility. I absolutely did not suggest that an association with RS discredits her account. No idea where you read that.

Euron · Mar 25, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
The woman who was raped supports the candidate who didn't rape her over the candidate who did. Shocker.

Honestly, tell your friend to fuck off.

Trump's hit some people so hard that they would do anything to get rid of him. A candidate could be the second coming of Ted Bundy yet if he polls well in the Rust Belt we need to let everything slide because Trump.

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

ishimoto said:
uhhhh I did not suggest that the same thing happened to her. Not in any way. You didn't read anything from me that suggests that.

and as I posted, I am not commenting on the veracity of this woman's claims. I said that. crystal clear. I actually believe her. but an association with rolling stone does not improve her credibility.

It has absolutely nothing to do with her credibility. It's irrelevant. Rolling Stone, NYT, and any other journalistic outlet having made previous mistakes in reporting are all irrelevant because the source of these allegations aren't those outlets but Tara Reade herself.

ishimoto · Mar 25, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
It has absolutely nothing to do with her credibility. It's irrelevant. Rolling Stone, NYT, and any other journalistic outlet having made previous mistakes in reporting are all irrelevant because the source of these allegations aren't those outlets but Tara Reade herself.

yeah I agree. I don't know what we're arguing about.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 25, 2020

Cotton McKnight said:
Goodbye Biden hello next in line with the most delegates...oh my...what's this, it's Bernie. So yeah if you follow the rules that the DNC set up to begin with, yes Bernie does belong in the the mix.

If it was Bernie who had sexually assaulted a woman back in the 1990s, I'd be saying he needs to drop out too.

I mean I think it's more complex than that since we can't say Bernie would have the majority of delegates if Biden hadn't been in the race (honestly it probably would've been a different moderate). Honestly I do think Biden should drop out if at the very least to prevent Trump from getting a huge advantage even if this does end up being a false accusation (which I'm not trying to suggest it is). But I think it'd be an understandable compromise if Biden was replaced by someone whose political views were similar to his own. But honestly I think the primary system should have multiple choices where you can list you're preffered candidates in order from most to least liked so if one person drops out you're vote changes to your second choice and so on, with those numbers also being available

Deleted member 43 · Mar 25, 2020

Cotton McKnight said:
Goodbye Biden hello next in line with the most delegates...oh my...what's this, it's Bernie. So yeah if you follow the rules that the DNC set up to begin with, yes Bernie does belong in the the mix.

If it was Bernie who had sexually assaulted a woman back in the 1990s, I'd be saying he needs to drop out too.

That's actually not how the rules work. If Biden were to drop out, his delegates would not just become Bernie's delegates, and a candidates needs a majority of delegates to win, not just a plurality.

DevilMayGuy · Mar 25, 2020

Holy shit. Her story is harrowing

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

ishimoto said:
yeah I agree. I don't know what we're arguing about.

I'm really confused why you even brought this up given that it's irrelevant to the subject at hand. It reeks of trying to downplay her credibility, but I'm taking you at your word that you aren't doing that.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 25, 2020

Euron said:
Trump's hit some people so hard that they would do anything to get rid of him. A candidate could be the second coming of Ted Bundy yet if he polls well in the Rust Belt we need to let everything slide because Trump.

I mean this is unfair. I could understand this maybe if Trump didn't also have a shitload of rape and sexual assault allegations under his belt so you were forced to choose between a rapist and someone who wasn't but whose politics were super shitty, but in this scenario the choice would be between two rapists, one of which is clearly shittier than the other. Not choosing doesn't stop a rapist from being in charge, it just says you'd rather risk the worse rapist being in charge rather than make an uncomfortable choice where there are no good options.

meowdi gras · Mar 25, 2020

edit: nm frustration derail

ishimoto · Mar 25, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
I'm really confused why you even brought this up given that it's irrelevant to the subject at hand. It reeks of trying to downplay her credibility, but I'm taking you at your word that you aren't doing that.

I didn't originally bring it up, I was responding to someone else that brought it up, in response to this

Frozenprince said:
It's not like Rolling Stone, the outlet Halper represents, is some rag either. It has a long and storied history of good political coverage.

This is not true and it is totally appropriate to dispute this

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
I mean this is unfair. I could understand this maybe if Trump didn't also have a shitload of rape and sexual assault allegations under his belt so you were forced to choose between a rapist and someone who wasn't but whose politics were super shitty, but in this scenario the choice would be between two rapists, one of which is clearly shittier than the other. Not choosing doesn't stop a rapist from being in charge, it just says you'd rather risk the worse rapist being in charge rather than make an uncomfortable choice where there are no good options.

This is really not the time to be playing 'lesser of two evils'.

Breqesk · Mar 25, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
I mean this is unfair. I could understand this maybe if Trump didn't also have a shitload of rape and sexual assault allegations under his belt so you were forced to choose between a rapist and someone who wasn't but whose politics were super shitty, but in this scenario the choice would be between two rapists, one of which is clearly shittier than the other. Not choosing doesn't stop a rapist from being in charge, it just says you'd rather risk the worse rapist being in charge rather than make an uncomfortable choice where there are no good options.

No, it says you're unwilling to vote for a rapist, which is perfectly fair enough.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 25, 2020

srsly? said:
The difference between the Liberal who votes for a rapist for President, and the Conservative who votes for a rapist for President, is that the Liberal feels bad about it.

I can understand shaming people for voting for Biden in the primary, especially going forward. But if the election does come down to Biden vs Trump, who are you actually helping by not voting? You aren't doing anything to change the fact that one of them will be president. You're just absolving yourself of any consequences that might happen from whoever does win by saying "well I didn't vote for them" because you aren't willing to make an uncomfortable choice. Not voting doesn't actually do anything to stop a rapist from gaining office if both options are rapists. But voting for the less bad option at least means you might be reducing harm in other areas

Euron · Mar 25, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
I mean this is unfair. I could understand this maybe if Trump didn't also have a shitload of rape and sexual assault allegations under his belt so you were forced to choose between a rapist and someone who wasn't but whose politics were super shitty, but in this scenario the choice would be between two rapists, one of which is clearly shittier than the other. Not choosing doesn't stop a rapist from being in charge, it just says you'd rather risk the worse rapist being in charge rather than make an uncomfortable choice where there are no good options.

It's unfair that Americans have to choose between two rapists (yes one's platform is far worse than the other) as the leader of the free world. The party needs to actually vet these people before throwing all their support onto them. And selecting someone like Bloomberg at the convention is how you get Mondaled.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 25, 2020

Breqesk said:
No, it says you're unwilling to vote for a rapist, which is perfectly fair enough.

Which is meaningless when you don't have other options. Sometimes reality is shit. I heavily support advocating for Biden to step down. I heavily support trying to get this info out there and try to help Bernie win the primary. But if Biden does still get the nomination at the end of the day, the only person who will ultimately be affected by your conviction will be yourself, whereas the people affected by the winner are hundreds of millions of people

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 25, 2020

ishimoto said:
I didn't originally bring it up, I was responding to someone else that brought it up, in response to this

This is not true and it is totally appropriate to dispute this

No, that statement is true. Frozenprince didn't claim Rolling Stone had never fucked up in reporting on sensitive events. It would be impossible to name a single publication that has never fucked up, particularly in regards to sexual assault or, specifically related to the Duke Lacrosse case, uncritically parroting information from prosecutors/law enforcement. Almost every single media outlet in this entire country does that shit. Rolling Stone should be criticized for their mistakes, but it doesn't invalidate every single story of abuse they publish.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 25, 2020

Euron said:
It's unfair that Americans have to choose between two rapists (yes one's platform is far worse than the other) as the leader of the free world. The party needs to actually vet these people before throwing all their support onto them. And selecting someone like Bloomberg at the convention is how you get Mondaled.

I agree. But sometimes life is unfair and shit and we need to just make the best out of a shit situation and not accepting that won't change shit

Shane M · Mar 25, 2020

Compass said:
Why didn't this come out earlier in the primary? :( The guy was even VP.

It is terrifying to come out against a powerful man like this.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 26, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
This is really not the time to be playing 'lesser of two evils'.

The reality of the situation is that this is likely what we'll need to face, whether I like it or not. I hope it does not come to this, but I think deciding what the best course of action to take if it does (which is honestly pretty likely unfortunately) is important. I would like to have a candidate I could be excited for. I was planning to vote Bernie in my primary, though it admittedly slipped my mind, especially with all the shit with the virus and I missed the deadline for my primary. I don't like Biden, and I hadn't even before this hurt my opinion of him even more. But I'm willing to swallow my pride and do what I feel will help the most people, or at least harm the least, even if it means choosing someone I hate over someone I hate way more

Breqesk · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
Which is meaningless when you don't have other options. Sometimes reality is shit. I heavily support advocating for Biden to step down. I heavily support trying to get this info out there and try to help Bernie win the primary. But if Biden does still get the nomination at the end of the day, the only person who will ultimately be affected by your conviction will be yourself, whereas the people affected by the winner are hundreds of millions of people

There are some lines people will not - and should not be expected to - cross. Knowingly voting for a rapist is one of them. That's the reality of it. It does not represent a moral failure, nor an abdication of responsibility.

meowdi gras · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
I can understand shaming people for voting for Biden in the primary, especially going forward. But if the election does come down to Biden vs Trump, who are you actually helping by not voting? You aren't doing anything to change the fact that one of them will be president. You're just absolving yourself of any consequences that might happen from whoever does win by saying "well I didn't vote for them" because you aren't willing to make an uncomfortable choice. Not voting doesn't actually do anything to stop a rapist from gaining office if both options are rapists. But voting for the less bad option at least means you might be reducing harm in other areas

I deleted my post almost immediately after I posted it because I realized it was a derail of the actual topic at hand: the ordeal of yet another woman sexually victimized by a powerful man. (That countless others have done so in this thread doesn't justify my derail.) As such, I'm not contributing to the derail by responding to your reply. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you also deleted your post.

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
Which is meaningless when you don't have other options. Sometimes reality is shit. I heavily support advocating for Biden to step down. I heavily support trying to get this info out there and try to help Bernie win the primary. But if Biden does still get the nomination at the end of the day, the only person who will ultimately be affected by your conviction will be yourself, whereas the people affected by the winner are hundreds of millions of people

I'm going to be completely honest with you, as a sexual abuse victim I cannot vote for Biden after this. I just cannot do it. You can say that such a decision is selfish or short-sighted or whatever, but you really have no standing to make those claims or guilt someone who has gone through sexual assault or abuse. And I'm sure there are victims who are conflicted by this information and will still end up voting for Biden out of pragmatism...but those people likely understand deeply why other victims would refuse to do the same. I have no idea about your personal situation or what you've experienced, but I am asking you to have a little empathy for the people who this hits the hardest (could even be yourself for all I know).

Have you thought about what it does to the millions of victims in this country to see another rapist elected president? To say it only affects that one poster is just flat-out wrong.

makingmusic476 · Mar 26, 2020

It's fucking bizarro world seeing people refuse to support the second place (for now) primary candidate and brief front-runner when the first place candidate has been credibly accused of rape.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 26, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
I'm going to be completely honest with you, as a sexual abuse victim I cannot vote for Biden after this. I just cannot do it. You can say that such a decision is selfish or short-sighted or whatever, but you really have no standing to make those claims or guilt someone who has gone through sexual assault or abuse. And I'm sure there are victims who are conflicted by this information and will still end up voting for Biden out of pragmatism...but those people likely understand deeply why other victims would refuse to do the same. I have no idea about your personal situation or what you've experienced, but I am asking you to have a little empathy for the people who this hits the hardest (could even be yourself for all I know).

Have you thought about what it does to the millions of victims in this country to see another rapist elected president? To say it only affects that one poster is just flat-out wrong.

It's shit. I don't want it to happen and I get why it's upsetting. I hope Biden loses the primary. But if it comes down to Biden vs Trump, not voting won't stop a rapist from being elected. Have you considered how people who suffer under all the shit Trump is doing that Biden isn't would feel with the message that you don't think alleviating they're suffering is worthwhile if your own isn't alleviated as well?

ishimoto · Mar 26, 2020

Lord of Ostia said:
it doesn't invalidate every single story of abuse they publish.

I never said that it did. never said that. never said anything whatsoever to that effect. never said any of what you have been accusing me of saying. you need to start reading my posts if you're gonna respond, and respond to what I'm posting instead of what you're making up in your head.

Euron · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
I agree. But sometimes life is unfair and shit and we need to just make the best out of a shit situation and not accepting that won't change shit

I accept it, sadly. After seeing what's happening to the US during the virus I'm voting for the Democratic nominee no matter what but I'm extremely disappointed in the overall choices and process.

Nobody's a saint. I understand that. But can we at least nominate someone who isn't a rapist? Not saying you're for that, just speaking in general terms here.

Side Note: If you're a victim of sexual assault (or close to one), I especially understand not wanting to vote for either one and shame on anyone who disparages you.

Breqesk · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
It's shit. I don't want it to happen and I get why it's upsetting. I hope Biden loses the primary. But if it comes down to Biden vs Trump, not voting won't stop a rapist from being elected. Have you considered how people who suffer under all the shit Trump is doing that Biden isn't would feel with the message that you don't think alleviating they're suffering is worthwhile if your own isn't alleviated as well?

Stop trying to shame people into voting for a rapist. Stop trying to shame a victim of sexual assault into voting for a rapist. Right the fuck now.

Rockets · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
It's shit. I don't want it to happen and I get why it's upsetting. I hope Biden loses the primary. But if it comes down to Biden vs Trump, not voting won't stop a rapist from being elected. Have you considered how people who suffer under all the shit Trump is doing that Biden isn't would feel with the message that you don't think alleviating they're suffering is worthwhile if your own isn't alleviated as well?

Delete bro this ain't it

Cbrun44 · Mar 26, 2020

Not doubting anything here but why is this not being discussed by anyone except The Intercept? Just feels as though this would be huge news. Plus don't Greenwald and Scahill despise Biden? I would expect this to be at a story somewhere else. At a minimum a Trump tweet rant about it.

Frozenprince · Mar 26, 2020

Using assault as a cudgel, check. Ignoring victim for cheap cultural win, check.

Its depressing how predictable it is.

oofouchugh · Mar 26, 2020

Certainly bodes well for the future of the Democratic party that they're willing to push through the election with Biden after this and completely throw away 2024 for free once the Republicans have someone other than Trump leading the charge.

RussTC3 · Mar 26, 2020

I imagine it will be researched and vetted. You can't just run with accusations without vetting.

less · Mar 26, 2020

Cbrun44 said:
Not doubting anything here but why is this not being discussed by anyone except The Intercept? Just feels as though this would be huge news. Plus don't Greenwald and Scahill despise Biden? I would expect this to be at a story somewhere else. At a minimum a Trump tweet rant about it.

News organizations are going to investigate this stuff before deciding whether to run with it or not and that takes time.

Aaronrules380 · Mar 26, 2020

Honestly, I hope that if Biden does become president despite this, that the dems impeach him immediately over this

Kinsei · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
It's shit. I don't want it to happen and I get why it's upsetting. I hope Biden loses the primary. But if it comes down to Biden vs Trump, not voting won't stop a rapist from being elected. Have you considered how people who suffer under all the shit Trump is doing that Biden isn't would feel with the message that you don't think alleviating they're suffering is worthwhile if your own isn't alleviated as well?

It's time to stop.

Frozenprince · Mar 26, 2020

Cbrun44 said:
Not doubting anything here but why is this not being discussed by anyone except The Intercept? Just feels as though this would be huge news. Plus don't Greenwald and Scahill despise Biden? I would expect this to be at a story somewhere else. At a minimum a Trump tweet rant about it.

It was the #1 tend on Twitter today. Sam seder just talkeabout it with more to come. And fox is preparing for it tomorrow. This is gonna be a thing, media movers read the intercept

PhallicBaldwin · Mar 26, 2020

jeelybeans said:
Not really a fan of "and this is why Bernie should be crowned the nominee" being the answer from a subset of era. Bernie has nothing to do with any of this.

Yea. That shit scares the fuck out of me. His ardent supporters seem to be fucking RABID, and bringing him up at all right now is a terrible look. This, by any measure, should be absolutely catastrophic news for the entire world that would echo for a generation.

This is cataclysmic.

Deleted member 11413 · Mar 26, 2020

Aaronrules380 said:
It's shit. I don't want it to happen and I get why it's upsetting. I hope Biden loses the primary. But if it comes down to Biden vs Trump, not voting won't stop a rapist from being elected. Have you considered how people who suffer under all the shit Trump is doing that Biden isn't would feel with the message that you don't think alleviating they're suffering is worthwhile if your own isn't alleviated as well?

"If mine isn't alleviated"? Dude my suffering does not get alleviated whether I vote for Biden or not. Nothing will change the fact that I was abused. Nothing will change the fact that Tara Reade was raped. Nothing will ever take away that pain. I asked you if you thought about how this affects the millions of victims, watching the country collectively shrug at what is likely the greatest source of shame and pain in their lives. This response suggests to me that you haven't. Please consider it.

Masterz1337 · Mar 26, 2020

So honest question without listening to the audio, what exactly is the full accusation and is the reasoning behind those who think it is not legit.

Chindogg · Mar 26, 2020

makingmusic476 said:
It's fucking bizarro world seeing people refuse to support the second place (for now) primary candidate and brief front-runner when the first place candidate has been credibly accused of rape.

Years of propaganda and diet antisemitism can do that. As shown in the example below:

PhallicBaldwin said:
Yea. That shit scares the fuck out of me. His ardent supporters seem to be fucking RABID, and bringing him up at all right now is a terrible look. This, by any measure, should be absolutely catastrophic news for the entire world that would echo for a generation.

This is cataclysmic.

ryseing · Mar 26, 2020

spam musubi said:
If the party decides instead to find another candidate and have Biden's votes count for them instead, that would be even more undemocratic.

The thing people keep missing is that the nomination process isn't democratic. Party nominations are not beholden to the same rules that a general election is. They can technically nominate whoever they want.

I don't think I can vote for Joe after this, but I also have zero faith that Bernie can win a general election. If the party decides to go with another candidate at the convention who isn't a rapist and who can actually win an election, I will be on board with that.

"You're nothing": Joe Biden rape victim comes forward in brave audio interview [up: she filed a criminal complaint]

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