Joe Biden accused of sexual assault

[_EAllusion]

Because of the intimate nature of sexual assault, allegations can be difficult to prove aside from the witness testimony of the victim. What casts some doubt on Reade here is that she has changed multiple times in response to contradictory information in a way that seems implausible as just the foibles of human memory.

The attempt at a smear campaign against Blasey-Ford is instructive here. There was an attempt to argue that *her* story kept changing, proving her a liar. Doc even referred to that earlier in the thread in a way that suggests he believes that. But that didn't really happen. It rested on things like Ford saying "early 80's" in one instance and "mid-80's" in another, which isn't a substantive contradiction so much as how people ordinarily talk about the past.

A few of Reade's changes can be written off to that, but the body of them is looking iffy.

[Guest]

What casts some doubt on Reade here is that her has changed multiple times in response to contradictory information in a way that seems implausible as just the foibles of human memory.

It would be far more disturbing if the allegation is completly false. Why? Because at least three people corroborated Tara Reade's account. Jesus Christ!



https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/b ... -8%2F1.pdf

[_DoubtingThomas]

This is becoming a "rape of the gaps" argument. It's like the story has been designed to avoid being falsifiable at every turn.

However, Joe Biden is guilty of sexual harassment and voted for the Iraq War.

[_DoubtingThomas]

Reade just suddenly cancelled a scheduled interview with Chris Wallace on FOX.

Human beings are complicated. I do think it is a 50/50 that she is telling the truth. What do you make of the three people that corroborated Tara Reade's account?

[_EAllusion]

[quote]It would be far more disturbing if the allegation is completly false. Why? Because at least three people corroborated Tara Reade's account. Jesus Christ![/quote]

One person has stated that Tara Reade told her of the assault allegation in the mid-90's. 2 others state that Reade told them a story that is also consistent with the idea that she was harassed by Biden as she was claiming last year and is also consistent with behavior he is publicly known to have engaged in in other instances.

Maybe she coached her witnesses' memory; maybe she's been an inconsistent fabulist for a long time; maybe it actually happened. There's a lot of possibilities here.

None of these witnesses have the capacity to corroborate her account by being secondary witnesses to the alleged event. If you took their testimony at face value, what it would mean is that this allegation isn't a recent invention, which provides some support of her case.

[_DoubtingThomas]

Maybe she coached her witnesses' memory.

It is a possibility. Makes you wonder how common false memory is.

what it would mean is that this allegation isn't a recent invention, which provides some support of her case.

But that could be enough evidence for a criminal trial.

[_EAllusion]

If you mean in Biden's case, then no. He is not subject to criminal trial. If you mean in general, then witness testimony from the alleged victim alone is sufficient to provide enough evidence for a criminal trial. The victim telling other people about the assault doesn't do much to add weight to that testimony if it is recent. If it's happened in the past, then what it tells you is the allegation isn't a recent invention. That is particularly important in high profile accusations against famous people where there would be more incentive to recently invent an allegation. I can see how this can be conflated into a gold-standard of evidence, but it is not.

In other high-profile cases where sexual predation almost certainly occurred, Weinstein, Cosby, Moore, Trump etc., independent corroboration of the stories from people at the time they were alleged to occur is very damning because there are multiple victims without direct contact with one another each with mutually consistent allegations that they told other people about. That indicates a pattern of behavior.

Biden has that against him too, but for low-grade harassing stuff like uncomfortably smelling a woman's hair and such.

[_canpakes]

Makes you wonder how common false memory is.

You might check out two episodes of the Revisionist History podcast, by Malcolm Gladwell:

Season 3, Episode 3: A Polite Term for Liar

Season 3, Episode 4: Free Brian Williams

The first episode listed gives some introduction to false memory, but the second one dives into the meat of the matter.

[_Icarus]

Good lord this woman is killing the MeToo movement.

Biden accuser Tara Reade 'not sure' what complaint she claims was filed with Senate says

[_Jersey Girl]

Good lord this woman is killing the MeToo movement.

Biden accuser Tara Reade 'not sure' what complaint she claims was filed with Senate says

This comes directly on the heels of Biden's recent interview wherein he essentially welcomed and invited investigation of the allegations in the National Archives where the documentation of such claims and reports would be filed.

Now she comes out with this I don't know what I said stuff.