AOC Turns on Dem Elite: Silence on Biden Assault Accusation a 'Form of Gaslighting'
Ocasio-Cortez blasts Democrats: You can't 'believe women' 'until it inconveniences you'
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Far-left Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has turned on the Democratic Party elite by blasting those who have remained silent about allegations of a serious sexual assault recently leveled against Joe Biden.
Ocasio-Cortez described the Dem establishment's silence as "a form of gaslighting."
AOC was responding to a mounting question regarding allegations of sex attack recently made against former Vice President Biden by an ex-staffer.
Tara Reade, who worked for Biden when he was a Delaware senator in the 1990s, says she viciously assaulted and sexually violated by the ex-VP in 1993.
Ocasio-Cortez spoke Tuesday about the allegation during an online discussion hosted by women's networking group The Wing.
According to CBS News, one questioner asked Ocasio-Cortez about Reade's accusation against the presumptive Democratic nominee, saying she “really resent[s] the fact that [Biden] is someone who has a really long history of being creepy to women.”
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“What you’re voicing is so legitimate and real. That’s why I find this kind of silencing of all dissent to be a form of gaslighting,” the New York lawmaker answered.
“I think it’s legitimate to talk about these things," AOC continued.
"And if we want, if we again want to have integrity, you can’t say, you know — both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you, until it inconveniences us.”
Reade said on a podcast last month that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993.
Nobody witnessed the alleged assault but Reade told her brother and a friend about the incident at the time.
Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats should not prioritize beating President Donald Trump over openly discussing Biden’s history with women.
Those discussions would include several accusations of inappropriate behavior.
To remain silent on the claims would be the “exact opposite of integrity,” she said.
"I think a lot of us are just in this moment where it’s like, how did we get here?" AOC said.
"You know, it almost felt like we started this cycle where we had kind of moved on from, you know, from all of this. And now it feels like we’re kind of back in it,” she continued.
“And, you know, the most diverse field that we’ve ever seen — that we’re kind of back, kind of replaying old movies in a way.”
Reade later responded gratefully to Ocasio-Cortez for the congresswoman’s comments.
“I’m very humbled and honored because she is literally the only politician that has spoken up on my behalf,” she said.
Although his campaign has denied the charge, Biden has yet to acknowledge Reade’s allegation.
In March 2019, Biden released a statement denying charges made by several women against him.
The women accused the former vice president of inappropriately hugging, kissing, and sniffing them.
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Last week, Reade filed a criminal complaint with the police against Biden.
Not enough evidence may now exist to warrant an investigation into Reade’s claim, however.
The New York Times responded to Reade’s claims by "investigating" the allegation and publishing its findings on Sunday.
The Times concluded that it “found no pattern of sexual misconduct, beyond the hugs, kisses, and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.”
The left-leaning newspaper later edited the sentence to simply read “The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct.”
The edit, made without issuing a correction or note, came after the Biden campaign complained about the phrasing.
Dean Baquet, The New York Times executive editor, later justified the edit in an interview with Times media reporter Ben Smith.
“Even though a lot of us, including me, had looked at it before the story went into the paper, I think that the campaign thought that the phrasing was awkward and made it look like there were other instances in which he had been accused of sexual misconduct,” Baquet said.
"And that’s not what the sentence was intended to say."
