Stacey Abrams was interviewed by CNN’s Don Lemon last night as she continued to campaign for a spot on the Dem ticket and flat out said she doesn’t believe Tara Reade’s claim that she was sexually assaulted by the then Sen. Joe Biden:
“I know Joe Biden and I think that he is telling the truth, and that this did not happen.” — Stacey Abrams to @donlemon tonight on Tara Reade allegations
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) April 29, 2020
What she’s doing is pretending the matter has already been fully investigated, while it has not. From CNN:
“I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources,” Abrams, who has made a public and direct pitch to be Biden’s running mate, told CNN’s Don Lemon on “CNN Tonight.”
As we told you yesterday, Abrams is totally discounting the Business Insider reporting that corroborates Reade’s story and instead focusing on an earlier New York Times article on the matter:
Stacey Abrams to @lannadelgrey on Tara Reade's allegations: “Nothing in the Times review or any other later reports suggests anything other than what I already know about Joe Biden: That he will make women proud as the next President of the United States.” https://t.co/XhJsMR8xqN pic.twitter.com/4OaY9LX6By
— Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) April 28, 2020
And the BI reporter, Rich McHugh, is no slouch:
It is worth noting that Rich McHugh was the NBC producer who worked with Ronan Farrow on the Weinstein reporting. https://t.co/vQL7Srq7Ql
— Blake News (@blakehounshell) April 27, 2020
It’s also pretty clear that Abrams is just parroting back talking points she received from the Biden campaign:
Biden's campaign talking points show the campaign wants to cast the allegations as already-debunked, even as the story is gaining traction in the media and more reporting has been coming out corroborating elements of Reade's claims https://t.co/L3umpW3vJN
— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) April 29, 2020
These talking points, obtained by BuzzFeed, are a FLAT OUT LIE:
Here's Buzzfeed catching @JoeBiden's campaign falsely telling surrogates that @nytimes did a "thorough review" of Tara Reade's allegations & found that "the incident did not happen."
And then here's @staceyabrams repeating those FALSE talking points verbatim on @CNN last night. pic.twitter.com/fNA5mPMhTx
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) April 29, 2020
In short, do better Don Lemon. That interview was a JOKE:
CNN's Don Lemon grills Stacey Abrams on Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden:
“I believe Joe Biden… I know Joe Biden and I think that he is telling the truth, and that this did not happen.” pic.twitter.com/3tIjU6hKdh
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 29, 2020
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