Tucker Carlson: Sex assault victims who don’t speak up ‘part of the problem’

THERE comes a moment in most Tucker Carlson interviews in which his guest, typically someone liberal who has been brought in as a foil to the Fox News talk show host, will reach a point that seems to silently indicate: He really just said that, didn’t he?

This epiphany is typically telegraphed through the guest’s eyes. And in his Tuesday night appearance on Carlson’s show, Ethan Bearman — host of a radio show in California — seemed to arrive at that moment about four minutes and 37 seconds into the interview.

The two had been engaged in a conversation about whether the two sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh should disqualify him. ( Note: At the time, two women had publicly come forward to accuse the Supreme Court nominee of sexual misconduct. On Wednesday, a third woman was identified.) A chyron appeared beneath them: “WHY SHOULD KAVANAUGH HAVE TO PROVE INNOCENCE?”

Carlson began asking why the fi rst of those accusers, California professor Christine Blasey Ford, had not come forward earlier to make her allegation: that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her at a house party when they were both in high school in the 1980s. It’s a question many Republicans have asked since Ford’s claims were reported, accusing Democrats of delaying for political purposes. Democrats have denied this.

On Tuesday, however, Carlson cast blame on Ford for not fulfi lling her “responsibility” of reporting the alleged assault as early as possible.

“She’s claiming that this man sexually assaulted her and altered the course of her life,” Carlson told Bearman.

“She didn’t tell anybody his name for 36 years, during which time he got married, he interacted with many others in our population.” Carlson then launched

barrage of questions at a Bearman.

“Sex offenders tend to commit serial sex crimes. Doesn’t she have an obligation to tell someone?” he asked. “To stop him from doing that if he is, in fact, a sex criminal? Where’s her obligation here? What about the rest of us?”

Bearman began talking about the reasons a sexual assault victim might not feel comfortable reporting (more on that below), before Carlson cut him off abruptly.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, hold on, I’m not asking her about her reasons,” the Fox News host said. “I’m asking about the rest of us — the other 320 million people who live here. If he’s actually a sex criminal, we have a right to know that, and she has an obligation to tell us. And I know it’s hard. But why don’t we have a right to know? If there’s a rapist on the loose, if you don’t tell anybody, if Bernie Madoff rips you off and you don’t tell his other investors, you’re part of the problem, are you not? What am I missing?” — WP-Bloomberg