Orlando Sentinel

Burden of proof is on Biden to deflect Reade accusation­s

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COMMENTARY nominee Joe Biden often careen around like drivers without brakes or steering. Start talking about the case against Biden and you can suddenly find yourself talking about the media’s grotesque mishandlin­g of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmati­on hearings or the sexual harassment accusation­s against Donald Trump.

The most obvious question, and probably the hardest to answer: Did he do it? Reade says she was sexually assaulted by Biden when she worked for him in the early 1990s. Her story has changed more than once. Originally, she merely alleged that Biden was too handsy with her — something reasonable people could easily believe given 40-plus years of videotaped evidence of Biden touching, kissing, hugging and even sniffing women other than his wife (and in some cases men, too). He has admitted to that behavior and even apologized for it while insisting (plausibly) that he’s just a tactile politician and there was nothing sexual about it. That wouldn’t get him off the hook entirely though, because Reade claimed that she lost her job in part because she complained about the behavior. Reade’s newer allegation is far more serious. She says Biden cornered her, reached under her skirt and sexually assaulted her. It doesn’t help her credibilit­y that her story changed. But several people have gone on the record to say that she informed them of the assault long ago. But let’s assume the allegation­s remain unproven. Biden appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Friday and denied Reade’s accusation­s. As vice president, Biden was the Obama administra­tion’s point person on Title IX reforms that pushed universiti­es to move away from the presumptio­n of innocence when it came to accusation­s of sexual assault. Biden has a long record of insisting that women who claim sexual harassment or assault should enjoy the presumptio­n that they are telling the truth. “I believe you” was his core message to accusers. Biden wants to be the chief law enforcemen­t officer of the land. Even if he’s wholly innocent, he owes voters an answer for why he should be exempted from the rules he would impose on others.

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