PBS: What 74 former Biden staffers think about Tara Reade’s allegations

[Deleted member 5666]

Great article from one of the most fair and respected news outlets in America.

What 74 former Biden staffers think about Tara Reade's allegations

We spoke to dozens of Joe Biden’s staffers, most of whom were women, to get a broader picture of his behavior toward women throughout his career, how they see Tara Reade’s allegation and whether there was evidence of a larger pattern.

www.pbs.org

Over his decades-long career in the Senate, former Vice President Joe Biden was known as a demanding but fair and family-oriented boss, devoted to his home life in Delaware and committed to gender equality in his office.

He was not on a list of "creepy" male senators that female staffers told each other to avoid in the elevators on Capitol Hill.

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The PBS NewsHour spoke with 74 former Biden staffers, of whom 62 were women, in order to get a broader picture of his behavior toward women over the course of his career, how they see the new allegation, and whether there was evidence of a larger pattern.

None of the people interviewed said that they had experienced sexual harassment, assault or misconduct by Biden. All said they never heard any rumors or allegations of Biden engaging in sexual misconduct, until the recent assault allegation made by Tara Reade. Former staffers said they believed Reade should be heard, and acknowledged that their experiences do not disprove her accusation.

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"We knew that about Biden," Byrne said. "He was always massaging somebody's shoulders. But never anything more than that. There was no vibe about him."

Many staffers stressed that people frequently gravitate to Biden, as a kind of "comforter-in-chief," and look for an arm around a shoulder or a kiss on the cheek.

However, staffers agree it was not in Biden's nature to gauge social signals about whether someone wanted to be hugged or touched. Many said they learned that he might do so without warning, though most saw it as an endearing quality that wasn't sexual in nature.

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"You got to know which senators you didn't want to be on an elevator alone with," said Liz Tankersley, who was Biden's legislative director from 1985 to 1993. "No one ever said Joe Biden was one of them."

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It's a very long piece but worth reading. Of the 74 they spoke to (62 being women) none said they had heard of anything like this happening and that Biden amongst the women on the hill was seen as one of the "good" ones. Although many acknowledge Biden always had history of personal boundary issues with hugging, touching shoulders, etc.


Some further quotes that were requested to be added to the op:

Some former staffers told the NewsHour that if Biden did assault Reade in any of these places, it would have been a brazen attack in an area with a high risk of being seen.

"When I worked in the Senate, it was always crowded [and] packed with lobbyists, staff and tourists," said Sheila Nix, who was Biden's chief of staff on the 2012 presidential campaign and previously worked as chief of staff to two other Democratic senators.

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In interviews, staffers have also raised doubts about Reade's claim that she was asked to serve drinks at a fundraiser, an incident she said she included in an official complaint of sexual harassment submitted while she worked in the office.

But more than 50 former staffers said they didn't remember ever attending a fundraiser for Biden in Washington, D.C., when they were on his Senate staff. And some recalled an office policy banning most of Biden's Senate staff from doing campaign work.

"Never would have happened," said Melissa Lefko, who was a staff assistant in Biden's office during the time Reade was there. "We all knew there was a very hard line there."

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[Chaos Legion]

Very informative. Thank you for posting. Glad to see investigative reporters are still sinking their teeth into this allegation.

 

[SuperHans]

Very informative. Thank you for posting. Glad to see investigative reporters are still sinking their teeth into this allegation.

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PBS Newshour are the best in the business. It's proper news.

 

[Ac30]

Ben Savage, who said his desk was next to Reade's in the Biden mailroom, disputed her charge that she was forced out of her job in retaliation for a sexual harassment complaint she claims to have filed.

Savage, who worked as the office's systems administrator, overseeing computers and information processing, told the NewsHour that Reade was fired for her poor performance on the job, which he witnessed — not as retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment.

But according to Savage, Reade had been mishandling a key part of her job and an essential office task — processing constituent mail, something they worked on together. Savage said he recalls reporting these issues to his boss, deputy chief of staff Dennis Toner. After that, Savage said he began diminishing Reade's duties, taking over some of her tasks and rerouting parts of the process to exclude her.

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Wish it was clearer about him witnessing the poor performance or the firing.

 

[Memento Mori]

Yeah it's no surprise Teddy Kennedy was on the "don't be alone in an elevator with" list given his history.

 

[Deleted member 4346]

Totally clears the former vice president, thank you!

(it doesn't actually, but they were able to find former staffers who were willing to go to bat for the Democratic nominee so that's a thing I guess?)

Watching Megyn Kelly's interview with Reade, I found her credible, and it's corroborated that at the least Joe Biden harassed her from friends, family, and neighbors at the time. Biden is denying the whole thing, but clearly something happened.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Totally clears the former vice president, thank you!

(it doesn't actually, but they were able to find former staffers who were willing to go to bat for the Democratic nominee so that's a thing I guess?)

Watching Megyn Kelly's interview with Reade, I found her credible, and it's corroborated that at the least Joe Biden harassed her from friends, family, and neighbors at the time. Biden is denying the whole thing, but clearly something happened.

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Looking for additional information like this and looking for patterns is important.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

Just posted this myself, but requested closure since this one's already active. It's definitely an interesting read.

 

[Deleted member 5666]

I found this part interesting. Amongst women on the hill Biden's office was known as one of the hideways to avoid sexual harassment and men making passes at them.

Biden's office was known for having women-friendly work policies. For example, he promoted at least one Senate staffer while she was on maternity leave. As vice president, he helped secure paid family leave for White House employees.

Female staffers who spent countless hours with Biden, including in one-on-one settings, like his small private office in the U.S. Capitol, known as a "hideaway," said he never made passes at them or behaved in other ways that suggested sexual impropriety.

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[Ac30]

Yeah it's no surprise Teddy Kennedy was on the "don't be alone in an elevator with" list given his history.

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It's Kennedy family tradition.

 

[makonero]

Looking for additional information like this and looking for patterns is important.

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Yes. Nothing here will exonerate Biden, but it's much needed context.

 

[Deleted member 5666]

(it doesn't actually, but they were able to find former staffers who were willing to go to bat for the Democratic nominee so that's a thing I guess?)

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Are you implying you think PBS was purposely trying to find staffers to clear him? PBS isn't about that game or about taking sides. If one of the 200 staffers they contacted said something negative about Biden they would have 100% included it in the piece.

Especially since this article calls out Democratic senators who were known to be sketchy for women to work around.

 

[Wilsongt]

Totally clears the former vice president, thank you!

(it doesn't actually, but they were able to find former staffers who were willing to go to bat for the Democratic nominee so that's a thing I guess?)

Watching Megyn Kelly's interview with Reade, I found her credible, and it's corroborated that at the least Joe Biden harassed her from friends, family, and neighbors at the time. Biden is denying the whole thing, but clearly something happened.

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Adding more pieces to the puzzle as a whole is always welcomed.

Folks were clamoring for more news outlets take up this story, and more news outlets have done so.

I see this article as a net positive.

 

[Deleted member 4346]

Looking for additional information like this and looking for patterns is important.

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It is important. We know that something happened to Reade at the time. That's corroborated by people in her circle at the time. We know that Joe Biden has half a dozen other allegations of inappropriate touching against him. That's enough for me to believe her. Ultimately though only two people know for sure what happened back in 1993. The word of other staffers doesn't really change this.

Are you implying you think PBS was purposely trying to find staffers to clear him? PBS isn't about that game or about taking sides. If one of the 200 staffers they contacted said something negative about Biden they would have 100% included it in the piece.

Especially since this article calls out Democratic senators who were known to be sketchy for women to work around.

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I'm not implying anything.

 

[spam musubi]

I don't think this adds anything substantial to the conversation. Sure, maybe Biden wasn't a serial rapist creep like Harvey Weinstein, but that doesn't make him not capable of doing it one time.

 

[Stooge]

It's a well written piece. Other people's experiences with Biden don't really matter. I know a guy who was a choir boy and still sexually assaulted a friend of ours.

The only parts that are relevant and need vetting are:

1) Claims she was never asked to serve drinks (and staffers were barred from campaign activity) and there was no harassment complaint filed.
2) Claims she was fired for performance.
3) Claims that the location is too heavily trafficked

None of those are conclusive one way or another but are the only facts in the article that aren't just 'Joe was always a gentleman to me'

 

[DrROBschiz]

I can't think of better and more independent journalism of quality than what comes out of PBS

Its does what journalism should do. Be fair and thorough

 

[Vilix]

Hmm. Very interesting read.

 

[LProtagonist]

"yeah he was touchy feely but he didn't a have a 'vibe' about him" feels like a weird take

 

[Servbot24]

This is somewhat odff-topic, but don't be that person who goes around giving hugs to everyone. My office had that person and I would always be so uncomfortable when he came over to hug me. I actually had a female manager as well who would always put her hand on my arm, did not like that at all.

 

[DrROBschiz]

I don't think this adds anything substantial to the conversation. Sure, maybe Biden wasn't a serial rapist creep like Harvey Weinstein, but that doesn't make him not capable of doing it one time.

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They literally address this in the article and fairly leave the door open that it still could have happened


The experiences of former Biden staffers underscore the complicated nature of sexual assault reporting and how to judge conflicting portraits of an individual. It is a current topic of research and heated debate among experts.

"It only takes one act to be worthy of consideration," said Juliet Williams, a gender studies expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, pointing out that years of inoffensive behavior with many or even most women does not indicate whether someone is capable of ever committing an offense.

"When we try someone for murder it's not like, 'Well there's serial murders and one-offers,'" Williams said. "There's certain kinds of behavior that are never acceptable. Quantity is not the only metric."

Sherry Hamby, the founding editor of the academic journal The Psychology of Violence, also said that any pattern is possible.

She described the idea of a 50-year-old man, the age Biden was at the time of the alleged attack, committing his first and only act of sexual assault as improbable. "In terms of likely statistical pattern, that would be an incredibly unlikely trajectory to see," Hamby said.

But she and others also noted that false reports of sexual assault are rare, and that the way women's accusations are evaluated is flawed because they face more pressure than men to have their stories corroborated or to prove that they're part of a larger group of victims.

Still, Williams said, "I do think it is worth recording if the evidence shows that in the case of the former vice president there are scores of women who actually praise him for his collegiality and professionalism and respect."

 

['3y Kingdom]

Lot to pick through here, but it's impressive how many people PBS was able to reach (not including, unfortunately, Reade's three corroborating witnesses). That's the value of thorough reporting.

Some points I hadn't seen elsewhere:
- one staffer says Reade was fired for poor job performance, rather than in retaliation. Reade's attorney disputes this.
- another staffer remembers Reade saying she'd been scolded for her attire, but several staffers at the time thought her attire was inappropriate. Reade claims the scolding was retaliatory.
- several staffers dispute the idea that Reade would've been asked to serve drinks at a fundraiser, both because Biden forbade staffers from campaign events and because they (50+) cannot recall ever attending a fundraiser for Biden.

We already know about Biden's good reputation and the open location of the alleged assault, but the article also expands on those points for those interested.

 

[RiOrius]

...do people really believe they can tell who's a sexual assaulter based on their "vibe"? How many times have we heard of the murderer or rapist whose neighbors and coworkers thought he was a great guy who'd never hurt anyone?

 

[FF Seraphim]

This piece will probably not convert anyone who is on one side or the other on this issue. However, it will probably move those on the fence much closer to Biden. The amount of information and who PBS were able to get a hold of is quite something.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

It's a well written piece. Other people's experiences with Biden don't really matter. I know a guy who was a choir boy and still sexually assaulted a friend of ours.

The only parts that are relevant and need vetting are:

1) Claims she was never asked to serve drinks (and staffers were barred from campaign activity) and there was no harassment complaint filed.
2) Claims she was fired for performance.
3) Claims that the location is too heavily trafficked

None of those are conclusive one way or another but are the only facts in the article that aren't just 'Joe was always a gentleman to me'

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A person's long-term character should always be a factor of some sort when passing judgement on someone. How they interact with multiple people, especially women can paint a picture of what they're about both ways. It's a double edged sword and it seems fairly disingenuous to say "welp, it's doesn't really matter" just to suit a narrative. Anecdotes like him specifically not wanting to women to serve at events should absolutely be taken into account given Reade's claim. Either way, it's not definitive one way or the other but to behave as if it doesn't matter at all seems silly at best. This was a workplace claim, so his behavior in the workplace should be considered. If there was a history of him being a bigger creep, I'm pretty sure it'd be highlighted throughout the thread.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

That was a good read. Thanks for posting!

 

[MasterChumly]

Totally clears the former vice president, thank you!

(it doesn't actually, but they were able to find former staffers who were willing to go to bat for the Democratic nominee so that's a thing I guess?)

Watching Megyn Kelly's interview with Reade, I found her credible, and it's corroborated that at the least Joe Biden harassed her from friends, family, and neighbors at the time. Biden is denying the whole thing, but clearly something happened.

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So basically only articles that support reades allegations are ok? People were complaining that news wasn't taking this seriously and now they don't like what journalism has dug up and they suddenly become dismissive of it

 

[DrROBschiz]

...do people really believe they can tell who's a sexual assaulter based on their "vibe"? How many times have we heard of the murderer or rapist whose neighbors and coworkers thought he was a great guy who'd never hurt anyone?

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The article doesn't exonerate him

You have to take this info along with all the other articles that deep dived this and make a call

Take in all the evidence and context and decide. Thats the best we can do

But lets not pretend that we DIDN'T need or want these deep dives. That seems counter intuitive to the movement as a whole

 

[Eidan]

I don't think this adds anything substantial to the conversation. Sure, maybe Biden wasn't a serial rapist creep like Harvey Weinstein, but that doesn't make him not capable of doing it one time.

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Can be said for anyone really.

 

[Ac30]

...do people really believe they can tell who's a sexual assaulter based on their "vibe"? How many times have we heard of the murderer or rapist whose neighbors and coworkers thought he was a great guy who'd never hurt anyone?

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Your outward actions and being charming generally do make you less of a suspect, yes. it's why we tend to be shocked when beloved public figures turn out to be horrid people.

But it's not the point of the article at all.

 

[Pandora012]

...do people really believe they can tell who's a sexual assaulter based on their "vibe"? How many times have we heard of the murderer or rapist whose neighbors and coworkers thought he was a great guy who'd never hurt anyone?

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Is that so surprising? It's a pretty normal thing. That's why when horrible things do come out, there are those that are taken aback by it. How they never suspected, etc. Even more so if you know a person personally.

 

[cgcg]

Many staffers stressed that people frequently gravitate to Biden, as a kind of "comforter-in-chief," and look for an arm around a shoulder or a kiss on the cheek.

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really? wut?

I guess one possibility is he did assault her but since quickly came to the realization afterwards and vowed not to repeat. Still not sure how that can play out, in this case he still is criminal in my view.

 

[Madison]

this reminds me of the whole "here are women that think Kavanaugh is ok" article

Poetry, it rhymes

 

[less]

The only parts that are relevant and need vetting are:

1) Claims she was never asked to serve drinks (and staffers were barred from campaign activity) and there was no harassment complaint filed.
2) Claims she was fired for performance.
3) Claims that the location is too heavily trafficked

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The bit about being fired for her performance is interesting. I wonder how this would tie in with her having cut a deal with Biden's chief of staff.

The bit about possibly never being asked to serve drinks is also worth looking into as the article states that Biden rarely attended such events. Someone might want to dig into what events he did attend while Tara was working for him.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Oh wow he wasn't on a male senator creeplist and he didn't sexually assault 64 specific people

We forgive you king

 

[Eidan]

Has there been a response to the Vox article that came out a week or so ago? That honesty felt like it did more to damage Reade's credibility than anything else I've read.

 

[KidAAlbum]

There is literally video evidence of him being creepy.

 

[DrROBschiz]

this reminds me of the whole "here are women that think Kavanaugh is ok" article

Poetry, it rhymes

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its not a puff piece

They even address the potential conflict of interest and like good journalists do they give ample weight to the opposite side of the issue

And PBS is highly respected for its work. What outlet are you referring to that lined up women to defend Kavanaugh?

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Like dont get me wrong as investigative reporting this piece is fine. Others trying to use this piece to defend Biden is not.

 

[Loud Wrong]

Totally clears the former vice president, thank you!

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Who implied that? Or are you just here to pollute every thread about this subject? Even the people interviewed said their accounts dont disqualify the accusations against Biden.

 

[Ac30]

this reminds me of the whole "here are women that think Kavanaugh is ok" article

Poetry, it rhymes

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The interviews about his character (which you are certainly free to disregard) are like, a third of the piece at most. They directly cover the specifics of her allegation.

 

[kmfdmpig]

One of the implied conclusions from this is that the bar for how male US Senators treat women is extremely low. I'm not surprised but it's disappointing.

 

[TheRuralJuror]

this reminds me of the whole "here are women that think Kavanaugh is ok" article

Poetry, it rhymes

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I can't believe you took the time to read it if that's your sole takeaway. PBS was fairly respectful in how they approached it.

 

[Deleted member 4346]

So basically only articles that support reades allegations are ok? People were complaining that news wasn't taking this seriously and now they don't like what journalism has dug up and they suddenly become dismissive of it

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No, I'm ok with arguments that investigate this allegations. Unfortunately outside of a witness to the act itself, or direct evidence that Reade is lying, there's just no way to conclusively prove or dismiss this incident. It comes down to "who do you believe".

 

[Deleted member 2809]

The shitposting is strong with this one.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Lot to pick through here, but it's impressive how many people PBS was able to reach (not including, unfortunately, Reade's three corroborating witnesses). That's the value of thorough reporting.

Some points I hadn't seen elsewhere:
- one staffer says Reade was fired for poor job performance, rather than in retaliation. Reade's attorney disputes this.
- another staffer remembers Reade saying she'd been scolded for her attire, but several staffers at the time thought her attire was inappropriate. Reade claims the scolding was retaliatory.
- several staffers dispute the idea that Reade would've been asked to serve drinks at a fundraiser, both because Biden forbade staffers from campaign events and because they (50+) cannot recall ever attending a fundraiser for Biden.

We already know about Biden's good reputation and the open location of the alleged assault, but the article also expands on those points for those interested.

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Well OP probably should have picked those passages out as quotes because the ones they chose are hilariously useless.

 

[Eidan]

My bad. Dp

 

[Coyote Starrk]

Lot to pick through here, but it's impressive how many people PBS was able to reach (not including, unfortunately, Reade's three corroborating witnesses). That's the value of thorough reporting.

Some points I hadn't seen elsewhere:
- one staffer says Reade was fired for poor job performance, rather than in retaliation. Reade's attorney disputes this.
- another staffer remembers Reade saying she'd been scolded for her attire, but several staffers at the time thought her attire was inappropriate. Reade claims the scolding was retaliatory.
- several staffers dispute the idea that Reade would've been asked to serve drinks at a fundraiser, both because Biden forbade staffers from campaign events and because they (50+) cannot recall ever attending a fundraiser for Biden.

We already know about Biden's good reputation and the open location of the alleged assault, but the article also expands on those points for those interested.

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Yeah those shined a completely different light on the situation for me personally. We hadn't heard anything like that until now.

 

[FF Seraphim]

Has there been a response to the Vox article that came out a week or so ago? That honesty felt like it did more to damage Reade's credibility than anything.

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Oh do you have a link to that? I didn't even hear about this article.

 

[DrROBschiz]

No, I'm ok with arguments that investigate this allegations. Unfortunately outside of a witness to the act itself, or direct evidence that Reade is lying, there's just no way to conclusively prove or dismiss this incident. It comes down to "who do you believe".

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Which is why all these respected outlets covering this was ASKED for

Like didnt we have threads about people lamenting that none of the media was covering this?

Maybe its because... to do PROPER journalistic works takes a lot of time and effort as was pointed out by some of those outlets already when they published (reminds me of the Vox article)