Stephen Proctor reports:
As of late, Tucker Carlson and others at Fox News have been feverishly covering the recent accusations levied against Joe Biden, whose former Senate aide, Tara Reade, alleges he sexually assaulted her in 1993. But on Tuesday night, Carlson struck a different tone about Biden, who has adamantly denied the allegations.
After reiterating the allegations against Biden, Carlson said, “But there is evidence on the other side as well, and we feel honor-bound to tell you about it. Just last year, Tara Reade told a very different story about what happened with Joe Biden. In 2019, she said he touched her inappropriately on the neck and shoulders. She said not that she was fired for complaining about harassment, much less being penetrated by Joe Biden. She then said she was fired because she refused to serve drinks at an event.”
Carlson then pointed out that Reade was a Bernie Sanders supporter, and questioned the timing and motive behind her allegations against Biden.
“There’s the question of Reade’s politics,” Carlson said. “We normally wouldn’t get into that because it’s not germane. But keep in mind this story is unfolding during a presidential campaign. And it’s also playing out against the backdrop of fierce infighting within the Democratic Party.” Carlson later went on to add, “It’s notable that before Joe Biden started beating Bernie Sanders in the primary, Tara Reade wasn’t attacking Joe Biden, instead she had effusively positive things to say about him. In 2017, Tara Reade repeatedly praised Joe Biden for his work against sexual assault.”
While appearing to remain skeptical of Reade, Carlson wanted to make clear he was not trying to insinuate that she’s lying.
“Political imperatives sometimes influence claims like this,” Carlson said. “That does not mean that Tara Reade is some kind of liar or is a devious partisan. We don’t know that is true and we are not saying it now. To be clear, we are not asserting that.”
And Carlson called on the media to practice due diligence in separating fact from fiction.
“The timing does mean, and this is our duty, that we ought to keep our guard up as this story progresses. Those of us who cover it going forward should be very weary of being used,” Carlson said. “Again, this is a presidential year. Weigh everything against the facts. Take nothing for granted. The one thing you can be certain of this year, is you’re being lied to.”
