Representative Ilhan Omar, the hard-left Muslim who represents Minnesota’s 5th district, has joined those who believe Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden sexually assaulted former staffer Tara Reade but will vote for him anyway.
Omar endorsed Biden in an interview with London’s Sunday Times.
An angry Somali refugee who scorns the country that took her in at taxpayer expense, Omar defended the move as others have: Defeating Trump is more important than “believing women,” the slogan of the #MeToo movement.
Tough Luck for Tara
“I do believe Reade,” Omar said of the former Biden staffer, who alleges that the then-senator cornered and assaulted her in 1993 and has provided multiple corroborating witnesses.
“Justice can be delayed but should never be denied,” Omar told the newspaper, which apparently means Reade must wait for justice indefinitely. Given that the elderly Biden might not survive a first term, justice might well be denied.
Omar then defended the Vote-for-Biden endorsement on Twitter.
“Believing survivors is consistent with my values,” the “intersectional feminist” tweeted. “Yes, I endorsed against Biden and I didn’t pick him as our nominee. With that said, in this interview I did on May 6th, we talked about that and quotes aren’t always in context. I will vote for him and help him defeat Trump.”
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We can’t fend off perceived attacks with attacks on others. This is the most important election cycle of our lifetimes and we aren’t going to have a chance if we don’t spend our energy in mobilizing and building enthusiasm against Trump. That’s the goal we should all be united on.
So much for Reade, and for Biden’s advice for voters who think Reade is telling the truth: “Well, I think they should vote their heart and if they believe Tara Reade, they probably shouldn’t vote for me,” he told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. “I wouldn’t vote for me if I believed Tara Reade.”
But Ilhan Omar — and others — would.
Like Omar, Lisa Bloom, the high-powered feminist attorney who offered to smear the victims of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, thinks Reade is telling the truth, but defeating Trump, again, is imperative.
Tweeted Bloom, “I still have to fight Trump, so I will still support Joe.”
Don’t Believe Reade
Other Biden endorsers, though, apparently don’t believe Reade, or if they do, they aren’t saying so.
Among them are Senators Chuck Schumer, Kamala Harris, and Amy Klobuchar, all of whom opposed the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh because of sex-assault allegations that proved untrue. In Kavanaugh’s case, they importuned Americans, as did Biden, to believe women.
Also backing Biden, of course, are Hillary Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Martin Tolchin, a founder of Politico and The Hill, wants Reade ignored. In a letter to the New York Times, the nonagenarian leftist unequivocally wrote that her claims don’t matter given the importance of removing Trump.
“I don’t want justice” for Reade, he wrote. “I want a win, the removal of Donald Trump from office, and Mr. Biden is our best chance.”
Tolchin is concerned that Biden might have done exactly what Reade said, and so it must not be discussed or investigated, lest Biden be forced to quit the race and leave the field open to a weaker candidate such as socialist Bernie Sanders:
Suppose an investigation reveals damaging information concerning his relationship with Tara Reade or something else, and Mr. Biden loses the nomination to Senator Bernie Sanders or someone else with a minimal chance of defeating Mr. Trump. Should we really risk the possibility?
Reade’s Allegation
Reade’s first public discussion of Biden and a sexual assault went viral in leftist Katie Halper’s podcast in late March.
Among several women who have credibly accused Biden of sexual harassment, including unwanted touching, hugging, kissing, and fetishistic hair sniffing, Reade told Halper that a superior ordered her to deliver a gym bag to Biden.
When she delivered it, he assaulted her. Biden penetrated her with his fingers, she alleged, then grew angry when she rejected him.
Six people, including her mother, whose phone call to CNN talker Larry King’s program surfaced a month ago, have corroborated Reade’s account. Jeanette Altimus discussed Reade’s problems in Biden’s office with King and a panel of guests. Reade’s ex-husband discussed the assault in his divorce papers.
Like Omar, one of those corroborating witnesses will vote for Biden.
Photo: AP Images
R. Cort Kirkwood is a long-time contributor to The New American and a former newspaper editor
