Former Attorney General Eric Holder defended former Vice President Joe Biden during a Friday night appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” insisting that “supporters” of President Trump have been “fanning” the 1993 allegations made by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.
“It’s interesting that the people who are trying to fan this thing are the very people who support Donald Trump and, of course, who say nothing about the allegations that have been raised, I think very credibly, against Trump from a number of women, you know, rape, from a long period of time,” Holder told Maher.
“I mean, all of these allegations have to be taken seriously,” he added. “People who raise them should be treated sensitively.”
BIDEN DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER HE REMEMBERS TARA READE
Holder then said the claims against Biden didn’t seem to reflect the man he has known for more than 20 years.
“What has been described is inconsistent with the person who I’ve come to know and I’ve worked with,” Holder said. “I think the media is doing a correct job looking into the allegations, finding out a variety of things. The vice president has denied that it actually did occur. And as I said, his denial is consistent with the Joe Biden that I know.
Much of the reporting surrounding Reade’s claims didn’t exactly come from Trump-supporting outlets. The online news publication The Intercept, founded by progressive journalist Glenn Greenwald, was first to report on Reade’s attempts to come forward. Reade then gave her first interview to progressive podcast host Katie Halper.
Rich McHugh of Business Insider broke the story on the police report Reade filed to D.C. Metro Police and later found two more corroborative witnesses to go on the record to support her allegations. The Intercept’s Ryan Grim also obtained the transcript of the 1993 “Larry King Live” telecast where Reade’s mother anonymously phoned in and told the CNN host about “problems” her daughter had with a “prominent senator.”
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While many supporters of President Trump have been sharing the developments of Reade’s claims on social media, many backers of former 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and a few celebrities on the left like Rose McGowan, John Cusack and Susan Sarandon have also championed the accuser.
Earlier Friday, Biden finally broke his silence about 1993 allegations made by Reade, telling MSNBC the sexual harassment and assault claims “never happened.”
