- Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez previously supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Ford.
- Ocasio-Cortez also said she would vote for Joe Biden despite #METOO allegations levied against him by Tara Reade.
- “What you’re voicing is so legitimate and real,” Ocasio-Cortez said of Reade in April 2020. “That’s why I find this kind of silencing of all dissent to be a form of gaslighting.”
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who supported Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser Christine Ford, said she would vote for Joe Biden despite #METOO allegations levied against him by Tara Reade.
Ocasio-Cortez announced during a Monday night live stream that she is a survivor of sexual assault. She related her trauma from the alleged assault to her fears during the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, saying “when we go through trauma, trauma compounds on each other.” (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez: ‘I’m A Survivor Of Sexual Assault’)
Ocasio-Cortez did not provide more information about the alleged assault during the livestream, but said that those who argue that it is time to move on from the Capitol riot are “using the same tactics of every other abuser who just tells you to move on.” She compared these tactics to those of “that man who touched you inappropriately at work, telling you to move on.” (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Describes Hiding In Her Bathroom During Riot, Questions Whether Officer Purposefully Put Her At Risk)
The New York Democrat previously supported Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford, calling Ford’s allegations credible and accusing Kavanaugh of lying under oath to “secure a Supreme Court seat.”
This was almost a year ago.
It is unsurprising that Kavanaugh, credibly accused of sexual assault, would lie under oath to secure a Supreme Court seat.
Because sexual assault isn’t a crime of passion – it’s about the abuse of power.
He must be impeached.pic.twitter.com/9PhrgeYuHv
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 16, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez later promised to vote for Biden, though she had previously said that allegations of sexual assault levied against him by his former Senate staffer were “legitimate to talk about.” (RELATED: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says Biden Assault Allegations ‘Legitimate To Talk About’)
“AOC spoke eloquently about her ordeal at the Capitol and about being a sexual assault survivor,” Reade told the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday afternoon. “Yet, she endorsed Joe Biden and questioned me.”
“I experienced trauma in those halls by my former boss,” Reade said, repeating her allegation that Biden assaulted her. “When will AOC and the squad call out Joe Biden and hold a Senate investigation into what he did? When will the hypocrisy around rape culture in America finally end?”
Reade, who worked for Biden in 1993, accused him in March 2020 of kissing her, touching her, and penetrating her with his fingers without her consent. Biden has vigorously and repeatedly denied the allegations. (RELATED: ‘I Want The Same Equal Treatment’: Biden Accuser Tara Reade Tears Into Media, Women’s Groups, Democratic Politicians)
Reade’s accusations garnered national attention in late April and early May, but subsequent media reporting on her academic credentials and her turbulent past cast doubts on her credibility.
Her legal representation, attorney Douglas Wigdor, resigned from her case in early May following reports that Reade lied about her undergraduate degree. Reade told the DCNF that she did not lie about her degree and is pursuing legal action against Antioch University.
“What you’re voicing is so legitimate and real,” Ocasio-Cortez said on April 14, 2020, of Reade’s allegations. “That’s why I find this kind of silencing of all dissent to be a form of gaslighting.”
“I think it’s legitimate to talk about these things,” the congresswoman added. “And if we want, if we again want to have integrity, you can’t say, you know — both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you, until it inconveniences us.”
On April 23, 2020 the New York Democrat announced she would vote for Biden.
Reade originally thanked Ocasio-Cortez for her initial support, but she criticized the New York Democrat’s announcement that she would vote for Biden.
“She still had to toe the line,” Reade said in a late April interview with the DCNF where she lamented that her sexual assault accusation had become a “partisan tool,” saying that Republicans weaponized her and Democrats both ignored and discredited her.
“It’s inexcusable,” she told the DCNF. “I’m sorry that I’m politically inconvenient but my perpetrator was Joe Biden. And people need to deal with it.”
Ocasio-Cortez also told NPR in May 2020 that some reporters had “raised questions about other aspects” of Reade’s account, though she also said that “there have been investigative journalists that have corroborated certain aspects of her account — that is undeniable.”
“It certainly seems as though something has happened. I’m not sure,” she said, before adding, “frankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that — that it is not clear-cut.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.