It has been nearly three weeks since former congressional staffer Tara Reade spoke out about her 1993 sexual assault accusation against former Vice President Joe Biden, but it wasn’t until Easter Sunday that it began receiving any attention from the mainstream media.
And if you only watch CNN, you still haven’t heard about it.
For 18 days, as the coronavirus outbreak dominated the news cycle, Reade’s claim was not covered by the biggest media outlets following her March 25 interview with progressive podcast host Katie Halper. CNN, MSNBC and the three broadcast networks did not offer any on-air coverage or articles on their websites about the alleged assault. The New York Times and The Washington Post, two papers that dedicated extensive reporting to sex assault allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, were also mum on the matter.
In addition, in seven televised interviews Biden has done since Reade came forward with her allegation, he was never asked about it. This includes three interviews on MSNBC, two appearances on CNN and appearances on the Sunday morning news shows on ABC and NBC. Prominent anchors like Anderson Cooper, Chuck Todd and George Stephanopoulos never questioned the presumptive Democratic nominee, instead focusing on the pandemic and President Trump’s handling of the crisis.
The absence of reporting from these outlets was notable enough for the satirical news site The Onion to address, mocking the Times on Thursday with the headline: “‘New York Times’ Pledges To Cover Biden Sexual Assault Allegations in Upcoming Crossword.”
The tides began to shift following Rich McHugh’s report in Business Insider on Friday that Reade had filed a criminal complaint against Biden. The New York Times ran its first report about the allegation on Sunday morning as millions of Americans were observing Easter. The Washington Post and NBC News issued their own reports later that day. – READ MORE
