Media top headlines June 30
CNN and MSNBC's ratings collapsing, Ilhan Omar telling CNN she doesn't regret equating US and Israel with the Taliban, and an MSNBC legal analyst praising Attorney General Garland for personally scooping ice cream for DOJ employees round out today's top media headlines
Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who alleged last year that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, fired back at White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki after she praised the president as an "advocate" for women who've been subjected to violence.
Following the shocking Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that overturned the sexual assault conviction of disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, Psaki declined to weigh in on the ruling itself at Wednesday's press briefing but spoke about Biden's activism in combatting violence against women as a nod to Cosby's victims.
"The president has long been an advocate for fighting against violence against women," Psaki told reporters. "For ensuring that we are raising the voices and the stories of people who have been survivors of sexual assault.
"That’s something [he] has done throughout his career and will continue to do," she added.
In a statement to Fox News, Reade slammed Psaki's comments.
"Psaki speaks for the man who is now POTUS who sexually assaulted me and I am sure she has heard me," Reade told Fox News. "She is complicit with rape culture by displaying her hypocrisy and the administration's hypocrisy regarding standing up for women when they are the perpetrators."
Psaki did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. Both Biden and his presidential campaign previously denied Reade's allegations.
(Darin Hayes Photography/AP)
Reade also expressed solidarity to the nearly 60 victims who came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby, telling them "I am here for you."
"I am so sorry that you thought you had some measure of justice. It was ripped away," Reade said. "I understand what it is [like] to come forward about sexual assault committed by a powerful rich man… Survivors should not have their lives torn to shreds for telling the truth. The powerful and rich should not be rewarded for crimes they committed. I will stand up for all survivors and myself. They may break our hearts but they will not break our spirits. We will fight for survivors getting the justice they deserve."
She added, "We must end rape culture in America."
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Reade, who wrote the recent memoir "Left Out: When the Truth Doesn't Fit In" about her experience coming forward with her assault allegation was one of eight women who came forward in 2019 to accuse the then-Democratic candidate of inappropriate touching.
A year later, Reade revealed her sexual assault claim on "The Katie Halper Show." Biden repeatedly denied her claims on the campaign trail.
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