Reflecting on the allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Joe Biden said just about the opposite of what he needed to.
The former vice president offered his thoughts on both controversies in a chat with reporters Monday night. “For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time,” Biden contended, according to an account in the Washington Post. “But nobody fails to understand that this is like jumping into a cauldron.”
There’s no question he’s right about that last part — any woman who steps forward with explosive public allegations against a powerful man is “jumping into a cauldron.” It’s not easy, and it’s not fun.
But Biden gets it very wrong when he asserts we should “start off with the presumption” that an accuser’s claims are essentially real. Indeed, what we’ve learned over the progression of #MeToo is that such presumptions of guilt are toxic to the process, if even these claims are being adjudicated in the court of public opinion rather than the court of law.
Again, the logical extension of Biden’s argument — that women should be afforded reflexive benefits of the doubt — is that we should presume the guilt of accused men. Are they often guilty? Absolutely. Are they always? Absolutely not. Again, taken to its logical conclusion, a court of public opinion (or, say, a Senate, which has to be somewhat responsive to public opinion) that operates by Biden’s standard would enable any woman to ruin a man’s life by merely making a public accusation. Such a presumption of credibility is not fair to the accused, who might not have done anything wrong.
[Also read: Joe Biden believes all women, so long as they’re not accusing a Democrat of sexual assault]
Women should be comfortable sharing their experiences. Those who step forward do us a great service by holding men accountable for heinous, misogynistic behavior. But they shouldn’t “start off” with any presumption of guilt against the accused man. That incentives false accusations, which cheapen the real ones, and clouds the process of adjudication by which both parties come forward with evidence to support their claims. Sometimes, there’s no easy answer. Often, as in many of the recent cases (such as that of Al Franken), there is. But it’s wrong to draw conclusions based on allegations alone, and especially on just one single allegation. Abusers usually have a pattern.
The more people like Biden suggest we operate by such standards, the more difficult it will be for us to distinguish between credible accusations and false ones. He’s right that subjecting oneself to the challenges of public scrutiny counts for something. But being brave enough to enter the process doesn’t earn anyone the presumption of truthfulness; for that, we look to the hard evidence.
