Potential Democratic VPs supported Kavanaugh accuser, now must grapple with Biden allegations

Potential vice presidential nominee picks for Joe Biden who are defending him against a sexual assault allegation from a former Senate staffer supported Christine Blasey Ford's accusations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation battle.

The presumptive Democratic nominee for president, who has vowed to pick a female running mate, hasn't been directly asked about the allegation made by former Senate staffer Tara Reade and he has yet to publicly address the situation. Reade has accused Biden of assaulting her on Capitol Hill in 1993. The Biden campaign has denied the allegations.  

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is among the VP nomination hopefuls who says she believes Biden.

"I believe that women deserve to be heard, and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources," Abrams said Tuesday on CNN. "The New York Times did a deep investigation, and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden.” 

A New York Times spokesperson has said that the paper’s “investigation made no conclusion either way.” 

Abrams, a Democrat, supported Blasey Ford during the Kavanaugh confirmation process in 2018.

"After the courageous and compelling testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford yesterday, it is shameful that Kavanaugh's nomination is being rushed forward," she tweeted then. "I believe women, and I believe survivors of violence always deserve to be supported and to have their voices heard." 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said earlier this month that Reade’s allegation has been investigated and encouraged the public to read the New York Times story about the situation.

"I think this case has been investigated," she said April 16 on MSNBC. "I know the vice president as a major leader on domestic abuse. I worked with him on that. And I think that, again, the viewers should read the article. It was very thorough.”

Klobuchar also supported Kavanaugh's accuser.

“Let us never forget what courage looks like," she tweeted after Blasey Ford's testimony.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) also applauded Blasey Ford but hasn't commented publicly on Reade's accusation against Biden.

"Christine Blasey Ford's ambition wasn't to become a household name," the California Democrat wrote in April of 2019. "She had a good life and a successful career — and risked everything to send a warning in a moment of grave consequence."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a former presidential candidate, told Just the News on Tuesday that she stands by Biden. 

"Vice President Biden has vehemently denied these allegations, and I support Vice President Biden," she said, addressing Reade's allegations.

Gillibrand was an outspoken supporter of Blasey Ford's and called for an FBI investigation into her accusations during Kavanaugh's confirmation process. She was also one of the first Democratic lawmakers to call for former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign from the Senate over sexual misconduct allegations.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) both have said that they believed Blasey Ford's sexual misconduct accusations against Kavanaugh but haven’t addressed the allegation against Biden yet.