Does Biden have something else to fear in the release of his papers? The answer probably has nothing to do with Tara Reade. But the answer could have everything to do with China.
You could see it in his eyes. As Joe Biden faced a grilling by “Morning Joe” host Mika Brzezinski over a near 30 year old sexual assault allegation by former Senate staffer Tara Reade, you could just see the fear and confusion in his eyes. He did not want America to see the dark secrets that can be found in his Senate papers currently sealed at the University of Delaware.
He was asked about personnel records for Reade, who has said that she filed a complaint against the then Senator and his misconduct toward her. While Biden has called on the Senate to open its archive and search for this complaint, he definitively refused to open his personal papers.
Biden made it clear in his grilling that there were absolutely no employment records among those personal papers in his Delaware archive and that Tara Reade’s complaint is not among these files. He was not open to their disclosure for any reason.
“The fact is that there’s a lot of things, that, of speeches I’ve made, positions I’ve taken, interviews that I did overseas with people. All of those things related to my job. And the idea that they would all be made public in the fact while I was running for public office they could really be taken out of context,” Biden said. “For example, when I met with Putin or when I met with whomever. All of that could be fodder for a campaign … There are no personnel records in the Biden papers,” Biden strained to say.
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View on XBrzezinski asked, "Are you certain there was nothing about Tara Reade in those records?"
"I am absolutely certain." Biden responded.
"If so, why not approve a search of her name in those records?" Brzezinski asked.
At this point, Biden appeared confused. “Approve a search for her name?” Biden repeated, squinting into his webcam.
It may very well be true that there is no record of Tara Reade in the Biden papers. As Biden points out, any documentation of Reade’s employment and allegations would likely be in the National Archives, not in his Senate papers.
So why is Biden sweating over the disclosure of his Delaware documents? Afterall, when Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct, the Senate committee conducting his hearing dug up his high school yearbook, his personal calendars which listed sporting events and exam dates. Nothing, no matter how personal, was off the table.
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View on XDoes Biden have something else to fear in the release of his papers? The answer probably has nothing to do with Tara Reade. But the answer could have everything to do with China.
Last summer while campaigning in Iowa, Biden said of Trump’s tough words on China: “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man, I mean, you know, they’re not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They’re not competition for us.”
After decades of US politicians like Joe Biden, and American tech companies working seamlessly with China, the time appears to be at hand for a reckoning. The Chinese Communist Party, which has long perpetrated human rights abuses against its own people, has gotten a virtual pass from accountability.
Now that the CCP’s abuse of power has resulted in the release of a global pandemic that has tanked economies and shuttered global citizens in their homes, world leaders are starting to pay attention. President Trump is among these. With his short record in executive office, he will not be subject to the same kind of blame as a career politician like Biden.
Biden was on hand when the Clinton and Bush administrations ushered in China’s membership to the World Health Organization. He was party to the favourable trade policies with China that opened up business relationships with the dictatorial nation. American tech firms have found footholds in China, though they’ve had to abandon democratic principles to do it. So has the NBA.
American leaders who touted the positive, cooperative relationships with the Chinese Communist Party have looked the other way on human rights abuses and on China’s poor trade practices. Leaders believed that opening up American markets to Chinese interests would lead in the direction of democracy. It hasn’t. And the trade practices haven’t been great for the US either. Intellectual property theft by China has been a huge issue, as has the shutting out of American firms from benefiting from the growth of China’s internal markets.
“The internal market has grown massively,” wrote Charles Lipson for Real Clear Politics, “but foreign access to it has been carefully regulated and accompanied by coercive demands for self-censorship, technology transfers, and local partnerships at discount prices. Foreign investors are open to predation, unprotected by the rule of law. By contrast, Chinese firms that invest in America, including state-owned firms, have broad access to the domestic market, as well as legal protection.”
All of this is not entirely Biden’s fault, though he was in leadership positions throughout the enacting of these policies. He has made his career as a globalist interested in opening up markets and good will internationally. Records in his personal archives will undoubtedly make this penchant for promoting global interests clear. While that was the tone set by previous administrations and practices, the tide has surely now turned against Chinese interests in America.
Biden’s global propensities are what are at issue, even more than the Reade allegations. Although the trouble for Biden is that in being as transparent as possible about Reade, he may have to open up about his advocacy for Chinese interests over the years. While the investigation into his papers to disprove Reade’s sexual assault claims may very well clear him of being a sexual predator, it may nail him to the wall as a leader whose relationship with China was cozy enough to brand him a collaborator in these coronavirus times.
And just take a look around us: the establishment media and big tech have turned their trudge toward censorship and capitulation to China’s communist interests into a march of acquiescence since the coronavirus shutdown. From MSNBC to CNN to YouTube to Facebook, any hint of criticism of the CCP is quickly snuffed out or called “racist.”
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Rachel Maddow even wrung her hands with concern that Trump’s “antagonism of China could hurt coronavirus cooperation.” And it’s worth noting that when Trump shut down travel from China to protect Americans from coronavirus, Biden called the move “xenophobic.” The media and the presumptive Democratic candidate are way too cozy with the Chinese communist regime.
No matter what Joe did before, and whatever secrets are held either in his papers or within the walls of the Capitol, when they emerge from their hiding places they will be scrutinized. This scrutiny will not be by the standards of the time in which decisions were made and policies drafted, but through the lens of Me Too, Believe All Women, coronavirus, Trump’s new hard line on the CCP, and a populace that has been taught all too well how not to forgive.
