Joe Biden says he regrets his role in hearing at Anita Hill



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Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. acknowledged Tuesday his role in hearing at Anita Hill, publicly counting with a moment of his past that drew criticism as he envisions a third presidential campaign.

In an emotionally charged speech, Mr. Biden acknowledged that he played a key role in the aggressive issues that Ms. Hill faced during Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing in 1991. when she had testified that Judge Thomas had sexually harassed her.

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"She faced a committee that did not really understand what she was doing, and to this day I regret not being able to give her the kind of audience she deserved," he said. an event in New York paying tribute to students who have participated in the fight against sexual violence on college campuses. "I would have liked to be able to do something."

Tuesday night, his lamentation sounded little with social media. According to him, Mr. Biden, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, had a considerable influence on the conduct of the hearing.

Although Mr. Biden started the 2020 race as a presumptive leader, Ms. Hill's testimony inherited it from the past, which made it difficult for a modern democratic party to run as a defender. women's rights.

He has positioned himself as a fierce opponent of sexual violence over the three decades that have elapsed since the hearing, claiming that he had voted against the appointment of Judge Thomas and promised not to never take a vow after witnessing the racist and misogynistic reaction of Mrs. Hill, an African-American. , following his testimony.

Ms. Hill, he said Tuesday, was a "brave lawyer" who had been forced to testify before "a group of whites" and who had paid a "terrible price" for it.

Biden praised his work on the Violence Against Women Act, advocating for women candidates who later joined the Judiciary Committee and worked to reduce sexual assault on campus as vice-president.

The sexual assault charges against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, who dominated his hearings confirmation hearings last fall, and the attention given to the #MeToo movement have transformed sexual harassment and sexual harassment. sexual assault as a campaign issue for Democrats in mid-term elections. As women candidates, women have contributed significantly to the party's gains, in part prompting the desire of a female candidate to top the list.

Biden criticized the Kavanaugh hearings, arguing that the "white man's culture" of the country's most powerful institutions needed to be changed to empower women.

"In almost 30 years, the institutional culture has not changed," he said. "It decreases the likelihood that women will manifest themselves."

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