Just Six Have Qualified for Next Debate

[pnwmom]

70. One of them, an attorney, was prepared to testify about a sexualized atmosphere in Thomas's office.

She was "reluctant" to testify in that she wasn't attention seeking -- but she thought it would be important. She also said she knew that if it became known that she testified, that would damage her career with law firms which might send cases to the Supreme Court.

But not calling the other women -- Hardnett, Wright, and Jourdain -- wasn't the only serious mistake Biden made. And today even Biden acknowledges the hearing he led wasn't fair to her.

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/23/650956623/anita-hill-testimony-the-witness-not-called

MARTIN: So let me just paraphrase from the sworn affidavit that you said. You said you were not claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment, but you wanted to testify about a sexualized atmosphere that you observed where you said that young, black women in particular were, quote, being inspected and auditioned as a female. But why did you feel that that added to the understanding of the events? Because you're saying you did not have specific knowledge of their interactions.

HARDNETT: What I wanted to do was corroborate the fact that Anita Hill, like so many other young females at the commission, would be an audition by Clarence for whatever purpose. He would call them into his office. In particular with me, Clarence expected me to be available to him every morning and for lunch, and I would run down to a friend of mine's office and hide just to avoid being in the situation with Clarence where I would have uncomfortable conversations.

SNIP

HARDNET: There was some talk about the fact that certain people would be called to testify, and I agreed to do that. And I did it reluctantly. I didn't really want to be thrown into the public atmosphere any more than anyone else. But I felt it was necessary to say that because that position is a very important position. It's a position that affects the lives of all of us.

SNIP:

HARDNETT: Oh, no. I have no regrets about speaking up when I did. I mean, there have been repercussions in terms of my employment, in terms of law firms who wouldn't want to be associated with someone who had a history of making a statement against a Supreme Court justice by the mere fact that some of their cases could possibly go before the Supreme Court. It did have somewhat of a negative impact on my professional career, but I've always tried to live on the right side of justice. Now, I may not have always succeeded, but I've always tried. And I thought that that was really important to make the statement on behalf of Anita Hill.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/joe-biden-was-in-charge-of-the-anita-hill-hearing-even-he-says-it-wasnt-fair/2019/04/26/a9a6f384-6500-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html

Joe Biden was in charge of the Anita Hill hearing. Even he says it wasn’t fair.

Interviews with a dozen people with firsthand knowledge and a review of the written record and interviews published with participants over the past three decades reinforce that Biden failed to use the powers afforded to Senate committee chairmen to conduct a judicious and thorough inquiry into Hill’s allegations. He did not give full consideration to witnesses whose allegations seemed to corroborate her testimony or curb the attacks and innuendo leveled at her during the hearing. A former Biden lawyer told The Washington Post this month that the Democrats were outmaneuvered by Republicans, whose purpose was to damage Hill.

SNIP

Thomas was asked questions about a woman named Angela Wright, a former EEOC employee whose claim that he had asked the size of her breasts and pressured her for dates had made its way to the committee. Wright, then an editor at the Charlotte Observer, was deposed by staffers and flew to Washington under subpoena. Biden, citing time constraints, never called her to testify.

Two other women who had worked at the EEOC were also seen as potential witnesses whose accounts would support Hill’s. Rose Jourdain could corroborate Wright’s story, and Sukari Hardnett wrote to the committee that “if you were young, black, female and reasonably attractive, you knew full well you were being inspected and auditioned as a female” by Thomas while working for him.