U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) has doubled down on supporting his longtime friend, former Vice President Joe Biden, as the 2020 presidential hopeful faces allegations from a former staffer that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993.
Jones in a Wednesday Huffington Post article broke his silence on the allegations by attacking the “credibility” of the accuser, Tara Reade.
“The more that comes out, the more and more it, to me, does not have the indicia of credibility that I would be looking to at all,” Jones said of Reade’s account.
However, in an article posted Friday by Politico, Jones pivoted from defending Biden directly to accusing Republicans of being “the pot calling the kettle black.”
This came after new evidence emerged showing Reade’s ex-husband had in 1996 court proceedings referenced her being sexually harassed when she worked for Biden’s Senate office.
Jones’ comments to Politico came in the context of his vote against confirming Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
In announcing his vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Jones tweeted, “Dr. [Christine Blasey] Ford was credible and courageous and I am concerned about the message our vote will be sending to our sons and daughters, as well as victims of sexual assault. I will be voting no.”
Jones, who in January 2018 was escorted by Biden to the Senate floor to be sworn in, told Politico the respective allegations against Kavanaugh and Biden are like “apples and oranges.”
“It wasn’t just about who you believed, it was about the whole nature of the Kavanaugh hearings, the lack of investigation,” Jones told the outlet, before turning his ire to President Donald J. Trump.
“I mean we got a president of the United States who simply said, ‘I didn’t do it,’ and they’re OK with all of that? As we say in the South, that’s kind of the pot calling the kettle black. I don’t think they want to start really opening up allegations of misconduct like that,” Jones added.
Alabama’s junior senator was an early backer of Biden’s 2020 presidential bid, vowing to back whomever the Democrats ultimately nominated against Trump, no matter how radical that individual was.
“Anti-Trump Democrat Doug Jones will always put Washington Democrats ahead of being honest with the men and women of Alabama,” NRSC spokesperson Nathan Brand said in a statement.
Overall, Jones has been quick to come to Biden’s defense this election cycle.
The Democratic senator pushed back on Congressman Bradley Byrne’s (AL-01) call for an investigation into Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and how Joe Biden was involved.
Jones also defended Biden last year when he came under fire for remarks about former segregationist Democratic senators, as well as deeming past sexual misconduct allegations against Joe Biden as distractions from beating Trump in 2020.
RELATED: Doug Jones: Biden does not have ‘senior moments’ — Just ‘Joe Biden moments’
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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