'Simply saying I’m sorry' not enough, says Anita Hill on Joe Biden's attempt at apology
April 26, 2019
WASHINGTON: US attorney and professor Anita Hill said Thursday she was unsatisfied by White House hopeful and former vice president Joe Biden's phone call to her to voice regret for her experience during the 1991 public hearings against the then-Supreme Court nominee Justice Clarence Thomas over allegations of sexual harassment.
“I cannot be satisfied by simply saying I’m sorry for what happened to you," Hill told the New York Times, adding that she did not consider Biden's words to be an apology. "I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose.”
According to the law and women's studies professor, the 2020 US election candidate should apologise to numerous other women, as well as the American people "who have just really lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence".
“The focus on apology to me is one thing,” she said to the NYT. “But he needs to give an apology to the other women and to the American public because we know now how deeply disappointed Americans around the country were about what they saw."
She further noted that she was unconvinced that Biden, the deputy of former US president Barack Obama, "truly accepts the harm he caused". The latest allegations of sexual misconduct have also been a cause of concern for her, she added.
And she said she could not support Biden's candidacy until he takes responsibility for his actions.
'Wish I could have done something'
In a statement, his campaign said: "Vice President Biden has spoken with Anita Hill.
"They had a private discussion where he shared with her directly his regret for what she endured and his admiration for everything she has done to change the culture around sexual harassment in this country," it added.
Biden, whose campaign launch put him at the front of a crowded pack of candidates, had also expressed his regret last month over what transpired with Hill in 1991, saying: "I wish I could have done something."
“To this day, I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved. I wish I could have done something,” he had said at an event aimed to honour students fighting sexual violence in March.
“She faced a committee that didn’t fully understand what the hell this was all about.”
The former VP, who launched into the 2020 race Thursday, has long faced criticism over the aggressive questioning of Hill.
As the chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he had overseen Justice Thomas' confirmation to the post in 1991 and, as some critics note, he had command of the proceedings, bringing Biden's characterisation of the events under scrutiny.
The three-time presidential contender's phone call appeared to be an attempt to defuse a key vulnerability for the Democratic candidate, who faces accusations of touching women inappropriately.
Two claims of sexual misconduct
On March 30, it was reported that Biden had faced a misconduct accusation by a Nevada ex-lawmaker, claiming he inappropriately kissed her before a campaign event.
Lucy Flores, the state's Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014, had said she was beside the stage awaiting her turn to address a rally when Biden put his hands on her shoulders from behind, then leaned in and smelled her hair.
"I was mortified. He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head," Flores had recounted in New York magazine. "My brain couldn't process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused.
"I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me," she had said.
Responding to the incident, Biden's spokesperson Bill Russo had said Biden was "pleased" to support Flores's candidacy but did not recall the incident.
"Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes," Russo had said in a statement.
He had added that Biden "believes that Ms Flores has every right to share her own recollections and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so."
Biden's overly familiar approach with women has been a subject of discussion for years. He has had a reputation for awkwardly touching the wives, mothers or daughters of senators during swearing-in ceremonies
His behaviour is receiving renewed attention in the #MeToo era when the movement against sexual assault has led to the downfall of dozens of politicians, entertainment figures, and businesspeople.
At a Democratic Party dinner in Delaware in March, he had acknowledged how his physical style has raised questions.
"I'm a tactile politician, always have been. That's what gets me in trouble as well," Biden had said.
Flores, however, had said the celebrated Democrat ignores the "power imbalance" that exists between Biden and the women he touches.
"Even if his behaviour wasn't violent or sexual, it was demeaning and disrespectful," she had added.
Then, three days later on April 2, a Connecticut woman had said Biden touched her inappropriately and rubbed noses with her at a 2009 political fundraiser, becoming the second person to level allegation of sexual misconduct against him.
Amy Lappos had told the Hartford Courant of her encounter with Biden at a Greenwich, Connecticut, event. “He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth.”
As to why she did not bring the issue to light at the time when it had happened, Lappos had said: "I never filed a complaint, to be honest, because he was the vice president. I was a nobody. There’s absolutely a line of decency. There’s a line of respect.
"Crossing that line is not grandfatherly. It’s not cultural. It’s not affection. It’s sexism or misogyny,” she had said.
Biden, on the other hand, had responded to her claims in a statement, saying: “I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.”
“If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention,” he had added.
