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Continetti: Coronavirus, Media Help Biden Avoid Tara Reade Questions

Washington Free Beacon founding editor Matthew Continetti said the coronavirus crisis and the media are helping presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden avoid addressing Tara Reade's sexual assault accusation.

"I'm worried that this is one area that Joe Biden may be being shielded by coronavirus. As long as the attention of the nation is on the pandemic, I think he might be able to skirt some of these questions for a little while longer," Continetti said Tuesday on Special Report.

Continetti also criticized the Washington Post for a convoluted headline Monday that obscured the fact that Biden is facing a sexual assault scandal: "Developments in allegations against Biden amplify efforts to question his behavior." The headline was later changed to "Trump allies highlight new claims regarding allegations against Biden," making Trump the subject even though the president is not implicated in the scandal at all.

Continetti said the headline's author must have taken "a course in creative obfuscation in journalism school."

"The media double standard is flagrant," he said.

Continetti also pointed out that Reade's former neighbor spoke to Business Insider on the record to corroborate the accusation, making it more substantiated than the accusation against Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation battle.

"These accounts are mounting and I think the key thing ... was the fact that the woman spoke to Business Insider on the record, which was something missing back during the Kavanaugh episode," Continetti said. "Many people and allegations against Kavanaugh were kept anonymously."

Anchor Bret Baier noted that Biden has yet to be directly asked on the record about the accusation. The Biden campaign has denied it.