An ex-New York Times journalist who helped launch Politico denounced calls to investigate sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden, urging Democrats to turn a blind eye in the name of defeating President Donald Trump.
Martin Tolchin, a former member of the New York Times’ Washington bureau, raised some eyebrows online after he shrugged off sexual assault allegations against presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden as something that should be shelved for good so the former VP’s chances to oust Trump won’t suffer in this November’s election.
“I don’t want an investigation. I want a coronation of Joe Biden. Would he make a great president? Unlikely. Would he make a good president? Good enough,” Tolchin wrote in a scathing letter in response to the New York Times editorial board.
I don’t want justice, whatever that may be. I want a win, the removal of Donald Trump from office, and Mr. Biden is our best chance.
Tolchin appeared to acknowledge that compromising information may come to light as result of an in-depth probe, arguing that the possibility of the former VP losing the nomination to someone “with a minimal chance of defeating Mr. Trump” should overshadow all other concerns.
Should we really risk the possibility?
The veteran journalist, who had spent decades working for the Times and co-founded the Hill, signed his letter as “a former member of The Times’s Washington bureau and a founder of Politico.” This was hotly disputed by Politico’s chief of communications, who said that Tolchin was “not the Founder of POLITICO, and it’s false to describe him that way,” while responding to criticism of Tolchin’s comments rather than the letter itself.
Marty Tolchin is not the Founder of POLITICO, and it’s false to describe him that way. He WAS a co-founder of “The Hill” and a consultant who helped in the founding of the “Capitol Leader.” He was not a part of active management when POLITICO launched. https://t.co/N7RJ0thv9B
Politico’s own staff web page described Tolchin as someone “helping launch” the paper, however.
The occasion for Tolchin’s letter was the softball suggestion by the Times’ editorial board that the Democratic Party should investigate allegations that Biden sexually assaulted his former Senate staffer Tara Reade in 1993.
“The Democratic National Committee should move to investigate the matter swiftly and thoroughly, with the full cooperation of the Biden campaign,” read the editorial, published on Friday.
The DNC, which hardly has a stellar reputation when it comes to how it treats its top candidates – look no further than its well-documented bias in favor of the Clinton campaign back in 2016 – has already rejected this, calling it “an absurd suggestion on its face.”
It did not take long for Tolchin’s letter to draw a swift backlash on Twitter. Many argued that his call to sweep the sexual assault allegations under the rug was a disgrace for journalism.
Wow. This is totally sick. A “journalist” is completely uninterested in the TRUTH and just wants an outcome. This Martin Tolchin is a STAIN on a functioning society. How SICK. https://t.co/PN3YnZcHjj
Some even wondered if the letter was a rather clumsy attempt at satire (apparently it was not).
The Tolchin letter to @nytimes is so blatant I’ve been wondering if his intent was satirical. (I’m afraid not, though) https://t.co/oJfX54lST3
Wait a minute — Tolchin actually wrote this? I thought it was just a meme floating around Twitter. OMG. Tolchin is a complete LOOSER! https://t.co/auLC0iZJPt
One prominent liberal journalist argued that although Tolchin’s was “a very unjournalistic sentiment,” he should be given a pass due to his age.
This is a very unjournalistic sentiment that Tolchin is expressing. At the same time, the guy is 91 years old and left the NYT over 25 years ago so using it to dunk on contemporary Times journalists seems awfully unfair. https://t.co/yq9dCOnnib
Others suggested that Tolchin might just be saying out loud what the US media establishment is already thinking.
Oh this is perfect. Tolchin is the DC media establishment. I don’t think they wanted him to say this part out loud. https://t.co/3owD2f2KtS
Aside from Tolchin, the “progressive” readers of the @nytimes are unanimous in their disinterest in Tara Reade’s accusations against @JoeBiden. Even the one person who thinks it should be investigated says they’ll vote for him anyway. https://t.co/xH8CfiBYGq
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