Anita Hill: New Clarence Thomas Allegations Should Be Investigated Fairly

FILE - This Jan. 18, 2013 file photo shows Anita Hill during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Hill made national headlines in 1991 when she testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had ... FILE - This Jan. 18, 2013 file photo shows Anita Hill during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Hill made national headlines in 1991 when she testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Now, more than 20 years later, director Freida Mock explores Hill's landmark testimony and the resulting social and political changes in the documentary "Anita." (Photo by Victorial Will/Invision/AP, File) MORE LESS

Anita Hill is speaking out about a new groping allegation against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, telling The National Law Journal Thursday that a lawyer’s account of him grabbing her behind when she was a young legal scholar should be investigated thoroughly and fairly.

Hill, who testified during Thomas’ Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1991 that he sexually harassed her, told the publication that she believes Moira Smith’s allegation should be taken seriously and that there should be a “fair investigation … by an appropriate body.”

Hill said suggestions that Smith only came forward to gain notoriety are unfounded, since Smith has people who can confirm her story.

“To say that something like this is coming for political gains—and of course that was an allegation that was directed at me—is undermined by the fact that 16 years before, she went to friends and told people,” she told the National Law Journal. “So this is not something that she’s told for the first time at this point, this is something that people knew and they seem to be confirming.”

Hill told the publication that women like Smith, who decided to share her story after she heard the infamous hot mic tape of Donald Trump making predatory comments about grabbing and kissing women without their consent, come forward when other women do because it puts them in a “better position” to speak out.

“I think that’s what’s happening to a lot of women who are telling about their experiences publicly for the first time,” Hill told the National Law Journal. “That they see this moment where other women are stepping up.”

12
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Clarence the pig is baaaaaaaaaaack. Be afraid, be very afraid.

    Take a wild guess who he’ll vote for in Nov.

  2. “I think that’s what’s happening to a lot of women who are telling about their experiences publicly for the first time. That they see this moment where other women are stepping up.”

    Has Professor Hill explicitly ruled out a Clinton 45 nomination to the high court?

    It would speak volumes to America’s women (and men).

    Just the look on Clarence’s face, alone, would be worth it…

  3. I for one, applaud these women for speaking up albeit how difficult it is for them to do this. Modern day heroes! I’ve been married over 20 years and upon these recent “celebrity sexual harassment” reports, my wife recently told me for the first time about horrible incidents she experienced from men of the likes of Thomas and Trump. I understand how difficult this is for women to talk about and to even recall the memories of such deplorable acts. I despise men that behave this way!

  4. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    When you hear one accusation of sexual misconduct, very rarely is it a singular event. It’s usually a pattern of behavior with these men.

    I expect more women to come forward.

  5. Hill is younger than Garland, and it makes perfect sense. Revenge is a dish best served 26 years later and cold

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

6 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for sysprog Avatar for irasdad Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for twowolves Avatar for pshah Avatar for mikeluey Avatar for sthammond Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for overthefall96

Continue Discussion