McCaskill: Rolling Stone’s ‘Bad Journalism’ A ‘Setback’ For Rape Victims

Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance subcommittee chair Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., questions witnesses during the subcommittee's hearing examining accountability and corporate culture in wake o... Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance subcommittee chair Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., questions witnesses during the subcommittee's hearing examining accountability and corporate culture in wake of the GM Recalls, Thursday, July 17, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) lamented Tuesday that the “bad journalism” in Rolling Stone’s article on rape culture at the University of Virginia was hurting victims of sexual assault.

“I am saddened and angry because it is a setback for survivors in this country,” McCaskill said during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.

The Missouri senator called the disputed magazine article, which detailed an alleged gang rape at a UVA fraternity house, “bad journalism.” Later reporting by the Washington Post had revealed that certain details of Rolling Stone’s story didn’t check out, leading some to speculate whether the subject of the article, Jackie, made the whole thing up.

“Our problem is not victims coming forward and embellishing. Our problem is victims are too frightened to come forward,” McCaskill said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) also addressed the Rolling Stone controversy during the hearing, noting that some may consider the magazine’s backpedaling as a reason not to believe victims of sexual assault when they come forward.

“Clearly, we don’t know the facts of what did or didn’t happen in this case. But these facts have not changed: UVA has admitted that they have allowed students who have confessed to sexually assaulting another student to remain on campus,” Gillibrand said. “That is and remains shocking.”

She said she hoped the Rolling Stone article wouldn’t overshadow the stories of other students who come forward to report sexual assaults, or discourage them from coming forward in the first place.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. She’s real tough when she’s fighting a magazine. Fighting Republicans? Not so much. Clair McCaskill and her cowardly ilk are a setback for the party and the country.

  2. “McCaskill: Rolling Stone’s ‘Bad Journalism’ A ‘Setback’ For Rape Victims”

    Sniffit: McCaskill’s ‘Spineless Capitulation’ A ‘Setback’ For Sane Policies

    I truly don’t want to hear anything she has to say for herself or anything else until she grows a fucking spine.

  3. Avatar for zoran zoran says:

    Hmmmm. Claire is becoming a right wing republican right before everyone’s eyes.
    Or . . . . she is just doing it better after the midterms.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for zoran Avatar for sniffit Avatar for FallOfRomePartTwo

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: