Broaddrick knows the exact day and location of her assault. She has two witnesses who found her in tears with a swollen lip. She told them what happened. It's true that she didn't come forward publicly with this story for another 20 years, but she wasn't completely silent for those two decades. What's more, she had a very compelling reason to keep quiet all those years. Clinton was a powerful man at the time of the attack, and only became more powerful as time went on. Also, according to Broaddrick, Clinton's own wife had threatened her in a thinly veiled way.
Finally, adding even more credibility to Broaddrick's account, Clinton has been accused by multiple women. There is an established pattern of behavior. He is a known liar and a known pervert. Broaddrick's story is not only detailed, not only corroborated by two people who witnessed the immediate aftermath of the attack, but it fits into the overall picture of Bill Clinton. Credible? Broaddrick's case is far more than credible. It's overwhelming. She leaves you no conceivable reason to disbelieve her. To side with Bill Clinton is to trust the word of a pathological liar and notorious womanizer over the detailed account of a woman who has gained absolutely nothing from telling her story.
That's the other important element of this: Broadrrick didn't come forward until Bill Clinton was in his second presidential term. She wasn't some devout right winger running onto the scene a week before the 1992 election. If this were a politically motivated smear, it would mean Broaddrick is brilliant and enormously stupid all at once. Brilliant for concocting such a compelling story and sticking to it so convincingly for so long, but stupid for waiting until the guy had already been elected governor twice and president twice to finally set her plan in motion.
WALSH: What A Credible Rape Allegation Looks Like
Finally, adding even more credibility to Broaddrick's account, Clinton has been accused by multiple women. There is an established pattern of behavior. He is a known liar and a known pervert. Broaddrick's story is not only detailed, not only corroborated by two people who witnessed the immediate aftermath of the attack, but it fits into the overall picture of Bill Clinton. Credible? Broaddrick's case is far more than credible. It's overwhelming. She leaves you no conceivable reason to disbelieve her. To side with Bill Clinton is to trust the word of a pathological liar and notorious womanizer over the detailed account of a woman who has gained absolutely nothing from telling her story.
That's the other important element of this: Broadrrick didn't come forward until Bill Clinton was in his second presidential term. She wasn't some devout right winger running onto the scene a week before the 1992 election. If this were a politically motivated smear, it would mean Broaddrick is brilliant and enormously stupid all at once. Brilliant for concocting such a compelling story and sticking to it so convincingly for so long, but stupid for waiting until the guy had already been elected governor twice and president twice to finally set her plan in motion.
WALSH: What A Credible Rape Allegation Looks Like