Anita Hill still thinks that 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden has some explaining to do, signaling that she is “ready to hold [Biden] accountable” for his role in the trainwreck of a confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas back in 1991, during which Hill publicly accused Thomas of sexual harassment.
“Have I forgiven Joe Biden? I’m ready to move on, but I am also ready to hold Joe Biden accountable. Accountability means acknowledging your role in a problem and the harm it’s caused. Acknowledging that you have culpability,” Hill said at the CITIZEN by CNN conference in New York on Thursday, according to CNN.
For Hill, that looks like, “Giving me clear information that you have made a change and that you are going to do something to make us all better off around gender discrimination.”
Biden was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee during Thomas’ confirmation hearing, which has long been met with scrutiny over the way Hill was treated.
As Biden launched his presidential campaign earlier this year, in the wake of the #MeToo movement’s rise, he faced increasing scrutiny over his handling of the hearing – as well as his own history of being touchy-feely toward women.
As CNN notes, Biden also spoke with Hill in a conversation, during which he expressed “his regret for what she endured” during the infamous hearing.
However, even at that time, Hill expressed her own skepticism of his words.
“I cannot be satisfied by simply saying I’m sorry for what happened to you. I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose,” Hill told the New York Times in an interview back in April.
