WashPost ‘Fact Checker’ MILDLY Chides Biden, Press on 10-Year-Old Rape Victim Tale

The liberal media found this story “too interesting to verify” — an Ohio rape victim aged ten had to travel to Indiana for an abortion. Saturday was Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler noticed it when Joe Biden used it. “This is the account of a one-source story that quickly went viral around the world — and into the talking points of the president.”

President Trump claimed Friday that:

“This isn’t some imagined horror. It’s already happening. Just last week, it was reported that a 10-year-old girl was a rape victim — 10 years old — and she was forced to have to travel out of state to Indiana to seek to terminate the pregnancy and maybe save her life.”

Biden, the Vice President of the United States was one of many to attack an Indiana abortionist who claimed she saw a 10-year-old girl raped for an abortion. However, the Indianapolis Star reporting this story has taken a defensive posture. He isn’t speaking.

It was too good not to verify. pic.twitter.com/yUe7g4Bin8

— Divisive Arch-Conservative Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 10, 2022

But Biden was late to the game — last Sunday, CNN host Dana Bash repeatedly threw this alleged offense in the face of conservative Gov. Kristi Noem. CNN believed it, but a Republican politician with ambition is not going to dispute it.

Indianapolis Star reported that abortionist Caitlan Barnard “received a call from ‘a child abuse doctor’ in Ohio who had a 10-year-old patient who was six weeks and three days pregnant.” The Star reported that the child “was on her way to Indiana to Bernard’s care.”

Kessler stated that there was no evidence the newspaper tried to verify her account. The story’s lead reporter, Shari Rudavsky, did not respond to a query asking whether additional sourcing was obtained.” The StarThey made a weak statement that “the facts…are clear”. 

This is not transparency. This doesn’t inspire confidence in the newspapers. Kessler pointed out that this anecdote from a single source was accepted as fact around the world, including CNN’s Dana Bash.

Kessler stated that a doctor, who is a mandated reporter under Ohio Revised Code 22511.421, must report all cases of suspected or actual physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of children.

However, the abortionist didn’t speak.

Bernard did not identify her friend or the place where she was born to the Fact Checker. “Thank you for reaching out. I’m sorry, but I don’t have any information to share,” she said in an email.

Dan Tierney, Ohio governor’s press secretary. Mike DeWine (R), said the governor’s office was unaware of any specific case but he said under the state’s decentralized system, records would be held at a local level.

Kessler said he checked it out: “we contacted child services agencies in some of Ohio’s most populous cities, including Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo. The officials that we spoke to were unaware of any such cases in their respective areas. Was this really what happened?

Kessler concluded

It is very difficult to verify this story. Bernard is already on record. However, it’s almost impossible to get documents or confirmation without the specifics of the location where the rape happened.

With news reports around the globe and now a presidential imprimatur, however, the story has acquired the status of a “fact” no matter its provenance. The fact that a rapist was ever arrested would be more solid.

Kessler could assign Pinocchios if Donald Trump took up such a story. Biden was not given Pinocchios, as usual. His take on the presidential imprimatur is so mild, you might interpret it like “Oh, that’s a fact now.”