Piker read the story aloud on his Twitch stream shortly after it was published. He read the portion of the report that cited Maine resident Jenny Racicot’s documents, emails with her therapist and messages to an acquaintance who warned about getting involved with Platner.
“That is curtains … That is the trifecta, OK? That is the trifecta of a reliable allegation. It’s –– holy s—. Personal firsthand testimony to a friend, a close confidante, back from way before Graham Platner ever f—ing ran for Congress, are you kidding me? And then also direct testimony to a therapist?” Piker said.
The streamer added that he believed the allegations against Platner. He said that there are verifiable aspects — including documentation — that support any credible allegation, saying it was “impossible to overlook” Racicot’s testimony.
Piker said people could have judged Platner’s character based on previous allegations about his past comments and behavior, referring to The New York Times article published in June that spoke with women Platner used to date
“But this is something beyond that … It’s irredeemable,” Piker added.
Politico reported earlier on Monday that Racicot accused Platner of forcing her to have sex with him while he was intoxicated in 2021.
Racicot recounted the 2021 incident to CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday night. She alleged that he was “heavily intoxicated” and that she pushed him away, knocking over belongings in her room. She said he “was aware that he was doing something wrong, yeah, saying, ‘Sorry.'”
She later said that she agrees with him politically and that she was “not mad at anyone who has voted for him all along,” and that “if he wasn’t who he was” she would vote for Platner as well.
“I understand that the state of our political environment is so much so that we need a lot of change, and he’s offering that change,” Racicot told Tapper.
Platner vehemently denied the allegations and emphasized the “inaccuracy of the reporting” by Politico while acknowledging that the latest scandal could threaten to impact his campaign.
He told supporters that he would take “the time to reflect on the best path forward” for Maine, the people he loves, his movement and “the goal of defeating” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Hours after Politico ran its story, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and End Citizens United pulled their endorsements for Platner. Florida Senate candidate Alex Vindman (D) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) also called for Platner to drop from the race.
The Maine Democratic Party called on Platner to withdraw as the party nominee, adding that the party is “entrusted with deciding who represents our values and who carries our banner.”
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner,” Maine Democratic Party leaders said in a statement. “Today’s statements take those allegations even further.”
I’ll believe it when I see some proof. An allegation is not proof, and we’ve seen allegations turn out false often enough that there’s a whole movement around the concept. It’s called the Innocence Project.
This is something like the 12th manufactured controversy against Platner, and it’s not a coincidence that he’s one of the few candidates who is publicly committed to being anti-war and anti-billionaire, and probably most importantly, anti-Zionist.
I actually think there tends to be very few allegations that turn out false. You may be confusing it for allegations that have nothing done with them or allegations that get retracted, but very few turn out to actually be false. Even the retractions are usually done because the victims get harassed or further traumatized, and not because they turn out to be false.
The innocence project is for all wrongly convicted individuals, not just for people wrongly accused of rape. That’s incredibly misleading of you to frame it that way.
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Incorrect.
It’s a testament to the fact that allegations should not be construed or treated as fact in and of themselves, regardless of the crime alleged.
It’s incredibly misleading of you to pretend I was saying otherwise.
You’re demanding proof of this rape multiple times here. We’re talking about a rape allegation. Context matters.
Well, let me clarify then.
Taking allegations as fact and expecting the accused to behave as if they are guilty is absurd. The Innocence Project is proof of that.
“Believe women except when it might impact my political candidate”
No. We don’t simply “believe” anyone. Simply “believing” someone did something is why the Innocence Project has to exist when it shouldn’t.
You take the report. You investigate. If there’s evidence something occurred you hold the offending party accountable. That’s it.
Indistinguishable from Trumpers at this point