Confirmation Page #3

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stating that Clarence Thomas

sexually harassed you.

I'd like to ask you some questions.

KEN:
Jesus!

God damn it. F***.

"F***" is right.

I have Nina Totenberg and Tim Phelps

asking me about Clarence Thomas

and sexual harassment.

God damn it.

(SIGHS) Did they say who leaked it?

- No, of course not.

- All right, draw up a statement.

Say the charges have been investigated,

found to be baseless.

The President has total faith in his nominee.

- Does the President know?

- I'll tell him.

(KIDS PLAYING)

Hello.

- Hi!

- (KIDS LAUGHING)

I'm gonna be in the news tomorrow.

Um...

Some of the things they'll be reporting

will be shocking to you.

I'm so sorry for that.

LIANE:
This is Weekend Edition.

I'm Liane Hansen.

A woman who served as personal assistant

to Clarence Thomas for over two years

has accused him of sexually harassing her.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Law professor Anita Hill said she had much

in common with Clarence Thomas

and that she initially believed

that common background

was one of the reasons he hired her

as his personal assistant 10 years ago.

According to Hill's affidavit,

Thomas soon began asking her out socially

and refused to accept her explanation

that she did not think it appropriate

to go out with her boss.

Thomas, after a brief work discussion,

would, quote, "turn conversation to

discussions about his sexual interests."

He never touched her,

she acknowledged in an interview,

and he never directly threatened her job,

but she said she was 25,

and she began to worry

that she would soon suffer professionally

if she did not submit.

Several senators contacted by NPR

say they are troubled by the Hill allegations

and the long delay in investigating them

by Chairman Biden.

Carolyn, all right, look,

she's out there making it sound

like we haven't done a goddamn thing on this.

I want a full chronology,

who called who and when, all right?

I'm not gonna be the bad guy on this thing.

- Tom, I need those phone logs.

- What happened?

I promised her this wouldn't get out.

I gave my word.

That was pretty f***ing stupid, wasn't it?

Nothing like this stays secret in this town.

You should know that.

Trouble today for President Bush's already

controversial Supreme Court nominee

Clarence Thomas.

Leading Democrats label the charges,

quote, "very disturbing."

The senator says this is

the kind of thing one expects

in the last moments of a political campaign,

not a judicial confirmation.

The whole thing, says Danforth,

has a very definite and strong aroma to it.

JUDY:
I just spoke with Mrs. Thomas.

He's writing an affidavit.

He wants to release it to the press.

Hell, no. Get on that.

Everything goes through me.

Yeah.

It's basically the same as yours,

except instead of refuting her claims

one by one like you did,

we thought it made more sense

to offer a single categorical denial.

Why?

It's just us being extra careful

in the off chance that, at some point,

something was said by you.

Some off-the-cuff comment,

not inappropriate,

but which she took to be inappropriate.

- You don't believe me.

- No, we do. We do.

If something happened and you sign

anything asserting that it didn't,

it's a misstatement of sworn fact.

It's grounds for impeachment.

Forget the Supreme Court, Clarence,

you could lose your current job.

I know that, Ken.

(PEN CLICKS)

- FEMALE REPORTER: She's here!

- MALE REPORTER:
Professor Hill!

Anita, did a political group

put you up to this?

Do you have a personal vendetta

against Judge Thomas?

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

The chronology of this woman

and her participation...

Dozens of women in his office

and only one person

testifies to this 10 years ago.

I've always had my concerns about Anita.

And I wonder, really,

if she knows what she did.

The allegations that are being made

are just absolutely unfounded

and absolutely not true.

I am offended that there is a possibility

that this opportunity

may be snatched from him.

- SHIRLEY:
Excuse me.

- MAN:
Give us some room.

- Okay. You okay?

- "Okay"?

Have you heard

what people are saying about me?

(SIGHS) Ignore it.

Is that what you'd do if people were lying

about you on national television?

Good morning. I'm Dave Swank,

Dean of the College of Law.

Professor Hill, a member of our faculty,

has asked an opportunity to hold

a press conference this morning

to respond to some of the information

which has been on the television

and in the newspapers.

So without any more, Professor Hill.

(APPLAUSE)

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

So that's her, huh?

This is good. These girls always think

it'll help to talk to the press,

and every time they come off looking cheap.

Good morning.

I... I have three points

that I really want

to make clear here with you today,

and afterward,

I will attempt to answer any question

as fully and forthrightly as I can.

The first point that I want to address today

is the idea that this is somehow

part of a political ploy.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

This has taken a great toll on me

personally and professionally,

and there is no way that I would do

something like that for political purposes.

It's helpful perhaps for you to understand

how I came to make this statement.

I was approached by the Senate

Judiciary Committee in early September.

- They approached me...

- (INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

...as someone who had worked

with Clarence Thomas.

They asked me questions

about work that I had done there,

and they asked specifically

about sexual harassment.

Some people have said that

I have waited until the eleventh hour

to bring this to the press.

I never came to the press.

The press came to me.

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

Do you think that

the attention that this is getting

will affect the vote on Tuesday?

I think you have to ask your senator.

I don't know what effect it has or will have.

What does the final resolution mean for you?

What do you want?

If the senators fully

consider this information

and come to a conclusion,

I will be satisfied.

That is what I want.

For them to fully consider it

and take this seriously.

(REPORTERS CLAMORING)

She doesn't look cheap to me.

MALE REPORTER:
Based on your experience,

do you feel he's not qualified

to be on the Supreme Court?

You're asking me, would I vote for him

to be on the Supreme Court?

(APPLAUSE)

(SIGHS)

- Oh, boy, there's trouble.

- (TELEPHONE RINGING)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

MALE REPORTER:

In almost every Senate office in Washington,

the phones have been busy all week.

All right, thanks a lot for calling.

Callers are angry about Clarence Thomas

and allegations about sexual harassment.

FEMALE REPORTER:

Senate leaders say the Judiciary Committee

already has investigated

the allegation against Thomas

and they do not intend to delay

Tuesday evening's vote on his nomination.

We're here to see Senator Mitchell.

Pat, this is a private Senate lunch.

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