Jen Psaki: If Somebody’s Accused of Sexual Harassment, They Shouldn’t Run For Office

TAPPER: I do to want talk about Andrea Ramsey, though, because I do wonder what Karine just said is it like if you can’t run if there have been accusations. But an accusation, even in the vast majority of time, these accusations are true.

PSAKI: Yes.

TAPPER: But the vast majority is not 100 percent. There are false accusations out there. It does happen.

Even the most liberal, most progressive advocates for women against sexual violence can see that point. Is an accusation enough?

PSAKI: Yes, it is enough.

I completely agree that in the time we’re in right now this is going to be perhaps a bloody period, but, I mean, the fact is that Democrats and the Democratic Party cannot be, here, you have a waiver. We have zero tolerance but.

And that’s an important line for the Democratic Party, and really, honestly, for anybody who is elected by the American public to hold firm on. There is a lot of pressure on the media who are often the ones who are going through these stories and determining what’s true and what’s inaccurate.

For Andrea who is running in a primary in Kansas it may be that the media works this through and this is inaccurate. And I certainly hope she runs again. But at the same time if somebody is accused of sexual harassment I believe that they shouldn’t — they’re not in a position to run for office.