On Monday, The New Yorker reported that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had allegedly sexually and physically assaulted four of his ex-girlfriends, resulting in his resignation late Monday night. One of those women told the magazine that some of her friends told her to keep the details of her relationship with Schneiderman a secret — not because they didn’t believe her, but because he was “too valuable a politician for the Democrats to lose.” Now that her allegations are public, some of the most ardent anti-Trump conspiracy theorists are making the batshit crazy argument that she and Schneiderman’s other accusers are part of a smear campaign against the New York Attorney General orchestrated by President Donald Trump, precisely because of this supposed importance to the Democratic Party.
Noted Russia truther Louise Mensch, who went completely off the rails after the 2016 presidential election, expressed her support for Schneiderman on Twitter last night, calling the report a “pack of lies” and Schneiderman’s subsequent resignation a “victory for [Putin],” whom she believes controls the president. Greg Olear, someone I have thankfully never heard of until now, reassured his 24,000 followers that things are “going to be ok,” even though the allegations against Schneiderman are likely “a set-up” by his political adversaries.
This is absolutely terrible. It’s a pack of lies about @AGSchneiderman and a victory for @PutinRF.
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) May 8, 2018
And - it won’t save @realDonaldTrump from one goddamned thing.
Guys, don't freak out about #Schneiderman. It's going to be ok.
— Greg Olear (@gregolear) May 8, 2018
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It’s obviously extremely upsetting that people with big online followings are using their platforms to spread this kind of misinformation — not least because these conspiracies are wildly disrespectful to Schneiderman’s alleged victims, who should be applauded for speaking out against one of the most powerful men in the state. But Mensch and her ilk’s antics are also indicative of a larger pattern of #resistance liberals prioritizing politics over real women’s lives. After two women accused Sen. Al Franken of sexual assault last fall, lest we forget, liberal conspiracy theorists’ made a similar claim that his accusers were doing it to weaken the Democratic Party, echoing right-wing claims that the women who accused Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual abuse were paid to fabricate lies against him.
By this point, it’s sadly unsurprisingly when Trump supporters, who voted for a man who has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, don’t believe women who come forward with allegations of abuse. The fact that those who claim a moral high ground over Trumpism refuse to believe Schneiderman’s abusers is a sad reminder too many people only care about women when it’s politically expedient to do so.
