Friday, April 27, 2018

Did Tom Brokaw Sexually Assault Linda Vester?



Question for Analysis:  

Did Tom Brokaw sexually assault Linda Vester?

Here we have the denial of sexual assault by Tom Brokaw issued in light of an accusation by a former co worker from more than 20 years ago. 


Did he sexually assault her?



Article editors show their prejudice in how they present a case.  For example, as "evidence" they spoke to two friends of the accuser "confirming" her account.  The two friends only confirmed what the accuser told them; nothing more and nothing less.  

In "he said; she said", we often have news articles presented to defend one position. 

It is like watching a wildlife documentary. I love wildlife and I love the documentaries. Since seeing "Born Free" as a boy, I've plotted ownership of a lioness, howbeit, unsuccessfully...thus far.  

1.  The life of antelope 

We are given high definition camera work stunningly showing the life of the antelope and then, with touching music, we see the new born struggle to her feet. Then, as the music changes, the evil lion pounces upon the "baby" and destroys not only the baby's life, but traumatizes mother antelope. We mourn the violent loss of life of the antelope. 

2.  The life of the lion

We are given high definition camera work stunningly showing the life of the lion and then, with touching music, we see the cutest cuddliest cub, crying out in pain as mother's milk has dried up due to starvation because evil man has encroached upon the lion's land.  We are joyfully relieved when she is able to bring antelope meat to the cub, to save its life. We cheer the loss of life of the antelope. 

Now imagine watching these as impressionable children. 

"Making A Murderer" is one of the best examples of emotional manipulation in a crime documentary that we have.  The careful editing of direct quotes, combining with camera angles and music, while highlighting the initial injustice, conspire together to give a false conclusion to an impressionable audience.  


Statment Analysis separates deception from truth. It shows veracity and it shows "technical truth", where one deceive via withheld information, leaving behind things that are technically truthful, but intended for deception or tangent. 

With sexual assault victims, we must clear out all emotional influence.  We don't believe someone because of their gender, and we do not disbelieve someone because of gender.  We seek the truth by listening carefully to them, and letting their words guide us. 

 With any case, we trust the language to guide me more than anything.  Yesterday, Bill Cosby was found guilty.  Years ago, analysis of Barbara Bowman, one of his accusers, indicated "Veracity."

#MeToo has been harmed by false accusations of those who sought attention. For analysts, we were given a marvelous example of this where Accuser A made a statement which analysis showed:

"Veracity Indicated."

A Second accuser went public "in support" of the first.  Regarding Sexual Assault, analysis concluded:

"Deception Indicated."

These two statements are useful for investigators to compare, side by side.  

I.  Tom Brokaw's Denial 
II. Linda Vester's Statement 
III. Analysis Conclusion 

I.  Tom Brokaw's Denial 

 “I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC.  The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other.”

He does not state that he did not assault her. 

The accusation in sexual harassment must be clarified.  Here she alleges physical grabbing. 

 When multiple accusers arise, the denial can be "not reliable" yet still not conclusive. 

With the statements of accusers of Judge Roy Moore, analysis showed some truthful and some deceptive.  Yet it was within Moore's own denial that we saw deception.  Although some accusers were false, Moore was lying.  

Here, the sensitivity indictors must be seen in context.  This statement appears carefully constructed:

 “I met with Linda Vester on two occasions, both at her request, 23 years ago because she wanted advice with respect to her career at NBC.  

He did not "meet Linda Vester" but he met "with" Linda Vester.  This is a simple denial of a personal relationship via the psychological distancing. 

We flag the word "with" between people to indicate distance.  Sometimes the distance is contextually clear, such as geographical or physical distance.  Sometimes it is psychological distancing and can be from guilt.  

We note that this is where he chose to begin his statement, making it very important to us.  

What of these meetings?

a.  he wants us to know they were at her request.  This is to put the responsibility for the meetings upon her.  He needs us to know he did not "initiate" the meetings. 

b.  he wants us to know the reason why she initiated the meetings.  This puts not only the responsibility for the meetings upon the accuser, but applies her motive as well.

"I didn't sexually assault  Linda Vester" would not need this buttressing or shifting of burden but a defensive posture, in light of the passing of time and current social/political climate, understandable or "appropriate."

The word "both" is to strengthen this assignment of responsibility. 

We remain open to blaming her for a false accusation as well as victim blaming, which is often indicated in such crimes.  


The meetings were brief, cordial and appropriate, and despite Linda’s allegations, I made no romantic overtures towards her at that time or any other.”

He specifies  the element or motive within overtures as "romantic." This is to state that he had no "romantic" interest in her.  This is not to say that he did not have sexual interest. 

His denial regarding attempts or harassment is "not reliable" and we need more information, or we need the alleged victim's statement to allow us our conclusion.  If we view his denial from her claim of physical grabbing it is "unreliable." 

It is important that, given this denial, we learn his meaning of  "romantic" from him, and if anything in her account shows that he was interested in using her sexually, instead of being romantically or personally involved.  

It is to deny motive for action; he does not deny the action itself. 

If Tom Brokaw cannot say, "I did not sexually assault Linda Vester", we cannot say it for him. 

We continue to let the subjects guide us to the truth. 

II. Linda Vester Statement.

We now view her statement recognizing that the great length of time allows for processing, particularly of emotions. 


Linda Vester: In September 1989, I was hired at NBC News to be groomed as a foreign correspondent. 


The subject begins in 1989, where she was "groomed."  This is an unusual choice of wording to use and it is years before the accusation against Tom Brokaw.   

We may consider the context:  Working at NBC is something that likely suggests intellect.  

We expect, therefore, that the subject will tell us what happened in the past, communicating to us using past tense verbs.  

The "imperfect" (SA term) past tense elongates or stretches time.  "Was hired" rather than "hired" suggests a lengthening of time, which could be attributed to the process of hiring.  However, we must not dismiss her use of the unexpected term, "groomed" here. 

This is her verbalized perception of reality.  

We continue to note, at this point, her use of verbs. 

I had just finished a Fulbright in the Middle East, and I had been doing freelance work for CBS in Gaza. When I was interviewing at NBC, the network offered me a job where I could work my way up through the ranks. They started me as a researcher, then a field producer, then I was sent to the NBC Tampa affiliate to get more on-air experience. Then Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and NBC said, “We need her to report from the Gulf.” I was there for the duration of the Gulf War.

This is a lengthy introduction that excludes Tom Brokaw.  

Why has she sought to tell her audience about CBS?

Why has she gone back this far? 

*The subject has a need to tell us that she was "needed" by the network.  

Follow her verbs: 

After I returned to the United States, I continued working jointly for NBC and its affiliates, until I was made a full-time correspondent for “Weekend Today” in 1993. At this point, at 28, I’m one the youngest correspondents at the network. In August, I was assigned to cover Pope John Paul’s trip to Denver.

The subject is giving us a list of her accomplishments, including her importance or status being enough to assign her to the Gulf War  and she uses the pope's name as well.  

She has a need to:

a.  be needed
b.  be seen as important. 

This is in her statement in spite of many years of professional success.  


We were in the Denver bureau, and there was a conference room. 

She has addressed past events in past tense language.  This is the formula for reliability.  

She now gets to Tom Brokaw; the accused.  


I’m standing there, and Tom Brokaw enters through the door and grabs me from behind and proceeds to tickle me up and down my waist. 

We now come to the "event" of the allegation.  

a.  "standing" is body posture.  When this enters a statement, we often seen an increase in tension.  

Example:  "My boss said not to be late" versus

"My boss stood and told me not to be late." 

The latter uses the more formal "told" and uses, in recall, the body posture unnecessarily.  This is a signal of increase in tension or importance.  

Note "I'm standing there" is present tense language.  She reduces verbal commitment to what happened by the change from past tense to present tense. 

b.  "enters through the door

We would not have thought to consider, "Did Tom Brokaw climb through a window?"

In the recall, we not only have the present tense verb "enters" but we have what is called in Statement Analysis "unnecessary language" (which is deemed very important as it takes more effort for the subject to give to us) and there is a linguistic correlation between "doors" and childhood sexual abuse.  

This is an introduction to an abbreviated lesson. 




Present Tense Language 

Present tense language of a past event is not reliable.  This is deemed so in all cases by the analyst.  It is then viewed carefully, in context. This is critical for Sex Crimes Units, psychologists, therapists, and other professionals who deal with adult victims of childhood sexual abuse. 

They sometimes move into present tense language which reveals, not that they are lying, but that impact remains to this day. 

One particular key to understanding is this:

If the subject used past tense verbs in the statement with "impact portions" being the only exception, the analyst must consider:

There is possible post trauma impact that has not been processed, mitigated, or ended. 

PTSD-like symptoms in language.  

This is especially true for victims of childhood sexual abuse who describe an adult event of an assault.  In these cases, passivity and disassociation is noted in the language of those who did not take action.  Some victim react and some victims freeze.  Of those who took some action, prognosis can improve.  The reaction such as, "I punched him" will make a distinct turn back to past tense language.  This is because when we react, rather than freeze, we are "healthier" at this moment in the statement.  In other words, "what he did still bothers me, but what I did does not."

Let's listen to her: 


I jumped a foot and I looked at a guy who was the senior editor of “Nightly,” and his jaw was hanging open. 

Her reaction to the present tense language is in past tense.  In spite of what happened to her, (if she is telling the truth), it is very likely that it would have been worse had she not reacted by jumping up. 



Nobody acted like anything wrong was happening, but I was humiliated. 

Impact. 

Humiliation is a powerful element in human nature. 

Even writers can use it appropriately.  

"I remember you.  You said, "Screw you, Creepo" 

"I didn't say that."

"Yeah, you did.  Great insults last a lifetime."

This is true.  It is also what we look for in criminal actions where premeditation is evident, but the suspect may still not go through with "it." Then, he experiences humiliation in some form and he goes through with his plan.  

Note next her view of self is compared with Brokaw: 

I didn’t know Brokaw other than to say hello in the hall. He was the most powerful man at the network, and I was the most junior person, reporting for an entirely different show. It was really out of the blue.

note she refers to herself gender neutral, "person" and not "woman,"

This is not conclusive but suggestive of one who saw herself as not sexually interested in Brokaw, in spite of his status, and of one who  saw employees as "employees" rather than segregated by gender.  This is her view of employees.  This is how she viewed them. 

She addresses, however,  the view of NBC and qualifies is as her own experience:  


There was a culture at NBC News, in my experience, where women who raise questions about misconduct get labeled as troublemakers. It can torpedo your career. 

"women" is plural, and "your" universal.  This is congruent for her  as she is describing what she believes to be universal for women in general.  We expect her to focus upon self in an assault context.  Here she is describing a "culture" and not her own experience.  She recognizes that others may disagree, hence the qualifier of her own experience.  

It is interesting to note the low self view even in comparison to Brokaw. 

I already knew that, so I didn’t want to make any trouble. I had just been hired full-time, and I wanted to be able to do my job. I did my best to collect myself and get on with my work.

The interaction is an assault in allegation and it is not reliably stated. 

Question for analyst:  it is "not reliable" instead of "unreliable"; is this due to PTSD-like impact on the language? 

Linguistic Disposition. 

This is an important tool in Statement Analysis.  The Bill Cosby statement by Barbara Bowman is an example.  

We seek to learn what the victim thinks about the victimizer.  She began with "Mr. Cosby" and then went to the close familiar "Bill" but after the assault he became "Cosby" and as she continued, she downgraded him verbally even further to "him" and "he."

What began as "Tom Brokaw" is now "Brokaw."  In her recall, this is congruent with her claim. 

In terms of the next time I saw Brokaw, I can’t remember. But I know when he assaulted me, which was the first week of January in 1994. 

She uses "he assaulted me" which has no ambiguous nature such as we have in his denial.  

The element of this sentence is time.  Note past tense commitment here. 


I was in New York on assignment for “Weekend Today.” I was preparing to go back to Washington D.C., where I lived. And I was sitting at a borrowed desk, when I received a computer message from Tom Brokaw asking me what I was doing that night.

I barely knew him and I didn’t work for his broadcast. But when the most powerful man at the network sends you a computer message, you answer him. So I replied that I had checked out of my hotel and I was going to catch the last shuttle back to D.C. before the snowstorm.

He wrote that it wasn’t a good idea. He asked me about staying in New York to have drinks. And then he wrote a second message that said, “Nah, too risky.”

The additional detail is congruent with the emphasis upon time.  She is past tense as she moves towards what happened. 

Analysts routinely flag emotions within a statement.  We are able to discern the artificial editing in of emotions in statements when one is trying to persuade rather than truthfully report.  However, when much time has passed, an account does become a story and a story does have emotion. Processing takes time.  

The day after a rape allegation, for example, that includes "I was afraid..." if found during the rape must be viewed as possible artificial editing.  Why?  Because in traumatic events, the emotions, if included, come in the part of the statement after it the assault is over.  This is to mirror experiential memory.  

Statement Analysis Training teaches these principles to investigators and other professionals in detail with application.  

Here is the inclusion of emotion: 

At this point, my antennae went up. I was trying to use humor to signal that I was not interested in whatever he was suggesting, so I wrote, “I only drink milk and cookies.” It was the only thing I could think of at the moment, hoping it would jolt him into realizing that this was inappropriate and I was [nearly] 30 years younger than him.

Then I wrote a line that tried more pointedly to make him aware that what he was doing was questionable. This is in my journal. I said: “There is nothing I would like more than a great chat with someone I admire, but if appearances are a concern, that’s valid.” 

I was trying to say if you’re concerned this looks wrong, it’s because it is wrong. I immediately logged out of the system, because that shows you’re not longer available for discussion.

I got really scared, so I called my best friend, who was a producer in the Washington bureau, and I read her all the messages out loud. She said, “He’s hitting on you and you’ve got to get out of the situation.” I was quite shaken, as I made my way to dinner. I took a cab to the airport to catch the shuttle to D.C., but when I got to LaGuardia, I had missed my flight. So I took a cab back to the Essex House, checked back in, put the phone onto my lap and started returning calls. Every correspondent’s travel was kept in a central file that anyone can access, so anybody could tell where I was.

She stayed within past tense verb usage. 



I received three calls that night. One was from a friend. Another was from a source. And the third was from Tom Brokaw. He said he was coming over to order milk and cookies.

Note the order and note the full name of the accused. 

The defensive posture is congruent with the linguistic disposition of disparity, including the assessment of self.  


I felt powerless to say no. He could ruin my career. I don’t recall saying, “Ok.” I just remember being frozen. 

Experienced analysts are following this language from a singular reference point:  "grooming." 

I went cold inside and started shaking. And I felt trapped because he was undeterred by anything I had said before. It wasn’t a request. He was insistent.

She still is not "with" him in the statement.  She is past tense.  

I called my friend again, and I was scared out of my mind. She said, “Ok, I’m going to stay on the phone with you, and let’s hope he changes his mind and doesn’t show up.” About 30 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. She and I both realize that it’s Tom. I started shaking.

He is "Tom" now. 

Please consider the subtle blaming of self for not turning him away during communication as consistent with victims of early childhood sexual abuse. 


I open the door. 

This is unnecessary information.  He can't come in unless it is opened and she assigns the responsibility for this action upon self. 

Note "I" is not "you open the door" as if other people will commonly know what it is like to have "Tom" knocking. 

Note "open" is now present tense language.

Note linguistic connection to "door" in childhood sexual abuse victims. 

Note that in adult victims childhood sexual abuse behavioral analysis indicates that they put themselves in "harm's way" without realizing it, as a means of seeking to punish themselves.  


I ask in an intentionally skeptical way, trying to slow this down, “What are you doing here?”

She took an action (in the statement) of defense.  This is akin to "I jumped" earlier.  Any defensive or even offensive (preventive) action is often recollected in a positive disposition; it is healthier.  Note that "I ask" is present tense. 

What if she had said for him to leave, forcefully?  It would likely have been a positive action on her part and in recollection, it would likely show up in past tense (completed, processed) language.  "I told him to go away" rather than, "I tell him..." which indicates the weakness of a victim. 

"I ask" is weak, an almost defeated measure. 

His answer is ascribed to him in the past tense. This sentence is very likely a reliable  recall. (experiential memory)

He answered that he was attending his stage manager’s retirement party and was in the neighborhood. He walked past me and sat down on the sofa in my suite. 

Sat down:  increase in tension for her;
"my suite" is unnecessary.  This is a very strong indicator of one feeling "invaded."

This would cause me (or in therapy) to explore childhood sexual abuse in her childhood bedroom. She is taking ownership of that which is not necessary, yet, for her it is necessary.  

He is seated next to her and the "activity" begins:  


He puts his arm on the back of the sofa and he said, “I like our rat-a-tat-tat.” 


I thought it was a bizarre statement.

This is editing afterwards (20+ years).  The activity is present tense, the processed information as a conclusion is past tense. 

I said nothing to him. 


This warrants exploration.  


He was sitting, and I was standing across the coffee table from him approximately four feet away. 

This divide may have provided temporary relief as a safety barrier.  In the recall, it is important enough for her to bring to her audience. This should be considered the "covering" that we see in PTSD victims, including combat and assault. 


Now I could feel myself trembling. As I stood there, I asked in a frustrated and scared tone, “What do you want from me?”
And he gave me a look of annoyance like he couldn’t believe I didn’t get it. 

He said, “An affair of more than passing affection.”

I struggled for what to say, trying not to offend a man that could end my career. So I protested, and I said, “But you’re married and I’m Catholic.”

And then he shot me another annoyed look and said in a condescending tone, “Don’t tell me you’re like Russert.” That was a reference to Tim Russert, who was famously Catholic.
I insisted, “I am.”

Tom patted the sofa, where he intended for me to sit. I sat down, and I was so afraid, I jammed myself up against the back of the sofa and I grabbed a throw pillow, because I was trying to signal to him with my body language that I was both frightened and unwilling. Just to be sure I was getting the message across, I brought up a case of sexual harassment that had happened in the Washington D.C. bureau. “That caused a lot of pain,” I said.

This is particularly noteworthy given his denial of "romantic" intent.  



That’s when he leaned over, and pressed a finger to my lips. He said, “This is our compact.”

If adult victims of childhood sexual abuse know anything, it is the silencing.  

In some assault cases, the woman's mouth or neck is targeted to silence speech.  



He grabbed me behind my neck and tried to force me to kiss him. I was shocked to feel the amount of force and his full strength on me. I could smell alcohol on his breath, but he was totally sober. He spoke clearly. He was in control of his faculties.

I broke away and stood up and said, “Tom, I do not want to do this with you. If I did, I would leave for London with a loss of innocence and I don’t want to go down that road.” 

I had just been promoted to foreign correspondent in the London bureau.

He sat there for what felt like minutes and he finally said, “I guess I should go.” I said, “Yeah.” And he got up and tried to kiss me again on the way out as he left.

I stood at the door shaking for a long time, and I called my friend and told her I was safe. I told her exactly what had happened — every word — and she stayed on the phone with me for a while. And then, eventually, I wrote down everything that had happened in my journal and fell asleep.

The next day, I got on a plane back to D.C. and Brokaw repeatedly sent me computer messages that I refused to answer. He finally sent me a message late in the afternoon that said something like, “I want to lower the temperature on this. Call me.” He put down his extension number. 

She is describing the pursuit due to guilt; not a romantic pursuit.  The "silence" that he received was very likely her form of payback. 

I felt like I had to call him, not because I wanted to, but because he was so powerful. I don’t remember verbatim what he said. But I do remember he was engaging in verbal gymnastics to try to revise what had happened the night before in such a way as to make it sound like it started out as consensual. I did not assent to this revision of events. I was disgusted.
Shortly after, I moved to London. In May 1995, it was the 50th anniversary of VE Day, and all the correspondents were working on reports for different coverage. Tom had come over to anchor “Nightly News” from London.

I’m out of the office, doing a story. When I get back, I found that Tom had left a small square post-it note on my desk that said, “Milk and cookies?”

My heart sank. I thought, “Oh God. Not this again.” I hoped that if I was just out of the bureau, I could avoid him. But I had my laptop with me, and I got a computer message from him asking what everyone was doing that night. This was inappropriate because we’re not friendly and he’d already attacked me. I tried to be polite, again signaling that I wasn’t interested.

I wrote back something like, “I don’t know what everyone else is doing, but I’m going out with friends.”

“Where?” he wanted to know.

Regrettably, I answered his question honestly. I said the name of the restaurant. I figured he wouldn’t be brazen enough to show up to a restaurant where I’m with other people who aren’t even in television.

Adult Victims of childhood sexual abuse do foolish things.  They put themselves at risk and it not only increases risk but it enables more self loathing. 

But he did, and then he invited himself to my flat. He didn’t ask. He said. At this point, I’m heartsick. I can’t believe this is happening again. I can’t believe someone who is supposedly a decent journalist is being so coercive and disgusting. I remember unlocking my door to my flat and turning on the lights and Tom walking past me. He sits down in my living room and asks for drinks. I got two glasses of tap water and set them down on the table.

He started bragging about himself and particularly bragging about how he was such close friends with Bob Redford. I’m baffled that the anchor of NBC Nightly News is boasting about his movie star friends.

He pats the sofa. As I sit, reluctantly again, I look down at his hands and I made a mental note of how swollen his knuckles were, a reminder of just how much older than me he was.

"As I sit" is passive.  This is found in both deceptive statements and in statements of adults traumatized in childhood. 



In the same exact way as in 1994, he reached behind my neck and tried to force my head toward him and force me to kiss him. I broke away again. I said, “You need to go.” And incredibly, he said, “Can you walk me to a taxi?” 

This is consistent with predators who seek to normalize their behavior.  It is an attempt to deescalate the possibility of consequence later on, as if to say, "we are friends; this is okay..."


I thought, “You just tried to assault me, but you expect me to walk you to a taxi?”
Even though I know I was not in any way at fault in what happened to me with Brokaw, I still suffered years of humiliation and isolation. I really do hope that by me telling my story and by shining this light, Comcast will understand why it’s so essential to hire outside counsel to investigate this deeply rooted problem.

Analysis Conclusion:

Tom Brokaw sexually assaulted Linda Vester. 

Linda Vester is still, at the time of this writing, suffering from it.  The context of professional atmosphere due to its expectation, as well as her intellect, education and successful career, all make it worse.

The editing of emotions comes with commentary.  This suggest that she has had some professional intervention.  She is in acute need of either more, or new.  

She is very likely a victim of childhood sexual abuse.  

Her statement of knowing it is not her fault is very weak.  This is to remind herself of that which should be unnecessary.  She does, in deed, blame herself strongly.  

As she blames herself, has a low view of self, and the word "grooming" suggests a self awareness of her own behavior in the difficult regrettable decisions she made.  It is to signal childhood victimization, which the entire statement consistently affirms. 

Some may be surprised that someone who appears to have "everything" going for her could show such weaknesses.  

It is human nature and she is telling the truth. 

Everyone has their "crook in the lot" personally.  Those with carefully crafted images often fall the hardest.  

Linguistic Human Empathy is not "human empathy" in Statement analysis Training.  Human empathy is something learned in childhood.  "Linguistic Human empathy" is the ability to enter into the subject's verbalized perception of reality.  It comes from doing many many statements, each with specific allegations. Therefore, to learn the language of sexual assault, one must analyze many statements by truthful victims and "enter into" the verbalized perception of reality found in the language.  It is to understand the point of view of the subject, whether the subject is a victim or a child rapist; it is to trust in the language to guide oneself through. 

It can have a negative consequence upon the analyst.  It is to embrace trauma.  

Police, ER doctors, nurses, child protective caseworkers and others experience secondary trauma this way. 

Analysts have said, "I need a shower" after 6 hours of being "within" the subject's verbalized perception of reality.  It is "Linguistic Human Empathy" and it is not a moral judgement.  

Brokaw's victim blaming is consistent with her verbal description of his high mindedness. 




14 comments:

Codgerette said...

This is interesting. I am beginning to wonder if any of us makes it out of high school without some kind of sexual abuse or harassment from superiors. We all knew girls in the 70s and 80s who "led with their chest," to put it politely. When I read Linda's excessively detailed account of her career in Wikipedia, what comes through loud and clear is that she probably made a name for herself as extraordinarily eager to make it to the big leagues.

Anonymous said...

Ive always gotten a bad vibe off Tom Brokaw that he has a cruel streak...never smiles, so serious, and there is violence & meanness on the edges of it.

Anonymous said...

Off Topic: If anyone here has researched Ted Bundy, could I get an opinion on do you think he was "like the devil"/ pure evil walking around with a deceptive mask or do you think he was under the influence of some kind of uncontrollable force and did not want to be that way?

lynda said...

I find this interesting also.

I would like to know if there is a difference between "he sexually assaulted her" and "he attempted to sexually assault her." I know there's a big difference legally, but what takes this over the line to a sexual assault as opposed to an attempted sexual assault. He tickled her waist. I don't think of that as a sexual assault. Assault perhaps, but not a sexual assault. He tried to kiss her but there was no kiss. There appears thru her story to be no other sexual touching. He stopped when she asked him to stop. He didn't try to cajole or manipulate her at the time into sleeping with him. He left. He IS manipulative as evidenced by his behavior the next day but frankly, I find most men manipulative when they are trying to see if you will have sex with them.

Her child sexual abuse..could this be why she views him trying to kiss her as an assault whereas those of us that do not have that in our background, would not. I should say, I would not. I would think, you're an ass, I'm not sleeping with you, you've made a move, you've been rebuffed, get out.

I agree with Cod..I don't think any of us made it out of high school without some type of attempted sexual assault that we, as women, just learn how to duck and weave out of because well, that's what you did when a date got to fresh or pushy.

Tom Brokaw is a douche but is he a rapist? I will wait to see what others think of the sexual assault/attempted sexual assault.

Interesting case tho. Tommy's days are numbered most likely.

LuciaD said...

I just read some more of Brokaw's response to her allegations. He reports " As I got up to leave I may have leaned over for a perfunctory goodnight kiss but my memory is that it happened at the door — on the cheek." First trying to keep deniability by stating he "may have" tried to kiss her, but then contradicting himself by stating what his memory is - "it happened at the door". An embedded admission?

Anonymous said...

Did he sexually assault her?

Answer: No

Did he sexually harass her?

Answer: Yes

It began when he tickled her at the waist. That's what creeped her out and kept her creeped out. She may have been nicer to him to keep him at bay, and he had the power to help her get promoted. She likely gave him wrong signals.

His mentioning of movie stars was his ploy to get her involved in his world full time.

If he used that tactic with her, there are those out there he did sexually assault.

Bobcat said...

I heard Tom Brokaw say "Women should stay home and raise children." at the very end of a broadcast once (after signing off). It is likely that he thought all of the affiliates had switched to commercial by then, but my local channel obviously fell behind that evening.

It was the weirdest thing, but I heard and saw it very clearly. He said it in stone faced seriousness, directly into the camera. It was in the mid 1990s. I was so surprised, I even asked around to see if anyone else had caught it, but no one had.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

This type of comment may have been projected guilt. He’d be better off if women stayed st home rather than children would be...

Keeping him out of trouble.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

The pressure Brokaw kept up really hit to the subject.

Brokaw now is seeking to discredit her while still not denying; he’s classifying.

P

Zeke the Greek said...

"I jumped a foot..." Past tense may signal reliability but "a foot" seems hyperbolic and meant to persuade.

In September 1989, I was hired at NBC News to be groomed as a foreign correspondent.

I had just finished a Fulbright in the Middle East, and I had been doing freelance work for CBS in Gaza. When I was interviewing at NBC, the network offered me a job where I could work my way up through the ranks. They started me as a researcher, then a field producer, then I was sent to the NBC Tampa affiliate to get more on-air experience. Then Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and NBC said, “We need her to report from the Gulf.” I was there for the duration of the Gulf War.

After I returned to the United States, I continued working jointly for NBC and its affiliates, until I was made a full-time correspondent for “Weekend Today” in 1993. At this point, at 28, I’m one the youngest correspondents at the network. In August, I was assigned to cover Pope John Paul’s trip to Denver.


A lot of passive voice here. Careful what she says about NBC? Or is she trying to establish a sense NBC is responsible for her professional well being?

NOT: "NBC hired me..., NBC interviewed me...NBC sent me...NBC made me a..."

"NBC said 'We need HER to...'" Why not first person like the rest?

At this point, my antennae went up. I was trying to use humor to signal that I was not interested in whatever he was suggesting, so I wrote, “I only drink milk and cookies.” It was the only thing I could think of at the moment, hoping it would jolt him into realizing that this was inappropriate and I was [nearly] 30 years younger than him.

Then I wrote a line that tried more pointedly to make him aware that what he was doing was questionable. This is in my journal. I said:

I was trying to say if you’re concerned this looks wrong, it’s because it is wrong. I immediately logged out of the system, because that shows you’re not longer available for discussion.


She is aware, via "tried" that she has not communicated a disinterest. The bolded line even implies an interest after he has said "Nah, too risky."

She wants us to hear "it's because it is wrong" but admits she failed to communicate that to him.

What's a "computer message"? I've heard of email and instant message which need computers, but I've never heard of a "computer message."

Zeke the Greek said...

This is what I referred to as bolded line, following Brokaw's "Nah, too risky"“There is nothing I would like more than a great chat with someone I admire, but if appearances are a concern, that’s valid.”

Also: "I ask in an intentionally skeptical way, trying to slow this down,

Why not stop him or get him to leave?

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

Sidney and Tammy Moorer indicted on kidnapping charges

Sidney and Tammy Moorer were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping on Friday, according to online court records.

It's unclear if the charges are related to the disappearance of Heather Elvis, who was 20 years old when she disappeared in 2013. The two indictments are associated with different court case numbers than the charges which resulted in a deadlocked jury during Sidney Moorer's kidnapping trial in the summer of 2016. A retrial date has not been set, according to online court records.

Moorer's wife, Tammy, also was charged with kidnapping in relation to Elvis' disappearance, and the trial date has not been set, according to online court records. Her indictment Friday also was under a different court case number than her original kidnapping charge.

Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said he couldn't comment on any Moorer case because of a gag order.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article210015874.html

Zeke said...

"was hired (at) NBC News to be groomed as a foreign correspondent."

That's verbatim her Wikipedia entry as well as from this statement, except "at" is "by". There are a few other statements that are close except Wikipedia is active voice and her statement is passive voice. The career portion of her Wikipedia entry starts with the details about CBS. The Wikipedia entry has many similar details, and others not in the statement, but one connecting her to the Catholic Pope is not included.

I wonder if there any evidence in the statement of editing or preparation by an outside source, like we saw with Allred in the Moore accusers statement.

Hey Jude said...

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tom-brokaw-sexual-harassment-nbc-news-correspondent-1202789627/


The video differs from the statement, which was compiled from a number of sources.

Linda Vester's allegation is that she was groped and assaulted - she doesn't say she was sexually assaulted by Tom Brokaw - she says she was assaulted and traumatised, suffering greater PTSD than when covering traumatising news events. For what she says happened, it might seem an over-reaction, as nothing sexual seems to have occurred - yet his intention was plain. If she is an adult victim of CSA, an uninvited person entering her home, and acting as he did would, IMO, be likely to put her in a state of mind similar to that she felt when she was victimised as a child. He is an 'authority' figure in her professional life who has invited himself into her personal life and space. She reacts to his presence in a childlike manner, obediently bringing him a drink, sitting beside him when he pats the sofa, etc. It's sad, as she was a brave young reporter who was able to cover tough news stories, yet Tom Brokaw's presence in her apartment reduces her to a near nervous wreck.

I don't know if he sexually assaulted her - I go with her own description, which is that he groped and assaulted her, made plain his intention for 'an affair', and that she was deeply traumatised by the uninvited attention. Was there more that she did not include? Putting his hands on her waist and 'tickling' her does not sound enough to be 'groping', but I don't know what her definition of 'groping' is.