DC Circuit Pick Neomi Rao Expresses Regret for Past Writings on Sexual Assault
In a letter addressed to the top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rao expressed regret over the “insensitivity demonstrated” in a column she wrote in college.
February 11, 2019 at 07:37 PM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal
Neomi Rao, the White House regulatory czar nominated to fill a federal appeals court seat left vacant by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, apologized in a letter to senators Monday for a controversial column she wrote as a college student on campus sexual assault and date rape.
In a letter addressed to the top members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Rao—nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit—expressed regret over the “insensitivity demonstrated” in that column. In a 1994 article titled “Shades of Gray,” Rao, then a Yale undergraduate, wrote: “A man who rapes a drunk girl should be prosecuted. At the same time, a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober.”
Rao, writing to Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said Monday: “Sexual assault in all forms, including date rape, is abhorrent. Responsibility for the rape is with the rapist. I believed that as a college student and continue to believe that today.”
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