The Portland massage therapist who says former Vice President Al Gore groped her in a downtown hotel room in October 2006 talked to the National Enquirer about her experience, calling Gore “a sick man.” The Enquirer identifies the woman, who is 54. The supermarket tabloid also prominently features a photograph of the woman holding a clear plastic bag containing “stained pants.” In the article, which is only available in the print edition, the woman demands a full police investigation of her complaint.
America, get ready to grant Molly Hagerty her 15 minutes. Who’s Molly Hagerty, you ask? Well, like you, I had no idea until yesterday, when the National Enquirer announced that she was the woman who accused former Vice President Al Gore of sexual assault…in 2006. Hagerty paid a late-night visit to Gore’s Portland hotel room to give him a massage. As Hagerty tells it, Gore assaulted her, forcing himself upon her sexually and causing her bodily harm requiring months of physical therapy.
Hagerty did go to the Portland Police after the alleged assault occurred, but police determined at that time that there was insufficient evidence to pursue the matter. Now, four years later, Hagerty is trying to sell her story, even going so far as asking for $1 million to relate her traumatic tale.
Portland police had considered the case closed unless new evidence surfaced. At the moment, the case has not been reopened, [Detective Mary] Wheat said.
On Jan 8, 2009, the woman gave a detailed statement to a Portland sexual assault investigator, saying she was called to the Hotel Lucia about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 24, 2006, to provide a massage for Gore, who was registered under the name “Mr. Stone.” Once inside his ninth-floor suite, she said he pushed her hand to his groin, fondled her buttocks and breasts, tongue-kissed her and threw her down on the bed as she tried to thwart his advances.
I’m trying not to be cynical here, but it’s not working so well. If Hagerty was in fact assaulted by Gore, why did she not push the matter in the media after the Portland Police Bureau determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue? There are certainly no lack of muckraking journalists in this town who would have donated their left nut for a story like this. Why, if the assault happened in 2006, did she not talk to a police officer for over two years? And why has she waited for another year and a half before going public?
You can call me cynical if you choose, but this stinks, and it has “set up” written all over it. Someone with an agenda far more sinister than anything Hagerty could muster is likely behind this, and Hagerty is merely trying to secure her financial future. If that means smearing the reputation of a public figure…well, that’s just a cost of doing business, eh?
I don’t pretend to know all the facts- who among us does? Somehow, though, I can’t shake the feeling that this whole thing stinks. There are plenty of Right-wing zealots who would be happy to discredit Al Gore in any manner possible. Discredit him, ruin his reputation…and you just might succeed in killing his credibility as the leading voice in the fight to raise awareness of global climate change. It’s far too early to know just who, or what, or why…but this just stinks. And I’m going to continue to feel that way until and unless someone produces some credible evidence that Gore is guilty of anything except being a public figure who wanted a late-night massage in his hotel room.
From where I sit, Hagerty is looking for a payday…and I’ll continue to feel that way until and unless someone or something convinces me otherwise. If that happens, I’ll admit my error and move on…but you’ll note that I’m not holding my breath on that count.
Whether from bowing to political pressure or a sincere attempt to revisit the facts to determine if a crime was actually committed, the Portland Police bureau has announced that they will re-open their investigation. I hope they’ll figure out who’s behind Hagerty and her effort to secure a payday from Vice President Gore.
