Vice President Kamala Harris articulated her purported commitment to supporting victims of sexual assault during her address at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). However, this assertion stands in stark contrast to her record while serving as the San Francisco District Attorney, where she has been criticized for her failure to prosecute cases of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and for allegedly concealing “vital records on abuses that had occurred.”
In her speech on Thursday night, where she formally accepted her party’s presidential nomination, Harris recounted a “pivotal moment” in her life that inspired her to pursue a career in prosecution. She shared the story of a close friend, Wanda, whom she claimed confided in her about being abused by her stepfather. Harris recounted how she immediately invited Wanda to stay with her family, stating, “This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor — to protect people like Wanda, because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity, and to justice. No one should be made to fight alone; we are all in this together.”
This assertion has been met with skepticism from members of various victims’ advocacy groups, who have accused her office of neglecting the voices of survivors. During her 13 years as District Attorney and subsequently as Attorney General, Harris did not prosecute a single case of sexual abuse perpetrated by priests, even as at least 50 major cities pursued legal action against clergy members during the same timeframe.
Joey Piscitelli, the northwest regional director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), expressed his discontent, stating, “They’re full of it. You can quote me on that. They’re not protecting the victims.”
Rick Simons, an attorney representing victims of clergy sexual abuse in California, remarked that Harris’s actions in concealing documents related to these cases reflect a broader pattern of neglecting the rights of children by significant institutions within San Francisco and the Bay Area.
Later in her speech, Harris claimed, “As a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, California, I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them.” However, investigative journalist Peter Schweizer revealed that, alongside substantial campaign contributions from law firms defending San Francisco priests against abuse allegations, numerous board members and their family members associated with Catholic archdiocese organizations contributed an additional $50,950 to Harris’s campaign.
Despite having no direct affiliations with the Catholic Church or its organizations, Harris nonetheless received unprecedented financial support. Schweizer suggested that her connections with influential individuals within the archdiocese may have contributed to her office’s decision to obscure records related to allegations against priests. He noted, “Her office would strangely hide vital records on abuses that had occurred.”
In response to these allegations, Harris’s office stated, “District Attorney Harris focuses her efforts on putting child molesters in prison. We’re not interested in selling out our victims to look good in the paper.” However, Schweizer contended that victim advocacy groups expressed outrage over her actions, arguing that rather than protecting victims, the concealment of information served to shield abusers by keeping their alleged crimes hidden from the public.