(Newser)
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At least one Oregon paper had the chance to break the story of an alleged sexual assault by Al Gore, but a year-long investigation yielded insufficient information. “The truth is we very much wanted to report the story on Al Gore,” Mark Garber, editor of the Portland Tribune, tells Salon. But “there were things that we discovered throughout our investigation that raised serious questions in our mind.” He won’t elaborate but does give an extensive timeline.
After receiving a tip in early 2007, the paper tracked down the alleged victim and gathered information from acquaintances of hers and Gore’s. Ads were posted on Craigslist looking for other victims—Gore often has massages on the road—but uncovered nothing. After initially refusing to talk, the accuser got back in touch in 2008. She had “demands” about what could and could not be reported, and editors ultimately decided “a full and fair telling” would be impossible, Garber says.
