Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday asked if those who say they are victims of sex crimes have an obligation to report them, asking if they are “part of the problem” if they don't.

"If there's a rapist on the loose, if you don't tell anybody, if Bernie Madoff rips you off and you don't tell his other investors, you're part of the problem, are you not?” Carlson asked radio host Ethan Bearman.

Carlson raised the question in a segment discussing the allegations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

ADVERTISEMENT

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high school party in the 1980s.

“If [Kavanaugh] is actually a sex criminal we have a right to know that and [Ford] has an obligation to tell us. And I know it’s hard but why don’t we have the right to know?” Carlson said.

“Doesn’t she have an obligation to tell someone to stop him from doing that if he is, in fact, a sex criminal?” he asked. “Where is her obligation here? What about the rest of us?” the opinion host also added.

The remark comes as Kavanaugh and Ford are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday in what promises to attract tens of millions of viewers.

The comments also echo what Carlson said last week when talking about the accusations against Kavanaugh.



"If you believe a crime has been committed against you, you report it," he said on Sept. 19.

"That would include theft, embezzlement and, yes, sexual assault. Go to the police. It's not always easy, obviously," Carlson continued. "But it's still your obligation as a citizen — not at least to protect the rest of us from whomever you believe did it. The police investigate, and a judge or jury renders a verdict. That's due process — it's the cornerstone of our system."

Since Ford's accusation, one other woman, Deborah Ramirez, has come forward to accuse Kavanaugh of exposing himself and thrusting his genitals in her face at a college party. Kavanaugh denies both women's claims.

The accusations have some similarities to Clarence Thomas's confirmation hearings in 1991, when Anita Hill accused the judge of sexually harassing her.

More than 20 million people watched that confirmation hearing testimony. Thomas would eventually be confirmed and still sits on the court today.

A Senate vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation could happen as early as this weekend.