The newest issue of The National Enquirer (I know, I know) has an interview with Molly Hagerty, the Oregon masseuse who accused Al Gore of sexually assaulting her during a 2006 session inside a Portland hotel. Also interviewed is Hagerty’s friend, Greg Boatman, who she told about the incident soon after it happened. Says Boatman:

“She called me on the phone on Oct. 23, 2006. I remember the date because that’s my birthday. She was excited about the massage she had scheduled for that evening — she said it was with former Vice President Al Gore.
“I was shocked when she called back and woke me around 4 a.m. that same night. When I picked up, she was in tears. She told me she was assaulted…Mr. Gore groped her and threw her down on the bed.
“I was shocked and believed her right away. Molly’s never lied to me — she’s one of the most honest people I’ve ever met.”

Now this sounds like classic hearsay, and it is. But the Enquirer also quotes a criminal defense attorney who calls such “outcry witnesses” potentially important.

“In sexual assault cases, outcry witnesses are important and often provide some of the most significant evidence.
“If there is a witness who says that later that day or the next day, the accuser told me about a sexual assault, that is excellent evidence. Even though it’s hearsay, it can be used in court to rebut an inference that the accuser made up the story well afterward.”

But police never interviewed Boatman, nor did they contact the Portland hotel for possible surveillance footage.