As a journalist, there is a danger in taking things for granted. The only stupid question is the one you’re afraid to ask. So I just sent the following email to the Communications Office at the University of Virginia:

Dear Sir or Madam:

In following up on the Rolling Stone story, I came across a column at National Review by K.C. Johnson in which he points to Emily Renda’s July 2014 Senate testimony, saying that Ms. Renda “appears never to have filed a complaint with the university, much less with the police.”

Ms. Renda said nothing about these details of her own case in her Senate testimony, and I have been unable to ascertain whether in fact there was any police or university investigation of this alleged crime of, if so, whether anyone was prosecuted or disciplined as a result.

Can you provide information about this case? Ms. Renda’s status as a rape survivor has been the basis of her own activism in this regard, which in turn made her a key connection for Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s reporting in Rolling Stone. Therefore, I seek your assistance in answering the point made by K.C. Johnson.

Sincerely,

Robert Stacy McCain

The American Spectator

Somebody’s got to ask these stupid questions. Might as well be me.