Biden denies sex assault allegations
Six weeks after a former employee accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked in his Senate office in 1993, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee tried to defuse criticism and reassure supporters by finally addressing her allegations directly in a TV interview Friday.
But even those who found Biden’s statement powerful, like San Francisco attorney Christine Pelosi, also said they wished there was a neutral third party to investigate accusations such as the ones Tara Reade has lodged against the former vice president.
“I still wish there was a confidential independent investigation for charges like these, with counseling, due process and transparent results,” said Pelosi, counsel for We Said Enough, which was formed in 2017 in response to sexual harassment cases in the state capital.
However, Pelosi added that “it was very necessary for him to speak his truth, look the nation in the eye and express the fact that she has the right to say what she has to say.”
After weeks of leaving the responses to his staff, Biden said he unequivocally denied Reade’s allegations that he pinned her to a wall in a Senate building and penetrated her with his fingers.
Last year, Reade was among several women who said Biden had inappropriately touched them or invaded their personal space. Since Reade made the more specific assault allegations in a podcast interview in March, an acquaintance has come forward and told Business Insider that Reade talked about the alleged incident shortly after she says it happened.
Reade has said she filed a complaint against Biden with the Senate at the time, but that she no longer has a copy.
“I’m saying unequivocally, it never, never happened,” Biden told MSNBC on Friday.
In a statement posted on Medium, Biden requested that the secretary of the Senate ask the National Archives “to identify any record of the complaint (Reade) alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document.”
Biden said in the TV interview that “I’m not going to go in and question her motive. I’m not going to attack her.”
Reade “has a right to say whatever she wants to say,” Biden said. “But I have a right to say, look at the facts, check it out, find out whether any of what she says is asserted or true.”
Biden, however, rejected the suggestion that he release the archive of his personal documents, housed at the University of Delaware, so people can look for any record of a complaint from Reade. He said the repository does not contain personnel files, but it does contain potentially sensitive material involving “confidential conversations” he had with former President Barack Obama and international leaders.
Biden was pressed on comments he made after sexual assault allegations were raised against Brett Kavanaugh during the judge’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Biden said then that people should “start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what (a woman is) talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts.”
On Friday, Biden said that “believing women means taking the woman’s claim seriously. When she steps forward, then vet it. Look into it. That’s true in this case as well.
“They should start off with a presumption they’re telling the truth. And you have to look at the circumstances and the facts, and the facts in this case do not exist,” Biden said. “They never happened. And there’s so many inconsistencies in what has been said in this case.”
Amy Oppenheimer, an attorney who was hired by the California Legislature to investigate harassment complaints in Sacramento during the #MeToo scandals, said Biden “said some things I wanted him to say. Then he started to argue his own case. And I don’t think it’s smart to argue your case ... and point out the contradictions in her case.”
Oppenheimer said, “I would love it if there was a way for some sort of independent panel or individual to come forward to interview people or review relevant documents. Do I think that’s realistic to happen? Not very.”
Pelosi said she looked forward “to seeing the National Archives response and hope we can stop weaponizing trauma and promote healing.”
And she said she hoped that supporters and detractors of Reade and Biden would “follow his lead. We should not cast aspersions on either of them.”
Some Democrats responded supportively both to Biden’s comments and to Reade’s right to speak out.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., an early endorser of Biden’s presidential bid who hosted a fundraiser for him in her San Francisco home, said that “I can’t comment on these allegations, but I’ve known Joe Biden for almost 30 years. He is trustworthy and a man of integrity and has my full support.”
Sen. Kamala Harris, who like Feinstein voted against Kavanaugh’s confirmation as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Chronicle’s “It’s All Political” podcast last month that Reade “has a right to tell her story.”
Harris, who is being mentioned as a possible running mate for Biden, said the case raises “a bigger structural issue, frankly, which is that women must be able to speak without fear of retaliation.”
The California Democrat did not respond Friday to a request to comment on Biden’s latest remarks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DSan Francisco, said Thursday that she had “a great comfort level with the situation as I see it, with all the respect in the world for any woman who comes forward and with all the highest regard for Joe Biden.”
The speaker also did not respond to a request for comment Friday on Biden’s interview.
Rep. Katie Porter, DIrvine (Orange County), called last month on The Chronicle’s “It’s All Political” podcast for Biden to personally address Reade’s allegations, but said it may be difficult to determine what happened.
“The fact that it’s more than two decades old reflects potentially the challenges of speaking up about these kinds of situations,” Porter said. “But it also is going to make it difficult to really get to the bottom of what happened.”