Joe Biden denies sexual assault allegation
Senate papers housed at university, but Biden says not personnel files
When asked Friday what he would say to Tara Reade, who has accused him of sexual assault, Joe Biden looked into the camera and said, “This never, ever happened.”
Bid en, who was on Morning Joe to address the allegations for the first time, spoke for more than 20 minutes about the allegations in a wide ranging interview.
“This, never, ever happened,” Biden said. “I don't know what is motivating her... But it's irrelevant. It never happened. It never happened. Period. “
In his first statement since Reade alleged he assaulted her when she was a Senate staffer in 1993, Biden also called on the National Archives to release “any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.”
In a lengthy statement before the MSNBC appearance, he said “responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both big and small ways.”
During remarks on MSNBC, Biden said, “I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened.”
When asked by “Morning Joe” co-host Mike Brzezinski if his campaign had reached out to Reade, Biden said, “No, I have not reached out to her, it was 27 years ago. It never happened.”
What Reade says happened
Reade told the Associated Press that while she was bringin ga gym bag to Bid en in a Capitol Hill office building in 1993, Biden pushed her against a wall, groped her and digitally penetrated her without consent.
She said she recalled him looking surprised when she pulled away and that he told her, “Come on, man, I heard you liked me.”
Multiple people have said they remember her telling them about an assault or harassment and retaliation well before she went public with her story, including a former neighbor who said this week that Reade told her about the assault in 1995 or 1996.
“This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it,” Lynda LaCasse told Business Insider.
Reade's claim comes amid the first presidential election since the surge of #MeToo, which has championed the importance of listening to women and holding powerful abusers to account. Biden is among the many Democratic figures who has been a supporter of the movement.
The movement has ensnared former Hollywood mogul Harvey W einstein, media personalities like former“Today” show anchor Matt Laue rand politicians alike. President Donald Trump has been accused of sexual assault or unwanted advances by more than a dozen women. He has claimed he' s been victim to “false accusations.”
Trump weighed in on the allegation against Biden on Thursday, suggesting that it could be false. His campaign has amplified Reade's claims numerous times on social media recently.
“I don' t know anything about it, I don't know exactly. I think he should respond, you know? It could be false accusations. I know all about false accusations.
I've been falsely charged numerous times,” Trump said.
Biden noted that papers from his time in the Senate, such as speeches, policy proposals, position statements and the writing of bills, were donated to the University of Delaware, as “it is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document t heir public record.” He added that the papers donated do not include personnel files.
Biden reiterated that any complaint would be kept at the National Archives.
“I am not worried about it at all. If there is a complaint, that' s where it should be,” Biden said on MSNBC. “And if it's there, put it out. But I've never seen it.”
In his statement ahead of the TV appearance, Biden said, “As a Presidential candidate, I'm accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a President who doesn' t think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. That's not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth.”
Reade has repeatedly said that the complaint she made does not detail the alleged assault, but mentions that Bid en made her uncomfortable.