Joe Biden sexual assault allegation

"Tara Reade" redirects here. For the actress with a similar name, see Tara Reid.

In March 2020, Tara Reade alleged that Joe Biden, former U.S. vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential election, sexually assaulted her in the spring of 1993, in a Capitol Hill office building when she was a staff assistant in his Senate office. She previously alleged to reporters in April 2019 that he touched her neck and shoulders in ways that made her feel uncomfortable. She did not mention the alleged assault at the time or suggest that there was more to the story, instead faulting his staff.

In April 2020, Reade said she told Biden's Senate staff in 1993 about harassment. The former staff members she named said that they did not receive a complaint from her. On May 1, Biden denied her claims, and requested the Secretary of the United States Senate search for and release any documents pertaining to the complaint she said she filed in 1993. This request was rejected. Reade's attorney, Douglas Wigdor, said his firm had sent a letter to Biden asking for permission to search the archive of his Senate papers in order to find information about Reade. In an interview on May 14, 2020, Biden stated he does not remember Reade working for him at all.

Reade's account

Allegations and interviews in 2019

In April 2019, The Union, a local newspaper in Grass Valley, California, reported that Tara Reade provided documents that showed that she worked for Joe Biden from December 1992 to August 1993, when she was 29. Her position as a staff assistant in his Senate office in Washington, D.C., gave her responsibilities for the office's intern program and mail delivery. She alleged during that Biden "used to put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck". Reade also told of an incident where (unnamed) staff under Biden argued over whether she should serve drinks at an event. Reade said that she heard from (unnamed) staff that Biden wanted her to do so because he liked her legs. Reade said she complained to Senate personnel, but Biden's office learned about her complaints.

Reade stated: "My life was hell ... this was about power and control ... [after my departure] I couldn't get a job on the Hill". According to the article, Reade "didn't consider the acts toward her sexualization. She instead used an analogy of being a lamp that was displayed because it was pretty and discarded when too bright. Reade said she wants Biden to say "I changed the trajectory of your life. I'm sorry." She had previously attributed her 1993 departure from Washington to moving to the Midwestern United States with a boyfriend in 2009, and to becoming an actress or artiste due to her disappointment at the American government's "xenophobia" toward Russia in 2018.

Around the same time as that report, The Union published a column by Reade where she alleged that her supervisor had informed her that Biden wanted her to "serve drinks at a [sic] event" because he thought she was "pretty" and also "liked" her legs, but a senior aide intervened to stop Reade from having to do so, continuing an argument among the staff. After that, Biden would "often" touch her shoulder and neck. Reade felt that "these gestures were not so much about ‘connection' but establishing dominance in the room." Reade also wrote in that essay: "...this is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power." Reade said she spoke out in 2019 after watching an episode of The View, during which she says most of the panelists defended Biden and attacked Lucy Flores, the former assemblywoman who alleged that Biden kissed the back of her head without consent.

In April 2019, the Associated Press interviewed Reade about the allegations she was making at the time, but did not publish an article because they found that parts of her story contradicted other reports and they could not corroborate her accusations. At the time, Reade told the Associated Press that Biden rubbed her shoulders and neck and played with her hair. She said a fellow aide told her to dress more modestly at work. She said regarding Biden: "I wasn't scared of him, that he was going to take me in a room or anything. It wasn't that kind of vibe." The Washington Post also interviewed Reade in 2019, but did not publish an article about that interview. Later in 2020, The Washington Post wrote that Reade had told them that Biden touched her neck and shoulders, "and he had people around saying it was okay". Reade blamed Biden's staff for "bullying", giving less blame to Biden himself: "This is what I want to emphasize: It’s not him. It's the people around him who keep covering for him ... he should have known what was happening to me ... Maybe he could have been a little more in touch with his own staff." The Washington Post stated that Reade in 2019 "did not mention the alleged assault or suggest there was more to the story."

In April 2019, Reade contacted Vox reporter Laura McGann to tell her story. McGann tried to "confirm" and "prove" Reade's account, but could not. Therefore, Vox did not publish any stories about Reade in 2019, but McGann did write an article praising other women who had shared allegations about Biden's inappropriate touches. In May 2020, McGann detailed the allegations Reade made to her in 2019, including: "I don't know if [Biden] knew why I left ... He barely knew us by name." Reade sent her an essay that was similar to her essay published by The Union in 2019. McGann highlighted the following sentences, which were identical in both essays: "This is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power. It is a story about when a member of Congress allows staff to threaten or belittle or bully on their behalf unchecked to maintain power rather than modify the behavior." Reade explained that she had not shared her full story in 2019 because she felt like "the media was shutting her down," but McGann disputes the accuracy of this characterization of reporters' interactions, and notes that Reade had formerly been "adamant [...] that this wasn’t a misconduct story."

In 2019, Reade told McGann that she could only name her deceased mother and a friend as the sources she had confided in. The friend in 2019 told McGann: "... it wasn't that bad. [Biden] never tried to kiss her directly. He never went for one of those touches. It was one of those, 'sorry you took it that way.' ... What was creepy was that it was always in front of people." In other details, Reade told McGann that The New York Times had three reporters working on her story, and also gave a heads up to McGann that other media outlets were getting ready to publish her story.

Asked why she didn't present the sexual assault allegations earlier, Reade told Newsweek she "didn't really know how to [come forward] because, how would you?" Reade had contacted Time's Up Legal Defense Fund seeking legal and public relations support in an effort to "get her story out in a safe way". Uma Iyer, vice president of The National Women's Law Center (NWLC), which oversees and distributes funds for Time's Up, expressed their desire to provide her as much assistance as they possibly could but funding her legal defense was not possible because of restrictions imposed by their 501(c)(3) status. Time's Up provided Reade a list of attorneys to contact; Reade said she contacted all of them, but none agreed to represent her. After failing to secure legal help, Reade wrote in a January 2020 post on Medium, "I have not told the whole story of what occurred between Joe Biden and myself."

Allegations and interviews in 2020

In a March 25, 2020, interview with Katie Halper, Reade alleged that Biden had pushed her against a wall, kissed her, put his hand under her skirt, penetrated her with his fingers, and asked, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" Reade told National Public Radio (NPR) for an April 19 article, "His hands went underneath my clothing and he was touching me in my private areas and without my consent." Reade told The Intercept her impression was that Biden believed he had consent and was surprised when she rejected him. Reade told The New York Times for an April 12 article that when she pulled away from Biden, he looked puzzled and said, "Come on, man, I heard you liked me." She then said he told her "You're nothing to me, nothing," followed by "You’re OK, you're fine." Reade told NPR she could not remember the exact place or date of the incident, stating it was likely a basement of a D.C. Senate office building in the spring of 1993.

Reade told The New York Times that, after the alleged assault, she had reported about harassment to three of Biden's aides (Ted Kaufman, Dennis Toner, and Marianne Baker), but did not mention the assault. She said that nothing happened as a result, so she wrote a complaint to a Senate personnel office, where she filled out a form to request counselling. Reade told the Associated Press that her complaint to the Senate personnel office was about "retaliation" and "him wanting me to serve drinks because he liked my legs and thought I was pretty and it made me uncomfortable", with no explicit mention of sexual assault or sexual harassment. Reade did not keep a copy of her Senate personnel office complaint.

Reade also told The New York Times that her office duties were eventually reduced and that Kaufman later said that she did not fit the office, instructing her to find a new job. However, Reade told the Associated Press that it was Toner who stated she did not fit the job and encouraged her to find another job, which the Associated Press noted was a contradiction with her account to The New York Times. In blog posts in January and April 2020, she wrote that no one in Washington, D.C., wanted to hire her after her firing.

Addressing why she made her sexual assault allegation public, Reade said during her March interview, "I'm hoping by coming forward with this—and I know it's hard to listen to, and it's hard to live in it, right? But my justice now, the only justice I can have, is to be moving freely in the world and to heal and not be silenced." According to The Intercept, Reade had feared coming forward with her full story of sexual assault and "went silent" after receiving harassment online related to her earlier allegations in April 2019 of inappropriate touching, saying that she later "thought about the world she wanted her daughter to live in and decided that she wanted to continue telling her story". She said she did not share her assault allegation when she initially came forward because, in part, she "just didn't have the courage," and that after publicly alleging that he had touched her inappropriately, she said she received death threats, a "wave of criticism," and was doxed.

On April 9, 2020, Reade filed a police report with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department alleging she was sexually assaulted in the spring of 1993. Reade acknowledged that the statute of limitations has lapsed, and she stated that she filed the report "for safety reasons only". The Washington Metropolitan Police said on April 25 that her complaint is an inactive case. According to USA Today, "A record reviewed by AP didn't mention Biden by name. NPR has reported, however, that a record does name Biden and has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the full report."

On April 28, 2020, Reade told Fox News, "I'm calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," and questioned why they are under seal. In response, on May 1, 2020, Biden issued a statement saying that staff personnel files are stored in National Archives, controlled by the Senate, and not stored in his documents at University of Delaware. He then called on the Secretary of the Senate to "identify whether any such document exists. If it does, make it public." Biden reiterated his request later that morning in an interview with Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC. The same day, New York Times reporter Lisa Lerer said Reade had cancelled a planned interview with Fox News, stating that "death threats received by her and her child made her nervous about being in the public eye".

On May 8, 2020, Reade was interviewed by Megyn Kelly. On the same day, the Associated Press reported that lawyers Douglas Wigdor and William Moran were representing Reade. Wigdor, who is known for representing six women who alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein and for being a prominent Trump donor, stated that he was working pro bono; Moran is a former writer and editor for Russian news agency Sputnik.

Reporting by The New York Times

An April 12, 2020, The New York Times article reported that the publication had conducted interviews with Reade, several of her friends, lawyers, nearly two dozen people who worked with Biden in the early 1990s, and seven women who accused him of kissing, hugging, or touching them in ways that had made them feel uncomfortable. It said it found no other allegations of sexual assault in the course of its reporting. Several of the seven women said that they believed Reade, but had no new knowledge about the incident. One friend said that Reade had told her about the alleged assault in 1993, while another said that Reade told her, in 2008, that there was inappropriate touching. Melissa Lefko, a contemporary staff assistant, said she had never experienced harassment and thought his office was a "very supportive environment for women." The NYT story included two former interns who said they remembered Reade 'suddenly changing roles and no longer overseeing them' at the same time Reade said she had been 'abruptly reassigned'.

Reade named three aides that she asserted she complained to about harassment by Biden (but not sexual assault). In the same article, these three aides denied Reade's assertion. Ted Kaufman, Biden's chief of staff at the time, said: "I did not know her. She did not come to me. If she had, I would have remembered her." Former deputy chief of staff, Dennis Toner, said "It's just so preposterous that Senator Biden would be faced with these allegations. I don't remember her. I don't remember this conversation. And I would remember this conversation." Biden's campaign released a statement from Marianne Baker, Biden's former executive assistant: "I never once witnessed, or heard of, or received, any reports of inappropriate conduct, period — not from Ms. Reade, not from anyone. I have absolutely no knowledge or memory of Ms. Reade's accounting of events, which would have left a searing impression on me as a woman professional, and as a manager. On April 29, 2020, the The New York Times corrected talking points–later withdrawn–the Biden campaign had circulated among Biden supporters to the effect that the paper's investigation had concluded that "this incident did not happen", instead reiterating that it had "made no conclusion either way".

Accounts of discussions with Reade by her associates

Anonymous individuals who said that they have heard from Reade previously were not only reported in The New York Times, but also in other outlets. Due to a lack of identification, it is unknown which of these anonymous individuals overlap. The Associated Press reported in April that it spoke with two more people who said Reade had told them parts of her story years ago, publishing their accounts anonymously. One was told of the alleged assault in 1993, and another remembers hearing of "sexual harassment" in 2007 or 2008. The Washington Post spoke to "a friend, a former intern for another lawmaker", that said that Reade had alleged an assault soon after it happened. CNN spoke to a friend of Reade's who had previously interned for Senator Ted Kennedy, who says she was told of both sexual harassment and sexual assault at the time, and that in 2019, she had advised Reade to only go public about harassment, not assault.

In May 2020, Vox journalist Laura McGann spoke again to the anonymous friend who in 2019 told McGann that she heard Biden had touched Reade but had not sexually assaulted her, having not even "tried to kiss her directly". In 2020, the friend told McGann a story matching Reade's 2020 allegations of sexual assault. McGann asked about why the friend made different claims in 2019, to which the friend replied that it "just organically rolled out that way", and that it "wasn't my place" to "betray" Reade's choice of having "wanted to leave a layer there".

Some associates of Reade who claim they have heard from her previously have disclosed their identities. Lorraine Sanchez came forward to Business Insider; she was Reade's co-worker from 1994–1996, and says she was told about "sexual harassment" by Reade, and about a complaint filed, leading to the loss of her job, but she does not recall if Reade named Biden or what kind of harassment took place. Lynda LaCasse, an ex-neighbour of Reade's, also came forward to Business Insider, and later CNN, for articles published on April 27 and April 28 respectively. LaCasse told CNN that Reade had told her about the alleged assault by Biden "...in the mid-1990s". LaCasse told CNN she had advised Reade at the time to file a police report. According to CNN, "it was last year when Reade brought up Biden that LaCasse told her that she remembered their conversation about the alleged sexual assault". LaCasse told Business Insider that she remembered the allegations when Reade contacted her recently, saying: "this Joe Biden thing is coming up again."

Vox journalist Laura McGann asked Reade why she had not mentioned Lynda LaCasse as a potential relevant source either in 2019, or in 2020 to the first few journalists who had interviewed Reade, including Katie Halper. Reade replied that she did not think LaCasse was a relevant source because she only told LaCasse about the incident in 1995. Reade also told McGann that she had also originally thought that two other anonymous friends were not relevant, and thus had not mentioned them to journalists earlier.

Collin Moulton, Reade's brother, initially reported to The Washington Post that Reade told him in 1993 that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders. He said there was "a gym bag incident", and that Biden "was inappropriate". Several days after that interview, Moulton told the Post that Reade in the early 1990s told him Biden put his hand "under her clothes." ABC News also interviewed Moulton in March 2020; he told them that Reade had mentioned "'harassment at work' from Biden" and that he heard about the assault in 2020. Later that day, Moulton texted ABC News that Reade had told him in 1993 that Biden had trapped her against a wall and "'put his hands up her clothes.'"

Reade said in April 2020 that she had told her mother, Jeanette Altimus, about the incident in 1993. When Reade went public with the allegation in 2020, Altimus was deceased. Reade and her brother stated that their mother had encouraged Reade to call the police after the alleged incident, and that her brother regretted having previously told Reade to "move on, guys are idiots". Reade previously said that Altimus called into Larry King Live anonymously "saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help?" The episode, which was about the "cutthroat nature of Washington, DC, politics and media," was broadcast by CNN on August 11, 1993, with the title "Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth?" and featured an anonymous caller from San Luis Obispo, California, who said: "I'm wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him." King then asked: "So she had a story to tell but out of respect for the person she worked for she didn't tell it?" The caller answered: "That's true." CNN verified that Altimus lived in San Luis Obispo at the time of the call.

On May 7, 2020, The Tribune reported on a declaration Reade's former husband, Theodore Dronen, submitted to a court in 1996 to contest a restraining order Reade had filed against him after he had filed for divorce. Dronen wrote that Reade had mentioned "a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in U.S. Senator Joe Biden's office." The document did not name Biden as the perpetrator or mention sexual assault. Dronen added that Reade "eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senator's office and left her position ... It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on [Reade], and that she is still sensitive and effected [sic] by it". Dronen cited the alleged incident as one of several examples that "color [Reade's] perception and judgment" for her request of a restraining order. Dronen confirmed to The Tribune on May 7, 2020, that he had written the declaration, and declined to comment any further on it, saying "Tara and I ended our relationship over two decades ago under difficult circumstances. I am not interested in reliving that chapter of my life. I wish Tara well, and I have nothing further to say."

Politico interviewed several former acquaintances who recalled bad experiences with Reade and described her as deceitful and manipulative. They said that she had only spoken positively of her time with Biden; one who was later phoned by Reade in 2019 became suspicious of the motives behind the call, because of a sense that she "was trying to plant a story with me" in order to claim corroboration.

Interviews with former Biden staffers

On May 15, 2020, the PBS NewsHour published an article with 74 former Biden staffers' thoughts addressing the allegation; while some details of Reade's recollections of her time in Biden's office were corroborated (e.g., Biden's gym route, being told to dress more modestly), others were contradicted. None of the staffers had heard about any sexual misconduct by Biden. One staffer, Ben Savage, who said he worked directly beside Reade, said that he reported Reade to deputy chief of staff Dennis Toner for mishandling constituent mail, resulting in Reade losing her job due to poor performance, not retaliation against complaints. Some staffers doubted that Biden could have assaulted Reade as described without being seen, because the area was typically crowded with people and lacked any out-of-view private areas or alcoves that could match Reade's recollection. Certain staffers ruled out her claim of being asked to serve drinks at a fundraiser. Over 50 staffers said that they did not remember attending campaign fundraisers for Biden; some staffers recounted that there was a policy banning most staffers from campaigning for Biden. The authors of the article, Daniel Bush and Lisa Desjardins, concluded from the interviews that "Biden was known as a demanding but fair and family-oriented boss, devoted to his home life in Delaware and committed to gender equality in his office", and that he was not one of the "creepy" male senators that female staffers told each other to avoid.

Biden's response

Biden addressed the allegation on May 1, 2020, appearing in a live interview on the MSNBC program Morning Joe. Additionally, Biden issued an official statement, stating in part: "This never happened." He called for the media to "examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways." In his formal statement, Biden referenced the Violence Against Women Act he said he wrote "over 25 years ago", adding:

I knew we had to change not only the law, but the culture. ... I recognize my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished. So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren't true.

Reade has said she filed a complaint with a congressional personnel office, but that it does not mention sexual assault, or the phrase "sexual harassment". Instead, she used the words "uncomfortable" and "retaliation". Biden requested that the secretary of the Senate work with the National Archives and Records Administration to identify and release any complaint by Reade and any other relevant documents. On May 4, the secretary of the Senate's office stated that it cannot comply with Biden's request, as the records are "strictly confidential". Biden's campaign then asked whether the existence of the records and their complainants could be disclosed, as well as procedures and forms for such complaints in 1993.

Following Reade's 2020 allegation, David Axelrod, a former top aide for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, stated that the vetting process for choosing Biden as the Vice President did not find any allegations of sexual misconduct.

On May 14, 2020, asked by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell if Biden remembered Reade from when she worked in his office, he said, "to be honest with you, I don't."

Commentary

NPR's Asma Khalid wrote, "Some details of Reade's account have been inconsistent, and her story has changed over time", noting that in 2019 she did not mention sexual assault. Katie Halper, whose interview with Reade contained the sexual assault allegation, said the story had not changed, writing in The Guardian, "Reade provided more details over time, something that is common among survivors of sexual assault." In response to similar claims from Amanda Marcotte of Salon regarding inconsistencies in Reade's account, Nathan J. Robinson of Current Affairs mentioned that he had talked to Reade extensively and that she was "completely consistent and frank". Laura McGann of Vox, who conducted multiple interviews of Reade and other relevant sources, stated: "The story that both she and her corroborating witnesses are telling has changed dramatically." Joan Walsh, writing in The Nation, said Reade's allegation of sexual assault "doesn't stand up to close scrutiny". The Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi said it was frustrating to see conservatives "weaponize the accusations" and liberals "turning a blind eye" to them. Political commentator Jonathan Chait stated that at first he found Reade's claims believable, but that the findings reported by PBS, Vox's Laura McGann, and Politico's Natasha Korecki cast doubt on the veracity of the allegations.

Reade's background

Tara Reade
Tara Reade, c. 1992
Born	Tara Reade Moulton (1964-02-26) February 26, 1964 Monterey County, California, U.S.
Other names	Tara Reade McCabe (née Moulton)
Alma mater	Seattle University (JD)
Occupation	Writer
Children	1

Tara Reade, (née Tara Reade Moulton) (born February 26, 1964) is an American blogger and nonprofits' employee. From December 1992 to August 1993, she worked for then-Senator Joe Biden as a legislative assistant in his U.S. Senate office. She resides in Nevada County, California. She has changed her name for protection due to domestic violence in her past: claims her former husband, Theodore Dronen, denies.

Reade was born in Monterey County, California to Jeane Altimus, an artist (d. 2016) and Robert Moulton, who worked as an author and journalist, who later divorced. (Before Robert retired, he had served as public relations manager of Honeywell Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He died in 2016.)

As a young adult, Reade studied acting and worked as a model and actor. At the suggestion of a political science professor, Reade applied for a Congressional internship. When accepted, she served as an intern in the office of then-member of the U.S. Congress Leon Panetta.

Reade worked in Sacramento, California, as a staff assistant in the office of state senator Jack O'Connell from 1994 to 1996.

An alleged victim of domestic violence, Reade obtained a temporary restraining order against her then-husband in 1996. He denies the domestic violence allegations. They are now divorced.

Reade studied law, first in California and later in Washington state at Seattle University School of Law, receiving a Juris Doctor in 2004. She was featured in the school's alumni magazine within its Summer 2009 feature article "Escaping Abuse, Law School Helped Domestic Violence Survivor Start a New Life: Alexandra McCabe Arrived in Seattle with a New Name, A Young Daughter and $40."

She has never taken the bar examination. Describing herself as an educator in social justice, Reade has led workshops on domestic violence prevention and testified as an expert witness in domestic-violence court cases.

During the 2010s, Reade lived in a number of locations along the Central Coast of California, where she assisted non-profit animal rescue groups. Politico reported in May 2020 that Reade's landlords, as well as a horse sanctuary owner where she had volunteered, described her as often needing financial help. The author of the article, Natasha Korecki, described that two themes emerged from the stories of Reade's acquaintances: Reade firstly "spoke favorably about her time working for Biden", and secondly the acquaintances felt "duped" by Reade. Some of those who had interacted closely with Reade from 2008 onwards stated that she had asked for their help, then "took advantage of their goodwill to extract money, skip rent payments or walk out on other bills", Korecki wrote. One of the acquaintances who has publicly made such claims was Lynn Hummer, the owner of a horse sanctuary where Reade volunteered with from 2014 to 2016. Reade has denied Hummer's accusations, stating that there were false and defamatory. Responding to these characterizations, Reade's lawyer Douglas Wigdor said to a reporter, "If the assertion is that someone who has lied to their landlord because they don't have the money to pay rent so then they lied about a sexual assault, I don't think that is fair journalism."

Reade said she voted for Barack Obama and supported Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

In early 2020, Reade worked part time with families with special-needs children in Nevada County. She also works as a consultant to nonprofit organizations.

Reade, who sought a 1996 restraining order against her then-husband (whom Reade met while both worked for different members of Congress), has written the 2009 essay "Defying the Rule of Thumb: A Domestic Violence Survivor's Story".

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

• Statement by Vice President Joe Biden
• Halper, Katie (March 30, 2020). "Biden accuser: "I wanted to be a senator; I didn't want to sleep with one" (audio)". Katie Halper podcast.
• Krystal Ball (March 26, 2020). "Tara Reade discusses Biden allegation with Hill.TV's Rising". The Hill (video interview). Rising.
• Mika Brzezinski (May 1, 2020). Joe Biden: This is an open book, there is nothing for me to hide. Morning Joe. MSNBC.