Joe Biden sexual assault allegation: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Larry King Live phone call: No need for a block quote, nor is the caller's city and state relevant. Trimmed excessive words. An encyclopedia article should concisely cover the subject, not list every detail.
Line 16: Line 16:
=== Joe Biden ===
=== Joe Biden ===
{{Main|Joe Biden}}
{{Main|Joe Biden}}
Joe Biden served as a [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]] from [[Delaware]] from 1973 to 2009 and as [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President of the U.S]]. from 2009 to 2017. He is the presumptive [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] nominee in the [[2020 United States presidential election]]. Biden has been photographed in close proximity to females, in some cases inappropriately embracing, kissing, or gripping them.<ref>{{cite news|last=McGann|first=Laura|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/29/18241598/joe-biden-lucy-flores-touching-women-media-history-explained|title=Lucy Flores isn't alone. Joe Biden's got a long history of touching women inappropriately.|date=March 29, 2019|accessdate=December 30, 2019|website=Vox}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Terkel|first=Amanda|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-2020-harvey-weinstein_n_5a0a0ba8e4b00a6eece3a13e|title=Joe Biden 2020 Is A Terrible Idea In A Post-Weinstein America|date=November 15, 2017|access-date=December 30, 2019|website=HuffPost}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Markowitz|first=Karol|url=https://time.com/3713264/joe-biden-stephanie-carter-shoulder-rub/|title=America Shouldn't Tolerate 'Biden Being Biden'|date=February 18, 2015|accessdate=December 30, 2019|website=Time}}</ref><ref name="NBCNewYork">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/joe-biden-final-congressional-swearing-in-as-vp/2083691/|title=Biden Charms Photographers, Frightens Children at Final Swearing-In as VP|website=NBCNewYork|accessdate=March 26, 2020}}</ref>
Joe Biden served as a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 and as Vice President of the U.S. from 2009 to 2017. He is the presumptive [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]] nominee in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].


== Allegations ==
== Allegations ==

Revision as of 00:42, 28 April 2020

"Tara Reade" redirects here. For the actress, see Tara Reid.

In March 2020, Tara Reade, a former Senate staff assistant of Joe Biden, alleged that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill office building in 1993.[1][2] A Biden spokesperson has stated that the allegation is false.[3][1][4]

Background

Tara Reade

Tara Reade's U.S. Senate identification badge photo

At age twenty-nine, Tara Reade was a staff assistant in the office of then Senator Joe Biden from December 1992 to August 1993 with responsibilities such as supervision of the office's interns and mail delivery.[5]

Also known as Alexandra Tara Reade,[6][7] she is a writer[8] from Nevada County, California,[6] who helps run non-profit organizations.[5][9][10] She earned a law degree from Seattle University School of Law but has not practiced law.[5][9] She stated that she is an expert witness in Monterey County, California domestic violence cases, which she does for a stipend.[9][5][9] She has a daughter.[5]

Joe Biden

Main article: Joe Biden

Joe Biden served as a U.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009 and as Vice President of the U.S. from 2009 to 2017. He is the presumptive Democratic Party nominee in the 2020 United States presidential election. Biden has been photographed in close proximity to females, in some cases inappropriately embracing, kissing, or gripping them.[11][12][13][14]

Allegations

Reade's prior reports and contact with media

In April 2019, Reade contacted a reporter and alleged that Biden touched her inappropriately while she worked in his U.S. Senate office. Reade made the allegation after watching an episode of the The View on April 1, 2019, in which Nevada politician Lucy Flores had alleged that Biden sniffed her hair and kissed the back of her head shortly before a political rally in 2014.[15][16] She further stated that she believed she was fired from Biden's office over a refusal to serve drinks at an event, and that she believed being fired from Biden's office had ruined her career in Washington, D.C.[17] In January–February 2020, Reade sought assistance regarding elements of her allegations from public relations professionals at Time's Up Legal Defense Fund.[18] The Fund ultimately declined to assist Reade, having determined that as a non-profit it was legally constrained from doing so because of the political candidacy of the individual accused.[19][20][19]

Reade's account

In March 2020, Reade alleged that Biden had pushed her against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers in a Capitol Hill office building in 1993.[7] Reade made the allegation in an interview with Katie Halper which was released as a podcast on March 25, 2020. Reade later told NPR, "His hands went underneath my clothing and he was touching me in my private areas and without my consent." She said that when she pulled away, Biden looked puzzled and said, "Come on, man, I heard you liked me," then told her that "You're nothing to me, nothing."[21]

Addressing what her objective was for making her allegation public, Reade said during the 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."[5] On April 9, 2020, she filed a police report with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department alleging she was sexually assaulted in spring 1993.[21][22] NPR confirmed that a record of the police report named Biden.[21] Reade acknowledged that the statute of limitations has lapsed, and she stated that she filed the report "for safety reasons only."[1][3][4] According to Reade, she didn’t share her full allegation when she initially came forward in 2019 because, in part, she "just didn’t have the courage",[23] and that after publicly alleging in 2019 that Biden had touched her inappropriately, she said she received death threats and a "wave of criticism"[3] and was doxed.[24] On April 27, 2020, Business Insider reported that Reade's former neighbor Lynda LaCasse said that Reade told her about the alleged assault in 1995 or 1996, saying that "This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it."[25]

Biden response

Biden's campaign representatives have denied the allegations. His deputy campaign manager stated, "Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women. He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard — and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: It is untrue. This absolutely did not happen.”[26]

The New York Times' investigative reporting

On April 12, 2020, The New York Times released an analysis of their investigative reporting in which they interviewed Reade, several of her friends, lawyers, nearly two dozen people who worked with Biden in the early 1990s, and seven women who accused Biden of kissing, hugging, or touching them in ways that had made them feel uncomfortable. They stated that they found no other allegations of sexual assault in the course of their reporting. Several of the seven women said that they believed Reade but had no new knowledge about the incident.[3] Two friends of Reade confirmed to The New York Times that she had told them of the alleged assault (one in 1993 shortly after the alleged assault took place, the other in 2008). Reade's brother has also publicly stated that she had told him about it,[3] initially saying that Reade told him that Biden had touched her neck and shoulders, but several days later he told The Washington Post that he also remembered that she had said that Biden had reached "under her clothes."[27] Biden's Senate Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff during 1992-1993 and the office's long-term executive assistant expressed doubts as to the veracity of Reade's account, stating that they would have recalled Reade's complaints about Biden's conduct had she made them. They also said that the alleged behavior would have been out of character for Biden. Melissa Lefko, another staff assistant for Biden during that time period, told the reporters that she had never experienced harassment and that in her opinion, Biden's office was a "very supportive environment for women."[3]

Reade said she reported sexual harassment to her supervisors in Biden's office at the time, but her recollection of to whom has shifted and no former supervisors recall any such event.[28] Writing for The Guardian in an opinion article, Katie Halper points out that two interns interviewed by the Times "corroborated Reade’s allegation that she was removed of her duties supervising them (in retaliation, she claimed, for reporting earlier sexual harassment)."[29] Reade's former colleague Lorraine Sanchez also said that Reade told her in 1995 or 1996 that Reade had been sexually harassed "by her former boss in Washington, DC."[25]

Larry King Live phone call

On April 24, 2020, an unidentified source who heard Katie Halper's interview with The Intercept's Ryan Grim sent Grim a video of an August 11, 1993 phone call to Larry King Live in which a woman asks: "I'm wondering what a staffer might 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. The only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him."[30][31]|author=|title=|source=}} In response, Reade's brother and a friend said that Reade had told her mother about the allegations in 1993 and that Reade's mother had recommended that she go to the police, which Reade said she did not want to do.[30] According to Reade, it was her mother's voice on the call on the 1993 Larry King Live episode, and that the call was about her allegations.[30]

Media coverage

The allegations and response by major media publications stirred mixed sentiments across the American political spectrum.[32] On March 28, 2020, The Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi wrote an op-ed: "Why has the media ignored sexual assault allegations against Biden?" She expressed that it is frustrating to see conservatives "weaponize the accusations against Biden" and "to see so many liberals turning a blind eye" to Reade's allegation.[33][34]

The New York Times was criticized by several commentators who asserted that they had delayed coverage of the allegation and argued their coverage differed from reporting on other allegations in the past.[35] Its executive editor, Dean Baquet, published an op-ed on April 13, 2020, responding to these criticisms.[36][37][38][39] Baquet responded to a controversy about a line in the news story that was removed after the piece's initial publication. The sentence previously read: "The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable." Baquet explained that it had been included originally in order not to falsely imply that other individuals had made allegations as invasive in nature as Reade's but thereafter removed because of "awkward phrasing issue that could be read different ways."[40] Baquet stated that the edit was made after the Biden campaign had objected to it because "[it] made it look like there were other instances in which he had been accused of sexual misconduct."[39]

Other reactions

On April 14, 2020, in an online conversation with The Wing, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that it was legitimate to discuss Reade's allegation against Biden.[41][42]

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a national co-chair of Biden's campaign, responded to a question from NPR about the allegation. She said "Well, I think women should be able to tell their stories. I think that it is important that these allegations are vetted, from the media to beyond."[43]

References

  1. ^ a b c North, Anna (March 27, 2020). "A sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has ignited a firestorm of controversy". Vox. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "Tara Reade discusses Biden allegation with Hill.TV's 'Rising'". The Hill. March 26, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lerer, Lisa; Ember, Sydney (April 12, 2020). "Examining Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Mangan, Dan (April 14, 2020). "Joe Biden is accused of sexual assault as he heads toward election fight with Trump". CNBC. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Halper, Katie (March 31, 2020). "Tara Reade Tells Her Story". Current Affairs. Retrieved April 9, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b Reade, Alexandra Tara. "Alexandra Tara Reade: A girl walks into the Senate". www.theunion.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Marcotte, Amanda (March 31, 2020). "A woman accuses Joe Biden of sexual assault, and all hell breaks loose online. Here's what we know". Salon. Retrieved April 15, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Young, Cathy. "If Joe Biden wants due process in his sexual assault case, he should back it for others". USA TODAY.
  9. ^ a b c d Larsen, Emily (April 15, 2020). "Everything we know about the Biden sexual assault allegation". Washington Examiner. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Alexandra Tara Reade - Home". web.archive.org. April 4, 2019.
  11. ^ McGann, Laura (March 29, 2019). "Lucy Flores isn't alone. Joe Biden's got a long history of touching women inappropriately". Vox. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  12. ^ Terkel, Amanda (November 15, 2017). "Joe Biden 2020 Is A Terrible Idea In A Post-Weinstein America". HuffPost. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  13. ^ Markowitz, Karol (February 18, 2015). "America Shouldn't Tolerate 'Biden Being Biden'". Time. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  14. ^ "Biden Charms Photographers, Frightens Children at Final Swearing-In as VP". NBCNewYork. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Grim, Ryan (March 24, 2020). "Time's Up Said It Could Not Fund a #MeToo Allegation Against Joe Biden, Citing Its Nonprofit Status and His Presidential Run". The Intercept. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  16. ^ Riquelmy, Alan (April 3, 2019). "Nevada County woman says Joe Biden inappropriately touched her while working in his U.S. Senate office". The Union. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  17. ^ https://www.theunion.com/news/nevada-county-woman-says-joe-biden-inappropriately-touched-her-while-working-in-his-u-s-senate-office/
  18. ^ EDT, Chantal Da Silva On 3/27/20 at 11:50 PM (March 27, 2020). "Joe Biden's sexual assault accuser wants to be able to speak out without fear of "powerful men"". Newsweek.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ a b Grim, Ryan (March 24, 2020). "Time's Up Said It Could Not Fund a #MeToo Allegation Against Joe Biden, Citing Its Nonprofit Status and His Presidential Run".
  20. ^ "Biden sexual assault allegation roils #MeToo movement". POLITICO.
  21. ^ a b c Khalid, Asma (April 19, 2020). "On The Record: A Former Biden Staffer's Sexual Assault Allegation". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  22. ^ Vitali, Ali; Memoli, Mike (April 12, 2020). "Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assault". NBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  23. ^ Otterbein, Holly. "Biden sexual assault allegation roils #MeToo movement". Politico.
  24. ^ Cauterucci, Christina. "Joe Biden Sails Under the New York Times' Bar for Sexual Abuse". Slate. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  25. ^ a b McHugh, Rich. "A former neighbor of Joe Biden's accuser Tara Reade has come forward to corroborate her sexual assault account, saying Reade discussed the allegations in detail in the mid-1990s". Business Insider. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Lerer, Lisa; Ember, Sydney (April 12, 2020). "Examining Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  27. ^ Ruth, Marcus. "Assessing Tara Reade's allegations". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  28. ^ https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/tara-reade-joe-biden-democrats/
  29. ^ Halper, Katie. "Tara Reade says Joe Biden sexually assaulted her. She deserves to be heard". Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  30. ^ a b c Grim, Ryan (April 24, 2020). "New Evidence Supporting Credibility of Tara Reade's Allegation Against Joe Biden Emerges". The Intercept. Retrieved April 24, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ Kalmbacher, Colin. "New Evidence Appears to Corroborate Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Claim Against Joe Biden (VIDEO)". Law&Crime. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  32. ^ Walsh, Joan (April 15, 2020). "The Troublesome Tara Reade Story". The Nation. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  33. ^ "Joe Biden: the sexual assault claim dividing Democrats". The Week. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ Mahdawi, Arwa (March 28, 2020). "Why has the media ignored sexual assault and misbehaviour allegations against Biden?". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  35. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (April 14, 2020). "The Media Floodgates Finally Open on Biden Sexual Assault Allegation". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "The New York Times Denies Tara Reade the Christine Blasey Ford Treatment". National Review. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  37. ^ Cauterucci, Christina (April 13, 2020). "Joe Biden Sails Under the New York Times' Bar for Sexual Abuse". Slate Magazine. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  38. ^ Ecarma, Caleb. "The Media Floodgates Finally Open on Biden Sexual Assault Allegation". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  39. ^ a b Smith, Ben (April 13, 2020). "The Times Took 19 Days to Report an Accusation Against Biden. Here's Why". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  40. ^ Swanson, Ian (April 14, 2020). "NY Times faces blowback for removal of controversial passage on Biden sexual assault allegation". The Hill. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  41. ^ "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "It's legitimate to talk about" allegations against Joe Biden". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  42. ^ "AOC says it's 'legitimate to talk about' sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden". The Independent. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  43. ^ Lee, MJ (April 17, 2020). "Democrats grapple with questions about Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden". CNN. Retrieved April 17, 2020.

External link

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Biden_sexual_assault_allegation&oldid=953588657"