Joe Biden

Biden Denies Ex-Staffer's Sexual Assault Allegation: ‘This Never Happened'

The presumptive Democratic nominee appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Friday to address the allegation by his former Senate staffer

Apparent Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden denied allegations of sexual misconduct made by Tara Reade in an interview with MSNBC.
MSNBC

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday categorically denied allegations from a former Senate staffer that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, saying "this never happened.” Biden's first public remarks on the allegation come at a critical moment for the presumptive Democratic nominee as he tries to relieve mounting pressure after weeks of leaving denials to his campaign.

“I’m saying unequivocally, it never, never happened,” Biden told host Mika Brzezinski.

Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine whether there is any record of a complaint being filed, as Reade has claimed. Later Friday, Biden asked the secretary of the Senate via letter to assist in the search, though he told MSNBC that the Archives was the only possible place a complaint would be. He said his Senate papers held under seal at the University of Delaware do not contain personnel records.

Reade did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. The Archives deflected inquiries to Capitol Hill: “Any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate.”

Senate officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.

“The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993,” Biden said in a Medium post released shortly before his interview aired. “But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files.”

Biden said, “There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be – the National Archives.” The former vice president said “there are so many inconsistencies” in Reade's various accounts. But Biden said he does not “question her motive.” He said that over his five decades in public life, none of his employees, including Reade, were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.

“There's no NDA signed,” Biden said. “No one's ever signed, I've never asked anybody to sign an NDA. There are no NDAs, period, in my case. None.”

Reade has said she complained of harassment in a formal complaint she filed through a Senate personnel office at the time. She does not have a copy of the complaint and news organizations have been unable to find a record of one.

Pressed repeatedly by Brzezinski on whether he would allow the University of Delaware to run a search of Reade's name, Biden refused, again saying that they wouldn't have personnel records.

Republicans worried about President Donald Trump's increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. They are digging in despite the fact that it could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations lodged against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.

Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile said before Biden's interview that his silence had been “damaging,” but said he handled the matter well Friday.

"He responded, he denied it, and there's nothing more to be added to it,” Brazile said, before alluding to Reade's repeated interviews and tweets. “If you add to the story the way Tara Reade has, it only brings more confusion.”

The November contest between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted touching by numerous women, allegations he denies.

Women are a core constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. While he wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, he also came under heavy criticism for his handling of Anita Hill's Senate testimony in the 1990s. Just before he launched his 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior for which he apologized.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday endorsed Joe Biden's bid for president during a livestream with the former vice president.

Biden has pledged to pick a woman as a running mate, and the allegation has left those thought to be in contention in a tough spot.

“Women deserve to be heard,” said Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia Democratic governor candidate, “but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.”

President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden in a web address on Tuesday. Biden served as Obama's Vice President from 2008-2016.

That echoed talking points issued by the Biden campaign to surrogates last week that were obtained by The Associated Press. They pointed to investigations by The New York Times, The Washington Post and the AP that found no other allegation of sexual assault and no pattern of sexual misconduct.

Some Democratic donors and fundraisers say the issue has not come up in calls with party financiers. Others worry that it could be used against Biden, much as Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were wielded against her by Trump.

Some female Democratic operatives expressed concerns the allegation is particularly damaging because it’s an indictment of Biden’s central campaign rationale: that he provides a moral counter to Trump and that the election is a “battle for the soul of America.”

Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced on a live video stream that he would be endorsing Joe Biden for president.

“The stakes could not be higher for defeating Donald Trump — but at the same time, I think we have to apply a consistent standard for how we treat allegations of sexual assault, and also be clear-eyed about how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign,” said Claire Sandberg, who worked as Bernie Sanders’ organizing director.

Republicans are trying to take advantage of an issue that was, in 2016, more fraught when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who alleged varying levels of sexual assault and harassment. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News on Thursday that Biden will “have to participate in releasing all the information related to” the allegation, a stance he didn’t take on the allegations against Trump.

The GOP argues Democrats aren't being consistent, pointing to aggressive questioning and coverage of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when he faced an allegation of sexual assault.

Biden on Friday pushed back on those notions. “What I said during the Kavanaugh hearings was that she had a right to be heard,” Biden said. Biden said “women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt. If they come forward ... they should start off with the presumption the presumption they are telling the truth. Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts. And the facts of this case do not exist.”

Trump said Thursday Biden “should respond” but added, “I know all about false allegations.”

“Ladies and gentleman, we just can't have it both ways,” Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said Friday at the White House. “We cannot decide which women were included in 'believe all women.'”

Asked whether that will refocus attention on Trump's history with women, Conway said, "If you do that, then you're going to hear a lot from Tara Reade and other people.”


Associated Press writers Brian Slodysko in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Associated Press/NBC
Contact Us