Biden flatly states that sexual assault ‘never, never happened’

Former Vice President Joe Biden. (AP file photo / Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden emphatically denied all mentions by a former Senate staff member that he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s, stating flatly that “this never happened.”

Biden’s first public comments on the allegation of a former employee, Tara Reade, come at a critical time for the alleged Democratic nominee, as he tries to ease mounting pressure after weeks of leaving denials to his campaign.

“I say that unequivocally, it never, ever happened,” Biden said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Biden said he will ask the National Archives to determine if there is any record of a complaint filed, as Reade has claimed, but he repeatedly said that he does not believe such a record exists.

Reade did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The National Archives also did not immediately respond to an AP inquiry.
“The former employee said she filed a complaint in 1993,” said Biden.

“But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The documents from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. ”

Biden said: “There is only one place where there could be such a complaint: 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 his motive.”

He said that during his five decades in public life, none of his employees, including Reade, were asked to sign confidentiality agreements.

Republicans concerned about President Donald Trump’s increasingly precarious political position are taking advantage of Reade’s accusation of portraying Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives.

They are investigating despite the fact that the controversy could renew attention on the multiple sexual assault allegations brought against Trump.

Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of validating the women who present their stories while defending the man who will be their standard-bearer in what many in the party consider the most important choice of their lives.

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said before the Biden interview that her silence was “damaging,” but later said she handled the matter well.

“He responded, denied it, and there is nothing more to add,” Brazile said, before referring to Reade’s repeated interviews and tweets. “If you add to the story the way Tara Reade does it, it just brings more confusion.”

Karen Finney, who worked for Hillary Clinton in 2016, described Biden as “very clear and consistent” and “sincere,” but said, “I wish they had done this a little earlier.”

The November competition between Biden and Trump will be the first presidential race of the #MeToo era, which has led numerous women to file allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Trump has been accused of assault and unwanted contact by numerous women, allegations that he denies.

Women are a central constituency for Democrats, and Biden has a mixed history. She wrote the Violence Against Women Act as a senator, but was heavily criticized for her handling of Anita Hill’s Senate testimony in the 1990s. Right before launching her 2020 campaign, several women accused him of unwanted touching, behavior by which apologized.

Biden has vowed to choose a woman as a career partner, and the prosecution has left those believed to be in conflict in a difficult situation.

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

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

Some Democratic donors say the issue has not come up in their recent strategy calls. Others are concerned that it may be used against Biden, as was Clinton’s private email server in 2016 and the activities of the Clinton Foundation were handled against her by Trump.

“We know they are going to test elements of the same playbook,” Finney said, speaking specifically about calls for Biden to release his Senate documents at the University of Delaware.

Other Democratic agents expressed concern that the indictment complicates the core reason for Biden’s campaign: that he provides a moral counterattack to Trump.

“I think we have to apply a consistent standard on how we deal with allegations of sexual assault, and also have a clear idea of ​​how Donald Trump will use these allegations in the general election campaign,” said Claire Sandberg, who served as Bernie Sanders organizing director.

Republicans are trying to capitalize on a problem that was more complex in 2016 when Trump was asked to answer for the more than two dozen women who claimed different levels of sexual assault and harassment.

The Republican Party argues that the Democrats are not consistent, pointing to the aggressive interrogation of Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh when faced with an accusation of sexual assault.

Biden on Friday rejected those notions. He said that women “should start with the presumption that 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 that Biden “should respond,” but added: “I know all about false accusations,” leaving aside the opportunity to attack Biden. Trump’s substitutes were much more aggressive. Her campaign quickly launched a digital ad featuring prominent Democrats, including Biden and Clinton saying, “Believe in women” and similar sentiments.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we simply cannot have it both ways,” Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway said at the White House on Friday. “We can’t decide which women were included in‘ Believe in all women. “

When asked if that would refocus attention on the Trump story, Conway said, “If you do that, you’re going to hear a lot from Tara Reade and other people.”

JPV

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