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| Joe Biden Accused of Touching and Kissing Nevada Assemblywoman in 2014 | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A former Nevada state assemblywoman has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of touching and kissing her at a 2014 campaign event for Democrats in what she called a mortifying episode that left her feeling “powerless to do anything about it.’’ | A former Nevada state assemblywoman has accused Joseph R. Biden Jr. of touching and kissing her at a 2014 campaign event for Democrats in what she called a mortifying episode that left her feeling “powerless to do anything about it.’’ |
| In an essay published on Friday by New York Magazine’s The Cut, the former assemblywoman, Lucy Flores, a Democrat, said she was 35 years old at the time of her encounter with Mr. Biden, who was then vice president. Mr. Biden, she wrote, had agreed to come to a rally to help her fledgling campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada. | In an essay published on Friday by New York Magazine’s The Cut, the former assemblywoman, Lucy Flores, a Democrat, said she was 35 years old at the time of her encounter with Mr. Biden, who was then vice president. Mr. Biden, she wrote, had agreed to come to a rally to help her fledgling campaign for lieutenant governor of Nevada. |
| Ms. Flores wrote that at first, she had been “grateful and flattered.” But as she was preparing to take the stage, she “felt two hands on my shoulders” and “froze.” | Ms. Flores wrote that at first, she had been “grateful and flattered.” But as she was preparing to take the stage, she “felt two hands on my shoulders” and “froze.” |
| “Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?” she recalled wondering. | “Why is the vice-president of the United States touching me?” she recalled wondering. |
| “I felt him get closer to me from behind,” she continued. “He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified.” | “I felt him get closer to me from behind,” she continued. “He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified.” |
| Then, she added: “He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused.” | Then, she added: “He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused.” |
| Her allegations come as Mr. Biden is poised to announce whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field and seek the White House; at public appearances and through aides Mr. Biden has signaled he is likely to enter the race. | Her allegations come as Mr. Biden is poised to announce whether he will join the 2020 Democratic primary field and seek the White House; at public appearances and through aides Mr. Biden has signaled he is likely to enter the race. |
| [Sign up for our politics newsletter. Lisa Lerer will be your guide through the 2020 race and share what you really need to know.] | [Sign up for our politics newsletter. Lisa Lerer will be your guide through the 2020 race and share what you really need to know.] |
| In a statement, Bill Russo, a spokesman for Mr. Biden, said the former vice president did not recall what Ms. Flores described. Mr. Russo said Mr. Biden had been “pleased to support Lucy Flores’s candidacy for lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event.” | In a statement, Bill Russo, a spokesman for Mr. Biden, said the former vice president did not recall what Ms. Flores described. Mr. Russo said Mr. Biden had been “pleased to support Lucy Flores’s candidacy for lieutenant governor of Nevada in 2014 and to speak on her behalf at a well-attended public event.” |
| “Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes,” the statement said. “But Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.” | “Neither then, nor in the years since, did he or the staff with him at the time have an inkling that Ms. Flores had been at any time uncomfortable, nor do they recall what she describes,” the statement said. “But Vice President Biden believes that Ms. Flores has every right to share her own recollection and reflections, and that it is a change for better in our society that she has the opportunity to do so. He respects Ms. Flores as a strong and independent voice in our politics and wishes her only the best.” |
| Ms. Flores did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment early Saturday. But shortly after her essay was published, she tweeted that writing and sharing it had been “an incredibly difficult thing to do, but something that felt necessary.” | Ms. Flores did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment early Saturday. But shortly after her essay was published, she tweeted that writing and sharing it had been “an incredibly difficult thing to do, but something that felt necessary.” |
| In her essay about the 2014 episode, she noted that at the time, Mr. Biden was “the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world.” | In her essay about the 2014 episode, she noted that at the time, Mr. Biden was “the second-most powerful man in the country and, arguably, one of the most powerful men in the world.” |
| “He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,” she wrote. “Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused. The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners — and I felt powerless to do anything about it.” | “He was there to promote me as the right person for the lieutenant governor job,” she wrote. “Instead, he made me feel uneasy, gross, and confused. The vice-president of the United States of America had just touched me in an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners — and I felt powerless to do anything about it.” |
| She also wrote that she had carefully consider whether to speak out, but said that “hearing Biden’s potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.” | She also wrote that she had carefully consider whether to speak out, but said that “hearing Biden’s potential candidacy for president discussed without much talk about his troubling past as it relates to women became too much to keep bottled up any longer.” |
| Mr. Biden has long been criticized for his supervision of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991, when he led a panel of white men in aggressively questioning Anita Hill. On Tuesday, he expressed regret for his role in the hearing, saying “to this day, I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved.” | Mr. Biden has long been criticized for his supervision of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991, when he led a panel of white men in aggressively questioning Anita Hill. On Tuesday, he expressed regret for his role in the hearing, saying “to this day, I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved.” |