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| ‘Never happened’: Joe Biden rejects sexual assault allegation by former staffer in first public comment on accusation | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| US Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden has finally spoken about the allegation of sexual misconduct by his former staffer Tara Reade, saying in his first statement on the issue that the alleged incident “never happened.” | |
| "I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago," Biden wrote. "They aren't true. This never happened." | "I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago," Biden wrote. "They aren't true. This never happened." |
| Public and media pressure had been mounting on Biden to address the allegations directly, given that only his campaign had commented on Reade’s claims until now. | Public and media pressure had been mounting on Biden to address the allegations directly, given that only his campaign had commented on Reade’s claims until now. |
| Biden said that while the details of the allegations of harassment and sexual assault "are complicated," it was clear that women who step forward with such claims "deserve to be treated with dignity and respect" and that they "should be heard, not silenced." | Biden said that while the details of the allegations of harassment and sexual assault "are complicated," it was clear that women who step forward with such claims "deserve to be treated with dignity and respect" and that they "should be heard, not silenced." |
| But it is also true that women's stories "should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny,” he added, claiming that Reade's story has a "growing record of inconsistencies” which should be examined by “responsible news organizations.” | |
| Reade, who worked in Biden's Senate office in 1993, has claimed that he cornered her in an office building on Capitol Hill and assaulted her. While Biden's campaign has been eager to suggest there’s no record of the incident, at least two of Reade's former associates have corroborated her claim. | Reade, who worked in Biden's Senate office in 1993, has claimed that he cornered her in an office building on Capitol Hill and assaulted her. While Biden's campaign has been eager to suggest there’s no record of the incident, at least two of Reade's former associates have corroborated her claim. |
| A slew of top female Democrats have lined up in recent days to defend Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi chief among them, though their reaction has been a far cry from the party’s calls to “believe women” when Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of rape by Christine Blasey Ford ahead of his nomination hearing in 2018. | |
| In recent days, Biden has also been pushing the talking point that an investigation by the New York Times found that the incident "did not happen," prompting the newspaper to issue a statement clarifying that its investigation had "made no conclusion either way." | |
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