Tara Reade says Joe Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked in the then-Delaware senator’s office in 1993. Biden has yet to address the allegation, but his campaign has denied it.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday addressed the assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Biden by the former Senate staffer, saying it was “legitimate to talk about.”
According to the New York Times, Reade accused Biden of assaulting her in the halls of the Capitol in 1993. The paper cited both interviews with Reade’s family members who say she told them about the allegation, and also interviews with Reade’s former colleagues who did not remember any complaints from Reade about the kind of behavior from Biden she describes now.
Rep Cortez went on to say, “I think it’s legitimate to talk about these things. And if we want, if we again want to have integrity, you can’t say, you know — both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you, until it inconveniences us.”
“A lot of us are survivors, and it’s really, really hard and uncomfortable.” Not discussing allegations is the “exact opposite of integrity” the congresswoman said, adding that it is “not okay” to prioritize beating Trump over discussing sensitive #MeToo issues like these because they are “very legitimate thing[s].”
“I think a lot of us are just in this moment where it’s like, how did we get here? You know, it almost felt like we started this cycle where we had kind of moved on from, you know, from all of this. And now it feels like we’re kind of back in it,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And, you know, the most diverse field that we’ve ever seen — that we’re kind of back kind of replaying old movies in a way.”
Reade is grateful for Ocasio-Cortez’s support. “I’m very humbled and honored because she is literally the only politician that has spoken up on my behalf,” Reade told CBS News after the initial publication of this story. —The Hill
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