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‘They Need to Be Called Out for Bias’: Joe Biden Sexual Assault Accuser Threatens WaPo With Lawsuit

© Photo : Tara ReadeTara Reade
Tara Reade - Sputnik International, 1920, 19.08.2021
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Tara Reade was responding to an earlier Washington Post report that claimed her sexual assault allegations against the current US President “were not corroborated after reporters dug into them."
Tara Reade, the woman who last year levelled sexual harassment accusations against her former boss, now US President Joe Biden, is threatening legal action against The Washington Post for dismissing her claims as "not corroborated."
"To say there was no corroboration and to dismiss me and erase me, that was bias. And I think they need to be called out for their bias," the former Senate staffer was cited as saying by Fox News.
In July, The Washington Post published a report about rallies to demand Medicare-for-all legislation, and Reade was set to speak at the event in Los Angeles.
The report quoted activist Ricky Dunlop, who alleges that Reade was "not allowed to talk about Biden."
There was another aspect of the outlet’s report that fuelled Reade’s ire. It read that "Biden denied Reade's allegations, which were not corroborated after reporters dug into them."
Firstly, Reade insisted she was never warned by anyone that talking about the POTUS was off-limits. Moreover, she did mention Biden in her speech.
"I was a young staffer in 1993 and I worked for Joe Biden… And I can tell you he is not interested in consent, he is not interested in your healthcare. He is funded by Big Pharma and by the healthcare lobby. And when I came forward in 1993, I lost my healthcare, I was a federal employee. As a sexual assault survivor, losing your healthcare when you come forward in a job… losing that is pivotal, and losing benefits, it's really super hard," Reade told the crowd at the time.
In a vehement pushback against the report, Reade sent an email on 27 July to the paper's executive editor, as well as Dave Weigel, the Washington Post reporter who wrote the story, according to Fox News.
"This is to advise you that your newspaper again engaged in slandering me… I was sexually assaulted by Joe Biden in 1993 and there are in fact corroborating witnesses. There is a filed sexual harassment complaint and a police report. As well as witnesses that went on the record. It was also falsely reported I was ‘not allowed’ to mention Joe Biden in a speech at the LA rally for Medicare 4 All. I was given no such restriction," the email is cited as saying.
Reade slammed the outlet for “blatant misstatements of facts." She insists that it's "important" to hold The Washington Post accountable. "They're a legacy newspaper that's supposed to be built on the truth… and they're not printing the truth," Reade said, underscoring that she was “pushing back” and “gonna seek every legal remedy."
Reade argued sexual assault survivors "should not be treated like criminals" by the media when their alleged abuser was "someone powerful."

Biden Harassment Accusations

The former aide for Biden from 1992-93, when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware, levelled sexual harassment accusations at the-then Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee in 2020.
She told The New York Times that Biden pinned her up against a wall in a Senate building, reached under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers in 1993.
© AP Photo / Donald ThompsonIn this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif. (AP Photo/Donald Thompson)
In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif. (AP Photo/Donald Thompson) - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.09.2021
In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif. (AP Photo/Donald Thompson)
Several outlets, including The Washington Post, have spoken with individuals who purportedly corroborated Reade's allegations in varying degrees. Reade's friend was reported as having confirmed she was told about the alleged Biden assault at the time it happened.
A media-cited 1996 court document showed Reade's ex-husband was allegedly told about the "sexual harassment" while she was working for then-Sen. Biden.
© Photo : C SPANDelaware Senator Joe Biden making an impassioned plea against packing the Supreme Court, summer 1983.
Delaware Senator Joe Biden making an impassioned plea against packing the Supreme Court, summer 1983. - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.09.2021
Delaware Senator Joe Biden making an impassioned plea against packing the Supreme Court, summer 1983.
A 1993 "Larry King Live" clip, which went viral, shows Reade's mother dialling into the programme to seek advice on "problems" her daughter was tackling involving a "prominent senator."
Biden flatly denies sexually assaulting his former staff assistant, saying:
"I'm saying unequivocally: it never, never happened.”
There has not yet been any official statement from The Washington Post on the matter.
 
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