Washington, May 8 (IANS): A woman who accuses Democratic White House candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago has called on him to quit the presidential race.
In an interview, Tara Reade urged Biden to “please step forward and be held accountable”.
She added: “You should not be running on character for the president of the United States.”
Biden, who is set to challenge President Donald Trump in November, has denied Reade’s accusation, the BBC reported.
Reade, now 56, worked as a staff assistant to Biden from 1992-93 when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware.
She has said that in 1993 he forced her against a wall and put his hands under her shirt and skirt, penetrating her with a finger, after she delivered him his gym bag.
“I remember him saying, first, as he was doing it ‘Do you want to go somewhere else?’ and then him saying to me, when I pulled away… he said ‘Come on man, I heard you liked me,'” Reade told podcast host Katie Halper in March.
“That phrase stayed with me.”
In a clip from the interview released on Thursday, Reade was asked by host Megyn Kelly if she wanted Biden to withdraw from the race.
“I wish he would, but he won’t, but I wish he would,” she said. “That’s how I feel emotionally.”
Reade offered to take a lie detector test about her claim, on condition that Mr Biden do so also.
“I will take one if Joe Biden takes one,” she said.
Reade continued: “His campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able to speak safely. I have not experienced that.”
She said that she had received a death threat after Biden supporters accused her without evidence of being a Russian agent.
“It’s been stunning how – some of his surrogates with the blue checks [verified identities] – you know, his surrogates have been saying really horrible things about me and to me on social media,” said Reade.
“He hasn’t himself, but there is a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying it’s been safe – it’s not been safe.
“All of my social media has been hacked, all of my personal information has been dragged through.
“Every person that maybe has a gripe against me, maybe an ex-boyfriend or an ex-landlord or whatever it is has been able to have a platform rather than me.”
Biden campaign communications director Kate Bedingfield said in a statement after the interview aired that Ms Reade’s story contained “inconsistencies”.
“Women must receive the benefit of the doubt,” said the statement. “They must be able to come forward and share their stories without fear of retribution or harm – and we all have a responsibility to ensure that.
“At the same time, we can never sacrifice the truth. And the truth is that these allegations are false and that the material that has been presented to back them up, under scrutiny, keeps proving their falsity.”
Biden, who is the Democratic party’s presumptive presidential nominee, broke his silence on the matter a week ago, appearing on a morning television show to brand the allegations “false”.
A court document from 1996 shows Reade’s ex-husband describing “a problem she was having at work regarding sexual harassment, in US Senator Joe Biden’s office”, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
The file obtained by the California newspaper appears to be the only document from the time that might describe Ms Reade’s allegation.
Theodore Dronen, her then-husband, penned the court memo during a divorce battle.
Dronen wrote that his wife had told him she “eventually struck a deal with the chief of staff of the Senator’s office and left her position,” the Tribune reported.
“It was obvious that this event had a very traumatic effect on [Reade], and that she is still sensitive and effected [sic] by it today,” he continued.
Reade’s brother, a former neighbour and a former colleague have all said they heard her describe the accusation against her boss after the alleged incident. And her mother appears to have called a CNN show about the claim back in 1993.
High-powered Manhattan lawyer Douglas Wigdor said in a statement that he is representing Reade. He has represented alleged sexual assault victims of jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Some Republicans are seizing on the Reade accusation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women when claims of wrongdoing are aimed at conservatives.
Trump himself has faced a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations, which he also denies. He once boasted of grabbing women by the genitals.
However, the Democrats have much more strongly championed the #MeToo movement, which backs women who make accusations of sexual assault and calls for their stories to be heard.
Women are a core constituency for the party, traditionally giving more votes to Democratic candidates than Republicans.
Some liberal women have said they believe Tara Reade but will vote for Biden anyway because they view Trump as much worse.
November’s presidential election will be the first of the #MeToo era, and Biden has framed it as a “battle for the soul of America”.
