Joe Biden On Tara Reade Sexual Assault Allegation: 'I’m Saying Unequivocally: It Never, Never Happened'

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said Friday sexual assault allegations by a former Senate staffer are untrue and the alleged incident “never happened.” The former vice president said on MSNBC there is “nothing for me to hide.”

Tara Reade, a former Senate aide, has accused Biden of groping her in 1993 when he was a senator from Delaware. She has said he cornered her in the basement of a congressional office building, put his hands under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers. Reade recently filed a police report on the alleged incident.

Other women have said Biden made them feel uncomfortable by putting hands on their shoulders or touching them elsewhere.

Until Friday, Biden had not addressed the allegation although his campaign denied early on the assault had occurred. Biden said he’s “absolutely” certain, no one ever made a complaint against him at the time. He said though Reade has a right to say whatever she wants, her allegations need to be investigated.

“No, it is not true. I’m saying unequivocally: It never, never happened. And it didn’t. It never happened,” Biden said on “Morning Joe.”

Biden said he doesn’t remember any complaint ever having been made, and no one in his office at the time does either.

“This is an open book. There is nothing for me to hide,” Biden said, saying if any complaints were made against him, the National Archive, where such complaints would be stored, should release the documents. He also said he never has asked anyone to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

“A record like this can only be one place,” Biden said. He said no personnel documents are stored among his papers, which are not yet public, at the University of Delaware.

Asked how his case differs from that of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault during a drunken party when he was 17, Biden said all such allegations should be taken seriously and investigated.

“What are the facts? Do any of the things she says add up?” Biden asked, adding there are numerous inconsistencies in Reade’s story. He said, however, he is not going to go on the attack or speculate on Reade’s motive for coming forward now.

Biden said he has fought his whole career to change attitudes regarding sexual assault, but, “at the end of the day it has to be looked at. These claims are not true. They’re not true.”

You can watch the entire interview below:

In a statement posted on Medium, Biden also denied the allegations, casting doubt on her assertion that she raised the issue with her supervisor and senior staffers at the time.

“They — both men and a woman — have said, unequivocally, that she never came to them and complained or raised issues. News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one — not one — who corroborated her allegations in any way,” the statement said. “Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way — as indeed I would not have.”