Tara Reade
| Tara Reade | |
|---|---|
.png) U.S. House of Representatives Identification Badge photo of Reade | |
| Born | Tara Reade Moulton February 26, 1964 Monterey County, California[1] |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| Other names | Tara Reade McCabe (née Moulton) |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Seattle University School of Law (J.D., 2004)[2] |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| Known for | Allegation of 1993 sexual assault against then U.S. Senator Joe Biden, revealed in 2020 |
| 👶 Children | 1 |
Alexandra Tara Reade (born February 26, 1964) is an American writer and former legislative assistant for the U.S. Senate, currently residing in California.[3]
In April 2019, Reade came forward with an allegation that in 1993 Joe Biden touched her in a way that made her “feel uncomfortable” during his time as a Senator for Delaware.[4] In March of 2020, she revealed that the allegation was instead a case of aggravated sexual assault.[5] Reade says that at the time of the alleged assault she told her brother and a friend. When contacted by reporters, multiple accounts agreed that they remembered hearing from Reade about the alleged attack at the time. Biden has since denied any wrongdoing.[6]
In May 2020, it was revealed that attorney Douglas Wigdor would be representing Reade pro bono. He is known for representing six women who alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein.[7]
Biography[edit]
Tara Reade, née Tara Reade Moulton, resides in Nevada County, California.[8][9][10] She has changed her name for protection due to domestic violence in her past,[11] claims her former husband (she has been married to Theodore Dronen[12][13]) denies.[14]
Reade was born to Jeane Altimus, an artist[15] (d. 2016)[16] and Robert Moulton, who had careers as an author and journalist as well as serving as public relations manager of Honeywell Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d. 2016).[17]
During her early years, Reade studied acting and worked as a model and actor.[18] At the suggestion of a political science professor, Reade applied for a Congressional internship.[19] When accepted, she served as an intern in the office of then-member of the U.S. Congress Leon Panetta.[20]
Reade worked in Sacramento, California, as a staff assistant in the office of state senator Jack O'Connell from 1994 to 1996.[21]
A self-described educator in social justice, Reade has led workshops on domestic violence prevention[22] and testified as an expert witness in domestic-violence court cases.[11][23]
Reade said she voted for Barack Obama and supported Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.[24][25]
In early 2020, Reade worked part time with families with special-needs children in Nevada County.[26] She also works as a consultant to nonprofit organizations.[18][27] She earned a law degree from Seattle University School of Law in 2004[28] but has not taken a bar examination.[26][18]
Reade's 2019 allegation of misconduct[edit]
In April 2019, The Union, a local newspaper in Grass Valley, California, reported that Tara Reade provided documents that showed that she worked for US Senator Joe Biden from December 1992 to August 1993. She was 29 years old at the time.[29] Her position as a staff assistant in his Senate office in Washington, D.C. gave her responsibilities for the office's intern program and mail delivery.[30] She alleged that, during that time, Biden "used to put his hand on my shoulder and run his finger up my neck".[29][31] Reade also told of an incident where (unnamed) staff under Biden argued over whether she should serve drinks at an event.[29] Reade said that she heard from (unnamed) staff that Biden wanted her to do so because he liked her legs.[29][32] Reade said she complained to the Senate personnel office.[29][32] She stated: "My life was hell ... this was about power and control ... [after my departure] I couldn't get a job on the Hill".[29] According to the article, Reade "didn't consider the acts toward her sexualization. She instead used an analogy of being a lamp that was displayed because it was pretty and discarded when too bright.[29][31][33] Reade said she wants Biden to say "I changed the trajectory of your life. I'm sorry."[29] She had previously attributed her 1993 departure from Washington to moving to the Midwestern United States with a boyfriend in 2009, and to becoming an actress or artiste due to her disappointment at the American government's "xenophobia" toward Russia in 2018.[34]
Around the same time as that report, The Union published a column by Reade where she alleged that her supervisor had informed her that Biden wanted her to "serve drinks at a [sic] event" because he thought she was "pretty" and also "liked" her legs, but a senior aide intervened to stop Reade from having to do so, continuing an argument among the staff.[35] After that, Biden would "often" touch her shoulder and neck.[35] Reade felt that "these gestures were not so much about ‘connection' but establishing dominance in the room."[35] Reade also wrote in that essay: "...this is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power."[35] Reade said she spoke out in 2019 after watching an episode of The View, during which she says most of the panelists defended Biden and attacked Lucy Flores, the former assemblywoman who alleged that Biden kissed the back of her head without consent.[36][37]
In April 2019, the Associated Press interviewed Reade about the allegations she was making at the time, but did not publish an article, as they found that parts of her story contradicted other reports and they could not corroborate her accusations. At the time, Reade told the Associated Press that Biden rubbed her shoulders and neck and played with her hair. She said a fellow aide told her to dress more modestly at work. She said regarding Biden: "I wasn't scared of him, that he was going to take me in a room or anything. It wasn't that kind of vibe."[38] The Washington Post also interviewed Reade in 2019, but did not publish an article about that interview. Later in 2020, The Washington Post wrote that Reade had told them that Biden touched her neck and shoulders, "and he had people around saying it was okay". The Washington Post stated that Reade in 2019 "did not mention the alleged assault or suggest there was more to the story."[34][26] Reade wrote in January 2020, "I have not told the whole story of what occurred between Joe Biden and myself."[39]
Reade's 2020 allegation of sexual assault[edit]
In a March 25, 2020, interview with Katie Halper, Reade alleged that Biden had pushed her against a wall, kissed her, put his hand under her skirt, penetrated her with his fingers and asked, "Do you want to go somewhere else?"[30][25] Reade later told NPR for an April 19 article, "His hands went underneath my clothing and he was touching me in my private areas and without my consent."[25] Reade told The New York Times for an April 12 article that when she pulled away from Biden, he looked puzzled and said, "Come on, man, I heard you liked me."[11] Reade told The New York Times that after the alleged assault, she had reported about harassment to three of Biden's aides (Ted Kaufman, Dennis Toner and Marianne Baker), but did not mention the assault.
On May 8, it was reported that Reade had retained lawyer Douglas Wigdor. At the time, Wigdor stated that his work was currently being conducted pro bono. Wigdor is known for having represented six women who alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein.[7]
An April 12 The New York Times article reported that the publication had conducted interviews with Reade, several of her friends, lawyers, nearly two dozen people who worked with Biden in the early 1990s, and seven women who accused him of kissing, hugging, or touching them in ways that had made them feel uncomfortable. It said it found no other allegations of sexual assault in the course of its reporting. Several of the seven women said that they believed Reade, but had no new knowledge about the incident.[11] Two friends said that she had told them of the alleged assault (one in 1993 shortly after the alleged assault took place, the other in 2008). Melissa Lefko, a contemporary staff assistant, said she had never experienced harassment and thought his office was a "very supportive environment for women."[11] The NYT story included two former interns who said they remembered Reade 'suddenly changing roles and no longer overseeing them' at the same time Reade said she had been 'abruptly reassigned'.[40]
Allegation[edit]
In April 2019, the Associated Press interviewed Reade about the allegations she was making at the time, but did not publish an article, as they found that parts of her story contradicted other reports and they could not corroborate her accusations.[38] The Washington Post also interviewed Reade in 2019, but did not publish an article about that interview. Later in 2020, The Washington Post wrote that Reade had told them that Biden touched her neck and shoulders, "and he had people around saying it was okay".[26][34]
Asked why she didn't present the sexual assault allegations earlier, Reade told Newsweek she "didn't really know how to [come forward] because, how would you?"[41] Reade had contacted Time's Up Legal Defense Fund seeking legal and public relations support in an effort to "get her story out in a safe way". Uma Iyer, vice president of The National Women's Law Center (NWLC), which oversees and distributes funds for Time's Up, expressed their desire to provide her as much assistance as they possibly could but funding her legal defense was not possible because of restrictions imposed by their 501(c)(3) status.[41][42] Time's Up provided Reade a list of attorneys to contact; Reade said she contacted all of them, but none agreed to represent her.[11] After failing to secure legal help, Reade wrote in a January 2020 post on Medium, "I have not told the whole story of what occurred between Joe Biden and myself."[42]
Addressing why she made her sexual assault allegation public, Reade said, "I'm hoping by coming forward with this—and I know it's hard to listen to, and it's hard to live in it, right? But my justice now, the only justice I can have, is to be moving freely in the world and to heal and not be silenced."[30] According to The Intercept, Reade had feared coming forward with her full story of sexual assault and "went silent" after receiving harassment online related to her earlier allegations in April 2019 of inappropriate touching, saying that she later "thought about the world she wanted her daughter to live in and decided that she wanted to continue telling her story".[37] She said she did not share her assault allegation when she initially came forward because, in part, she "just didn't have the courage,"[43] and that after publicly alleging that he had touched her inappropriately, she said she received death threats, a "wave of criticism,"[11] and was doxed.[44]
On April 9, 2020, Reade filed a police report with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department alleging she was sexually assaulted in the spring of 1993.[25][45] According to NPR, Biden was named in a record of the report.[25] Reade acknowledged that the statute of limitations has lapsed, and she initially stated that she filed the report "for safety reasons only", due to online threats. The Washington Metropolitan Police said on April 25 that her complaint is an inactive case,[46][47][48] and Reade was later quoted by Fox News as saying that "by making that police report, it allows a mechanism for [her] to safety plan and work with a victim advocate."
On May 1 2020, New York Times' reporter Lisa Lerer said Reade had cancelled a planned interview with Fox News, stating that "death threats received by her and her child made her nervous about being in the public eye".[49] Reade said her family has received "creepy" phone calls and harassment, and that she and her family were 'frightened'.[50] Reade told the Wall Street Journal she has yet to decide when and where a television interview will take place, and that she is "digesting and processing" Biden's denial.[51]
On May 1, Reade told Fox News "I am calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," and questioned why they are under seal.[52] On May 8, it was reported that lawyer Douglas Wigdor had started to represent Reade. At the time, Wigdor stated that his work was currently being conducted pro bono. Wigdor is known for representing six women who alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein. He was a donor to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.[7]
Political blogposts and autobiographical essays[edit]
Reade has published opinion pieces in praise of Russia and Putin on blog sites which she says were motivated as a correction to "anti-Russia sentiment that we have" and xenophobia.[53][54]
Reade, who sought a 1996 restraining order[55][13][12] against her then husband (whom Reade met while both worked for different members of Congress[56]), has written the 2009 essay "Defying the Rule of Thumb: A Domestic Violence Survivor's Story".[2]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Joe Biden should drop out of presidential race, accuser Tara Reade says | the Spokesman-Review".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 McCabe, Alexandra (February 13, 2009). "Defying the Rule of Thumb: A Domestic Violence Survivor's Story". Archive.li. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ↑ "Alexandra Tara Reade, J.D." Medium.
- ↑ Riquelmy, Alan (April 4, 2019). "Nevada County woman says Joe Biden inappropriately touched her while working in his U.S. Senate office". www.theunion.com.
- ↑ North, Anna (March 27, 2020). "A sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has ignited controversy". Vox.
- ↑ Bradner, Eric (2020-05-01). "Biden denies sexual assault allegation: 'They aren't true. This never happened.' - CNNPolitics". Cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jaffe, Alexandra (May 8, 2020). "Prominent lawyer, Trump donor representing Biden accuser". Associated Press. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ↑ Young, Cathy (April 17, 2020). "If Joe Biden wants due process in his sexual assault case, he should back it for others". USA TODAY.
- ↑ "Alexandra Tara Reade - Home". Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ↑ 117 (2019-04-17). "Alexandra Tara Reade: A girl walks into the Senate". TheUnion.com. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Lerer, Lisa; Ember, Sydney (April 12, 2020). "Examining Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Allegation Against Joe Biden". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Fountain, Matt (May 7, 2020). "Exclusive: 1996 court document confirms Tara Reade told of harassment in Biden's office". sanluisopispo.com.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lerer, Lisa (2020-05-05). "In Court Document, Tara Reade's Ex-Husband Said She Spoke of Harassment - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ↑ St. Félix, Doreen (May 12, 2020). "Tara Reade, Megyn Kelly, and the Politics of Believability". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ↑ Alexandra Tara Reade, J.D. (November 27, 2018). "Why a Liberal Democrat Supports Vladimir Putin". Medium.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ↑ Bykowicz, Julie. "Leading Democrats Stand Behind Biden After Sexual-Assault Allegation". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "Robert Moulton Obituary - Corning, NY". The Leader. March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2020-05-09 – via Legacy.com.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Tara Reade Tells Her Story". Current Affairs.
- ↑ 122 (2019-04-17). "Alexandra Tara Reade: A girl walks into the Senate". TheUnion.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ↑ Wulfsohn, Joseph A. (1993-08-11). "Tara Reade's timeline: From 1990s Biden staffer to center of political firestorm". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ↑ "Neighbor of Tara Reade says woman told her about Joe Biden sex assault allegations in the 1990s, report says". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. April 4, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ↑ "Voice123 | World's 1st voice over marketplace".
- ↑ "Examining Tara Reade's 1993 sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden".
- ↑ "What We Know About Tara Reade's Allegation That Joe Biden Sexually Assaulted Her". Time. 2 May 2020.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Khalid, Asma (April 19, 2020). "On The Record: A Former Biden Staffer's Sexual Assault Allegation". NPR. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Villa, Lissandra; Alter, Charlotte (May 2, 2020). "What We Know About Tara Reade's Allegation That Joe Biden Sexually Assaulted Her". Time. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ↑ "Alexandra Tara Reade – Home". April 4, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Tara McCabe". Bios. The Wip The global source for women's perspectives. February 12, 2009. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 29.7 Riquelmy, Alan (April 4, 2019). "Nevada County woman says Joe Biden inappropriately touched her while working in his U.S. Senate office". The Union. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
Employment documents provided by Reade show that she worked in Biden’s office from December 1992 to August 1993.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Halper, Katie (March 31, 2020). "Tara Reade Tells Her Story". Current Affairs. Retrieved April 9, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 31.0 31.1 Arnold, Amanda; Lampen, Claire (April 12, 2020). "All the Women Who Have Spoken Out Against Joe Biden". The Cut. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 O'Rourke, Ciara (April 30, 2020). "Tara Reade has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault. Here's what we know". Politifact. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ↑ Erickson, Bo; Segers, Grace (April 30, 2020). "Pelosi says she's "satisfied" with Biden's response to sexual assault allegations". CBS News. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Reinhard, Beth; Viebeck, Elise; Viser, Matt; Crites, Alice (April 13, 2020). "Sexual assault allegation by former Biden Senate aide emerges in campaign, draws denial". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
In late 2018, she wrote that she left Washington to pursue an acting and artistic career, turned off by what she called the U.S. government’s “xenophobia” toward Russia. In a 2009 essay that noted Biden’s work on the Violence Against Women Act, she discussed moving from Washington to the Midwest to be with a boyfriend.
Unknown parameter|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Reade, Alexandra Tara (April 17, 2019). "A girl walks into the Senate". The Union. Grass Valley, California. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ O'Connor, Lydia (March 29, 2019). "Ex-Nevada Assemblywoman Says Joe Biden Inappropriately Kissed Her". Huff Post. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Grim, Ryan (March 24, 2020). "Time's Up Said It Could Not Fund a #MeToo Allegation Against Joe Biden, Citing Its Nonprofit Status and His Presidential Run". The Intercept. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Jaffe, Alexandra; Thompson, Don; Braun, Stephen (May 3, 2020). "Reade: 'I didn't use sexual harassment' in Biden complaint". Associated Press. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ↑ North, Anna (27 March 2020). "A sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has ignited a firestorm of controversy". Vox. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ↑ Miller, Hayley (April 29, 2020). "New York Times Refutes Biden Campaign's Reported Talking Points On Tara Reade Allegation". HuffPo. Retrieved 3 May 2020./ref>
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Da Silva, Chantal (March 27, 2020). "Joe Biden's sexual assault accuser wants to be able to speak out without fear of "powerful men"". Newsweek.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 North, Anna (April 29, 2020). "A sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden has ignited a firestorm of controversy". Vox. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- ↑ Otterbein, Holly (April 23, 2020). "Biden sexual assault allegation roils #MeToo movement". Politico.
- ↑ Cauterucci, Christina (April 13, 2020). "Joe Biden Sails Under the New York Times' Bar for Sexual Abuse". Slate. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ↑ Vitali, Ali; Memoli, Mike (April 12, 2020). "Woman broadens claims against Biden to include sexual assault". NBC News. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ↑ "Tara Reade: What are the sex attack allegations against Joe Biden?". BBC News. May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ↑ "A police investigation has been moved to 'inactive status'". businessinsider.com. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ↑ Re, Gregg; Wulfsohn, Joseph A.; Doocy, Peter (April 29, 2020). "Tara Reade responds after DC police say her sexual assault complaint against Biden is 'inactive'". FoxNews.com.
- ↑ Politi, Daniel (May 2, 2020). "Tara Reade Says She Didn't Write About Alleged Assault in Biden Senate Complaint". Slate. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ↑ Wulfsohn, Joseph A. "Tara Reade says 'creepy' voice messages, online harassment targeting her, family". Fox News. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ↑ Bykowicz, Julie. "Tara Reade Isn't Ready to Respond to Biden Sexual-Harassment Denial". WSJ. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ↑ Wulfsohn, Joseph A.; Olsen, Tyler. (April 28, 2020). "Tara Reade calls for release of Biden's Senate records: 'Why are they under seal?'". FoxNews.com.
- ↑ "PolitiFact: Tara Reade has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault. Here's what we know". Tampa Bay Times.
- ↑ "Tara Reade Emotionally Describes Aftermath of Alleged Assault Joe Biden Denies: 'I Wake Up Yelling "Stop" '". PEOPLE.com.
- ↑ Moreno, J. Edward (May 7, 2020). "1996 court document shows Tara Reade told ex-husband of harassment in Biden's Senate office". TheHill. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ↑ "Escaping abuse: Law school helped domestic violence survivor start new life". p. 34. Retrieved 12 May 2020 – via seattleu.edu.
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