Washington Post Editorial Board Calls On Biden to Directly Address Tara Reade Allegations
The Washington Post editorial board is calling on Joe Biden to directly address the allegation of sexual assault against him by former staffer Tara Reade.
A number of Democrats have been asked this week about Reade’s allegation. The Biden campaign has denied the allegations and, per BuzzFeed Newsper BuzzFeed News, sent out a list of talking points that says, among other things, “Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed. In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.”
The Times responded in a statement clarifyingclarifying, “Our investigation made no conclusion either way. As BuzzFeed correctly reported, our story found three former Senate aides whom Reade said she complained to contemporaneously, all of whom either did not remember the incident or said that it did not happen.”
Tonight the Post editorial board says that while “there may never be” clear conclusions with respect to Reade’s allegations, they argue a release of Biden’s records now (instead of when he “retires from public life”) would be in the public interest:
These could contain confirmation of any complaint Ms. Reade made, either through official congressional channels or to the three other employees she claims she informed not specifically of the alleged assault but more generally of harassment. They could also contain nothing of the sort. Insisting on an inventory doesn’t mean one believes Ms. Reade or doesn’t believe her. It signals only a desire for the public to know all that’s able to be known, which ought to be in everyone’s interest.
Regarding the candidate himself, the editorial board says he should “go before the media and the public ready to listen and to reply.”
