- House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi issued a strong statement of support forJoe Biden after Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her in 1993. - Biden's campaign has repeatedly denied Reade's assault allegation.
- "I have complete respect for the whole #MeToo movement," Pelosi said, after telling a reporter she doesn't need a "lecture" on the issue.
- "There's also due process and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden."
- Pelosi praised Biden's record and character, calling him "a person of great values," and said she has "great comfort" in the situation.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a strong statement of support for Joe Biden after Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer, accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her in 1993.
Pelosi said that while she supports victims of sexual misconduct coming forward to tell their stories, she believes Biden over his accuser. She pointed to the fact that other staffers in Biden's Senate office had no recollection of a sexual harassment complaint Reade said she made before she says she was fired from her post in retaliation.
Pelosi also said she didn't want a "lecture" from a reporter who asked her why she wasn't calling for a full investigation of Reade's claims, as many
"I have complete respect for the whole #MeToo movement," Pelosi said. "There's also due process and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden."
Pelosi praised Biden's record and character, calling him "a person of great values," and said she has "great comfort" in the situation.
"I am so proud — the happiest day for me this week was to support Joe Biden for president of the United States," she added. "He's a person of great integrity, of great concern for the American people, he authored the Violence Against Women's Act."
—CSPAN (@cspan) April 30, 2020
Last month, former Biden aide Tara Reade alleged that the then-senator put his hands up her skirt and digitally penetrated her without consent in a Senate hallway in 1993. Reade alleged last year that Biden inappropriately touched her neck, shoulders, and hair while she worked in his office in 1993.
Biden's campaign has repeatedly denied Reade's assault allegations. Former aides who worked in Biden's Senate office alongside Reade have said they have no recollection of her complaints, which she says she brought to multiple aides.
Pelosi also told CNN during a Thursday morning interview that she's been "satisfied" with Biden's response to the allegations.
"It's a matter that he has to deal with. But I am impressed with the people who worked with him at the time saying that they absolutely never heard one iota of information about this. Nobody ever brought forth a claim or had anybody tell them about such a claim," Pelosi said.
Other prominent Democrats, including women's rights champion Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, are also standing by Biden.
—The Hill (@thehill) April 30, 2020Read the original article on Business Insider