Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams defended Joe Biden against a sexual assault allegation from a former staffer.
Tara Reade has alleged that Biden pushed her up against a wall and penetrated her with his fingers when she worked as a staff assistant in his Senate office in 1993, but his campaign has vehemently denied the claim. In the time since Reade came forward, her brother, an unnamed friend, a former neighbor, and a former colleague have said they were told either about the assault or other harassment she experienced at the time.
Abrams, who has been actively campaigning for Biden’s vice presidential slot on the 2020 Democratic ticket, addressed Reade’s claims during a Tuesday night appearance on CNN with Don Lemon.
“I believe that women deserve to be heard, and I believe that they need to be listened to,” she explained. “But I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources. The New York Times did a deep investigation. And they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden. I believe that he is a person who has demonstrated that his love of family, his love of our community, has been made perfectly clear through his work as a congressional leader and as an American leader.”
She added, “I think that he is telling the truth and that this did not happen.”
Lemon then brought up Abrams’s 2018 comments about now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual misconduct by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. In an attempt to determine the validity of the accusation, both Kavanaugh and Ford testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The anchor noted that Abrams called Kavanaugh’s nomination “shameful” and asked if she is “applying a different standard now.”
“Not at all. I believe then, and I believe now, that women deserve to be heard because too often they are not, and Tara Reade deserved to have her story listened to and investigated,” Abrams said. “What was happening to Christine Blasey Ford was there was no investigation. There was a rush to move the conversation forward so that no investigation was conducted.”
“I believe his campaign has been very clear,” she added after Lemon asked if Biden needed to address the allegations publicly. “We don’t want women to ever be afraid to come forward. But we also have to recognize that allegations should be investigated and that those investigations need to be borne out.”
While Biden’s campaign has pushed back on the accusation, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has yet to address it publicly himself.
