Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand reaffirmed her support for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden despite allegations from a former congressional staffer who claims he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s.
“I stand by Vice President Biden,” Gillibrand said during a conference call with reporters, according to an NBC News reporter. “He’s devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation.”
Tara Reade, who worked for Biden when he was a senator, alleges that when she met Biden in private one day, he pushed her against a wall and assaulted her under her skirt.
Biden has not addressed the allegation personally, but his campaign called Reade’s claims “untrue.”
“What is clear about this claim: It is untrue. This absolutely did not happen,” said Kate Bedingfield, a campaign spokeswoman.
This week, a woman who says she was once Reade’s neighbor came forward, claiming Reade told her about the alleged assault after it happened.
“I remember her saying, here was this person that she was working for, and she idolized him,” the neighbor, Lynda LaCasse, said. “And he kind of put her up against a wall. And he put his hand up her skirt, and he put his fingers inside her. She felt like she was assaulted, and she really didn’t feel there was anything she could do.”
Gillibrand has been a champion of women’s rights during her time in Congress, and while she ran against Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2020 was dubbed the “#MeToo candidate” by some in the media.
During the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Gillibrand said she believed Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct weeks before he was set to be confirmed by Congress. Kavanaugh denied Blasey Ford’s allegations.
“One credible sexual assault claim should have been too many to get a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and make decisions that will affect millions of women’s lives for generations,” Gillibrand said in 2018.
Gillibrand was also among the loudest critics of Sen. Al Franken, who resigned from his seat in 2018 after a woman accused him of sexual misconduct.
“There is no prize for someone who tries to hold accountable a powerful man who is good at his day job,” she said about the allegations against Franken. “But we should have the courage to do it anyway.”
