Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked in his Senate office more than a quarter-century ago, has filed a criminal complaint against him.
“I filed a police report for safety reasons only. All crim stats beyond limitations. Gratitude for all who have stood by me,” Reade said in a tweet on Friday evening, which she filed Thursday with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
Business Insider first reported the criminal complaint.
The filing represents an escalation of Reade’s allegations. It is illegal to file a false criminal incident report knowingly.
Reade, 48, first publicly accused the former vice president of sexual assault in a left-wing podcast last month run by a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden’s final rival for the 2020 Democratic nomination who dropped out of the race on Wednesday. She previously only said that she had been on the receiving end of sexual remarks and uncomfortable interactions with him when she worked in his Senate office in 1993. But now, Reade says that one day in 1993, the then-senator ran his hand underneath her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers after she was asked to give him a gym bag.
Biden’s campaign has issued a blanket denial of the allegations.
“Women have a right to tell their story, and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims. We encourage them to do so because these accusations are false,” Biden spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said.
The former vice president’s campaign also provided a statement from Marianne Baker, executive assistant to Biden from 1982 to 2000, who said, “In all my years working for Sen. Biden, I never once witnessed, or heard of, or received, any reports of inappropriate conduct, period — not from Ms. Reade, not from anyone.”
