Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is backing Joe Biden for president, but that doesn’t mean she is letting him off the hook completely for the sexual assault allegations the former vice president is facing.
During a Tuesday appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Ilhan said she will support Biden, but also thinks it is important to believe survivors of sexual assault.
During the interview, the lawmaker answered questions about an interview published in the Sunday Times of London where she said she believed Tara Reade. Reade, a former Senate aide to Biden, accused her former boss of sexual assault when she worked for him.
Omar back tracked on her statements to the London publication slightly. She said the interview was several weeks old. She did not take a firm stance on whether she still believes all aspects of Reade's allegations. Instead, she said she will back Biden and push the concept of creating a safe space for survivors to speak out.
"There's obviously parts of what she has said that have been corroborated and parts that haven't, that is not my place to litigate her story," Omar said of Reade's allegations against Biden. "I think it's important when someone says they have been assaulted and they see themselves as survivors that we, as we have been saying, believe survivors."
Biden has repeatedly denied Reade’s claims.
Omar also promoted her new book, "This is What America Looks Like", which was released Tuesday.
The book highlights her path to Congress. It starts with the outbreak of war in her Somalian hometown and follows her life all the way to her time serving in the U.S. Capitol.
"Reliving those moments and getting the opportunity to tell these stories in my book has both been difficult and therapeutic," Omar told Good Morning America. "I realize now that going through something like that and facing death at such a young age, I am transformed into someone who really doesn't have the patience to sit around and expect someone to come and save me, but to work and create a life that is purposeful in pursuing peace and justice around the world."
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