Former Senate aide Tara Reade, who accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993, told Newsmax on Friday that the national press worked to discredit and bury her allegations during the 2020 presidential campaign.
But she added that the media are aggressively spotlighting the women now accusing former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., of misconduct.
This disparity, Reade said, reflects a pattern of Democrats and allied media deciding which accusers deserve a hearing based on political utility.
Reade's comments on "Finnerty" came as the Swalwell story dominated news coverage and leading Democrats moved to distance themselves from the former lawmaker.
Swalwell resigned from Congress on Tuesday after five women, including a former staffer, accused him of sexual misconduct or rape, and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office opened a criminal investigation into one alleged incident in a New York hotel room, according to Fox News.
Swalwell, who had been a leading Democrat candidate for California governor, denied the allegations, calling them a political hit job.
Reade said her 1993 assault occurred in a hallway near the U.S. Capitol after she was asked to deliver a gym bag to Biden, then a senator from Delaware. She said she pushed him away and he grew visibly angry.
"I knew right then that my career was over," she said, adding that she was fired after filing a complaint with the Senate. Reade said the complaint is sealed at the University of Delaware, which houses Biden's Senate papers.
She said Biden made a crude sexual remark before the encounter and, as he pulled away, told her: "You're nothing to me. You're nothing."
Reade said she came forward publicly in 2020, believing institutional support existed through the #MeToo movement and Time's Up.
Instead, she said, Anita Dunn was already working for Biden's operation while Reade was trying to reach Time's Up, collecting more than $1 million before taking a senior White House adviser role.
Federal Election Commission records show Biden's campaign paid Dunn's firm, SKDKnickerbocker, millions during the 2020 cycle, and Dunn joined the White House as a senior adviser in 2021, according to Reuters.
Time's Up ceased operations in January 2023 after its leaders were found to have advised New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's team as he faced harassment allegations, according to The Associated Press.
"The Me Too movement was a complete fraud," Reade said.
Reade also said then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was briefed in 2019 about concerns involving Swalwell and took no action.
She argued that Democrats distanced themselves from Swalwell only after he became politically inconvenient, pointing to the Getty family, longtime donors to Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., as backing him in preparation for a 2028 presidential run.
Reade said pressure from the Justice Department and FBI after Biden took office drove her to leave the country. She said she sought political asylum in Russia, where she now works for RT, the Kremlin-funded broadcaster.
Biden denied Reade's allegation in May 2020, telling MSNBC, "This never happened."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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