Reade alleges that the presumptive Democratic nominee sexually assaulted her in 1993, when she was a staff assistant for his Senate office.
The secretary of the Senate has rejected Joe Biden’s request to search for a record of a complaint lodged against him by a former staff assistant, Tara Reade, who has accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of sexual assault.
After consulting the Senate legal counsel, the secretary of the Senate said that under the statute governing the Senate Fair Employment Practices, Biden’s request would be denied.
„Senate Legal Counsel advises that the Secretary has no discretion to disclose any such information as requested in Vice President Biden’s letter of May 1,“ the secretary’s response said. The response cited the „strict confidentiality requirements“ of the law, as well as „the Senate’s own direction that disclosure of Senate Records is not authorized if prohibited by law.“ It is not yet clear whether Reade could request that her personnel records be released.
The Biden campaign, through attorney Bob Bauer, who is helping to lead the vetting of Biden’s running mates and who is the former White House counsel for President Obama, responded to the secretary to ask whether the mere existence of the records is „subject to the same prohibition on disclosure“ and whether the records could be disclosed to „anyone, such as a complainant.“ He also asked whether the Senate could release information about the way such complaints were taken in and processed in 1993.
Reade told CBS News that she and her daughter have been dealing with death threats in the last few days.
