Democrat presidential frontrunner Joe Biden has denied he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, addressing the allegation publicly for the first time under increasing pressure from his party to speak about it.
Democrat presidential frontrunner Joe Biden has denied he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, addressing the allegation publicly for the first time under increasing pressure from his party to speak about it.
«I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago,» Mr Biden said in a written statement released by his campaign. «They aren’t true. This never happened.»
The statement was released shortly before Mr Biden was to appear on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’.
Mr Biden also called on the National Archives to release any record of a complaint the woman says she filed.
«If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there,» he said.
He attempted to show solidarity with the #MeToo movement even as he firmly repudiated the accusations from former Senate aide Tara Reade, who claims he reached under her skirt and penetrated her 27 years ago.
«While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated.
«One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced.
