Media double standard on full display with Biden accuser?
Joe Biden accuser Tara Reade blasts the media's silence on her sexual assault allegations; 'Justice on Trial' author Carrie Severino reacts.
Tara Reade, the woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, is calling on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to release the records from his 36 years as a senator, which are currently inaccessible to the public and are kept at the University of Delaware. Biden's campaign has denied that he sexually assaulted Reade.
"I'm calling for the release of the documents being held by the University of Delaware that contain Biden's staff personnel records because I believe it will have my complaint form, as well as my separation letter and other documents," Reade told Fox News on Tuesday. "Maybe if other staffers that have tried to file complaints would come to light -- why are they under seal? And why won't they be released to the public?"
The Daily Caller first reported Reade's calls for the release of the documents.
BIDEN SILENT ON TARA READE SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATION, AS DENIALS COME FROM CAMPAIGN
Fox News on Tuesday asked the University of Delaware for access to the Biden records. The university refused, saying that the papers will not be released until two years after Biden retires.
"The collection of former Vice President Biden's senatorial papers is still being processed, with many items yet to be cataloged," an email from a school spokeswoman said. "The entire collection will remain closed to the public until two years after Mr. Biden retires from public life."
Fox News reached out to the Biden campaign asking if Biden would authorize the release of the records but did not immediately receive a response.
Biden himself has not addressed the Reade allegations but his deputy campaign manager has issued a statement.
"What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen," Kate Bedingfield said.
"Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women," she continued. "He authored and fought for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard -- and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press."
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Reade previously had accused Biden of inappropriate touching last year before her story resurfaced in an article in The Intercept on March 24. Podcast host Katie Halper then interviewed Reade, which is when she made the more serious allegation that Biden "penetrated me with his fingers and he was kissing me at the same time and he was saying some things to me."
Reade previously has said she raised concerns internally at the time about Biden’s conduct, and felt she was pushed out.
Marianne Baker, former executive assistant to then-Senator Biden, rejected the allegations in a statement provided by the Biden campaign. “I have absolutely no knowledge or memory of Ms. Reade’s accounting of events, which would have left a searing impression on me as a woman professional, and as a manager,” she said.
Reade previously vocally supported Biden's primary opponent Bernie Sanders' campaign.
Reade's story has been further corroborated since her initial interview with Halper, with The New York Times reporting that two of her friends remembered her speaking about the alleged assault. Further, a video resurfaced last week of a woman Reade claims is her mom calling in to "Larry King Live" in 1993 and alluding to her daughter's "problems" working for a prominent senator. The woman on the call never explicitly spoke about sexual assault and never used Biden's name.
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