Tara Reade, an American woman who accused US President Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her, has traveled to Moscow and is now seeking Russian citizenship. In an interview with a state-run Russian news outlet, Reade, 59, expressed feeling safe in Russia and expressed her desire to stay there.
Reade alleged that Biden assaulted her while she was working in his congressional office in 1993. President Biden vehemently denied the allegation, stating that it unequivocally never happened. Reade previously worked as an assistant to Biden when he was a senator for Delaware. Her accusations gained attention during Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, where she claimed that he assaulted her in a Capitol Hill corridor when she was 29 years old, accusing him of forcibly pressing her against a wall and touching her inappropriately.
Reade stated to The Guardian during her interview with Sputnik that upon arriving in Moscow, she felt safe, heard, and respected for the first time in a long while. She mentioned leaving the US due to a Republican politician’s warning that she was in physical danger.
Reade expressed her intention to apply for Russian citizenship from President Vladimir Putin while also hoping to retain her US citizenship. In 2019 and 2020, Reade was one of several women who came forward accusing Biden of inappropriate touching, hugging, or kissing. Although she claimed to have filed a complaint, no record of it has been found, and it remains unclear if her allegation was formally investigated.
A spokesperson for President Biden acknowledged the right of women to be heard but emphatically stated that the alleged incident did not occur.
