Democrats have spent a month trying to sweep the sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden under the rug.
But now? His accuser, Tara Reade, has a smoking gun.
Tara Reade, who worked for Joe Biden’s Senate office on Capitol Hill, claimed that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993. Reade also says that she told her brother, a friend, and her mom about the attack right after it happened. Reade’s mother died in 2016, but both her brother and friend (who has asked to remain anonymous) corroborated her story. Reade’s former next-door neighbor and a former coworker both also came forward on their own to say that Reade had told them about being sexually assaulted on Capitol Hill and fired for reporting the assault.
But Reade’s late mother might wind up being the smoking gun, after Reade mentioned in an interview that her mom had called into CNN’s “Larry King Live” 27 years ago to discuss what had happened to her daughter.
“I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help? I was mortified,” Reade said, in an interview with The Intercept’s Ryan Grim.
Reade wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly when the call was made–but, after Grim mentioned it on a podcaster, a listener did some digging and found the exact episode from 1993.
King greets the anonymous caller, “San Luis Obispo, California: hello!” Reade’s mother at the time lived in San Luis Obispo, a small town of just 40,000 residents.
“Yes, hello,” said the caller, whom Reade later confirmed was her mother’s voice. “I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.”
“In other words, she had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?” King clarified.
“That’s true,” said Reade’s mother.
Panelists on King’s show didn’t offer any direct advice, pivoting topics soon after.
The 27-year-old call gives huge credibility to Reade’s claims. Biden has not yet come forward with a statement on Reade’s account, though his campaign has said they’re false.
Despite Reade’s credible allegations, Democrats have continued to rally around Biden. On Monday morning, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally gave her endorsement to the former VP, calling him “the personification of integrity.”