Tara Reade, the former aide to President Joe Biden who accused him of sexually assaulting her during his time in the U.S. Senate, has defected from her home nation and fled to Russia in a bid to seek citizenship and whistleblower protection.
Speaking from Russia, Reade recounted the hardships she has faced since publicly coming forward with her accusations during Biden’s 2020 campaign against then-President Donald Trump. Despite receiving initial media coverage, Reade was largely sidelined as voices in the #MeToo movement failed to take up her cause at a moment when liberals were singly focused on removing Trump from the White House.
“When I got off the plane in Moscow, for the first time in a very long time I felt safe and I felt heard and I felt respected and that has not happened in my own country,” said Reade.
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🚨BREAKING: Biden sexual assault accuser Tara Reade DEFECTS to Russia, seeks whistleblower protections
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 1, 2023
Reade shared her experience speaking with Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who she said feared for her safety on American soil.
“As a U.S. citizen, to hear a U.S. congressman basically say that they couldn’t protect me in a whistleblower case is stunning, and it makes me angry, and I want to say to my fellow American citizens that as these cases against all of us are coming forward that speak out, I want you to remember the U.S. Congress works for the U.S. citizens. They work for us. We don’t work for them. We need to take back our power. We need to take back our truth and be able to speak it without fear of reprisal or physical harm,” said Reade.
When the allegation first came to light, President Biden immediately denied their veracity. “It is not true. I’m saying unequivocally it never, never happened,” he said.
While no record of a complaint has been found from her time in Biden’s Senate office, records from her 1996 divorce show her ex-husband mentioning her complaints of sexual harassment in her workplace.