The woman who says presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 called on him to withdraw from the 2020 election in a new interview, as she also declared that she would be willing to testify under oath and take a polygraph “if Joe Biden takes one.”
The woman, Tara Reade, also has retained a law firm that represents women who claim that they were victims of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, the fallen movie mogul whose serial abuse of women sparked the #MeToo movement, the CNBC reported.
Reade said in an interview with journalist Megyn Kelly that she wanted to tell Biden, who strongly denies her claim, “You and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable.′ ”
“You should not be running on character for the president of the United States,” Reade said in a brief portion of the interview posted Thursday on Twitter by Kelly, a former host of NBC’s “TODAY” show.
Asked by Kelly if she wants Biden to quit the race for the White House, Reade said, “I wish he would, but he won’t.”
“But I wish he would,” she said. “That’s how I feel emotionally.”
Asked if she wants an apology from Biden, Reade answered, “I think it’s a little late.”
In another section of the interview tweeted by Kelly, Reade said that she “absolutely” would be willing to testify under oath, and be subjected to cross-examination, about her claims regarding Biden.
She also said that she would be willing to take a polygraph, although she questioned the need for her to do so.
“I’m not a criminal. Joe Biden should take the polygraph,” Reade said.
“What kind of precedent does that set for survivors of violence? Does that mean we’re presumed guilty and we all have to take polygraphs?” Reade asked.
“So I will take one if Joe Biden takes one,” she added. “But I’m not a criminal.”
In an interview with Tampa Bay News 9 on Thursday, Biden was asked to react to Reade’s interview and her call for him to drop his bid to unseat President Donald Trump.
Biden said that “nothing ever happened with Reade.”
The former aide who has accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexual assault has been interviewed by Megyn Kelly, the one-time Fox News and NBC journalist who’s accustomed to a harsh media glare.
In Kelly, Reade turned to a television star without a television network. Kelly released a brief clip of the interview Thursday on her social media accounts with a fuller version expected within the next day or two.
“I think people will find it very compelling,” Kelly told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Kelly said she reached out to Reade recently because “the more I saw her, the more I felt for her.”
She believes Reade chose her to do the interview because Reade could identify with her.
“I know what it’s like to be at the center of a media storm,” Kelly said.
She’s had a few. She came under prolonged attack by then-candidate Donald Trump in 2015 for a question she asked in a Fox News presidential debate about his treatment of women. Kelly also accused the late Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment when she worked at the network; her allegations helped lead to his ouster.
She would leave Fox and become anchor of the third hour of “Today,” but her time at NBC was short-lived; Kelly was removed in 2018 after defending blackface Halloween costumes.
Lately she’s been more active on social media, and last year released online a discussion with other women who had worked at Fox, discussing their depictions in the movie “Bombshell,” about the Ailes’ allegations.
For the interview with Reade, she worked with former NBC producer Rich McHugh, who was Ronan Farrow’s producer when they pursued sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Like Farrow, McHugh left NBC News following a dispute over the network not using the Weinstein material.
