A former staffer, Tara Reade, who made sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential race, has defected to Moscow and revealed her plan to obtain Russian citizenship. Reade shared with state media that she felt a sense of safety in Russia and decided to leave the United States due to threats she had received.
During the 2020 race, Reade’s accusations against then-candidate Biden garnered significant media attention. However, Biden vehemently denied the allegations, and no former Biden staffer has come forward to substantiate any claims of sexual misconduct during his time in the Senate office.
In a 2020 interview with MSNBC, Biden unequivocally stated, “It never, never happened. It didn’t. It never happened.”
Reade’s credibility faced scrutiny, including questions about her educational background and other credentials.
After remaining out of the spotlight for several years, Reade resurfaced in Moscow on Tuesday. During a news conference alongside Maria Butina, a convicted Kremlin spy, Reade fielded questions from Russian state media over an extended period. Butina expressed her intention to explore the possibility of granting Russian citizenship to Reade and pledged to raise the matter with President Vladimir Putin to expedite the citizenship process.
Butina, who had previously received an 18-month prison sentence in the United States for conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent, now serves in the Russian parliament under President Putin’s party.
Reade explained that she chose to come to Russia after facing death threats earlier this year when she reiterated her accusations against Biden and expressed her willingness to testify under oath in Congress if called upon.
“When I arrived in Moscow, I felt safe for the first time in a long while. I felt heard and respected, which hasn’t happened in my own country,” Reade stated.
The claims made by Reade regarding threats to her life could not be independently verified. Reade also criticised the portrayal of Russia as an enemy, stating that it is perpetuated by a select group of Washington elites who aim to create discord.—Agencies
