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XPost: us.politics.elections
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/30/politics/nancy-pelosi-joe-biden-
tara-reade-
cnntv/index.html
Washington (CNN)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated Thursday
she's
"satisfied" with how Joe Biden has responded to a sexual assault
allegation from a former Senate staffer despite mounting calls
for the
presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to more directly
address the
issue.
Pelosi told MSNBC two weeks ago that she was "satisfied" with
Biden's
response to Tara Reade's allegation that he sexually assaulted
her in 1993
when she was an aide in his Senate office, but in the meantime,
Biden has
faced increasing pressure to personally address the claim, which
has been
denied by his campaign.
"Well, I have great sympathy for any women who bring forth an
allegation,"
Pelosi told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day" Thursday. "I'm a
big,
strong supporter of the 'Me Too' movement. I think it has been a
great --
made a great contribution to our country. And I do support Joe
Biden. I'm
satisfied with how he has responded."
Asked if Biden should directly address the allegation, Pelosi
replied,
"You know, it's a matter that he has to deal with."
"But I am impressed with the people who worked for him at the
time saying
they absolutely never heard one iota of information about this,
nobody
ever brought forth a claim or had anybody else tell them about
such a
claim," said Pelosi, who had endorsed Biden on Monday.
Questions related to Reade's allegation pose a challenging
balancing act
for some Biden supporters and surrogates, who have praised his
candidacy
and character but do not want to dismiss a sexual assault
allegation.
CNN reported on Tuesday that Reade's ex-neighbor said Reade told
her about
the alleged assault in the mid-1990s, and a newly surfaced 1993
video
appears to feature the mother of Reade calling into "Larry King
Live" to
seek advice around the time of the alleged assault about how to
handle
"problems" her daughter had while working for a prominent US
senator.
Deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield previously released a
statement
saying Reade's claim is "untrue" and "absolutely did not happen."
"Vice President Biden has dedicated his public life to changing
the
culture and the laws around violence against women. He authored
and fought
for the passage and reauthorization of the landmark Violence
Against Women
Act. He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard --
and heard
respectfully," Bedingfield said. "Such claims should also be
diligently
reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this
claim: it is
untrue. This absolutely did not happen."
In addition to the statement from Bedingfield, the Biden
campaign also
shared a statement from Marianne Baker, Biden's executive
assistant in the
1980s and 1990s when he was a senator.
"In all my years working for Senator Biden, I never once
witnessed, or
heard of, or received, any reports of inappropriate conduct,
period -- not
from Ms. Reade, not from anyone. I have absolutely no knowledge
or memory
of Ms. Reade's accounting of events, which would have left a
searing
impression on me as a woman professional, and as a manager,"
Baker said.
"These clearly false allegations are in complete contradiction
to both the
inner workings of our Senate office and to the man I know and
worked so
closely with for almost two decades."
CNN's MJ Lee and Arlette Saenz contributed to this report.
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