Former Vice President Joe Biden vehemently denied the allegation of sexual assault against him in a written statement Friday morning.
“I recognize my responsibility to be a voice, an advocate, and a leader for the change in culture that has begun but is nowhere near finished,” Biden wrote in the statement. “So I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago.”
“They aren’t true. This never happened,” he continued.
This marked Biden’s first time directly addressing the allegation. (RELATED: Here Are 5 People Who Have Corroborated Details Of Tara Reade’s Accusation Against Joe Biden)
Full Biden statement: pic.twitter.com/CNUHFJhaAL
— Philip Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) May 1, 2020
Biden’s statement came just ahead of his much-anticipated interview Friday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” where he is expected to address former Senate staffer Tara Reade’s allegation on-air for the first time. Reade accused Biden of sexually assaulting her when he was a senator from Delaware back in the early 1990s.
The former vice president also addressed the issue of records during his time as a senator. Biden said that he will instruct the Senate to go in and look through the files at the National Archives to find any complaint Reade allegedly issued against him in 1993.
Biden said that this complaint would be made public should it be found. Reade says she made the complaint, but does not have a copy of it.