Biden Sex Attack Accuser Urges Him to Quit Race
In
an interview, Tara Reade said in a message to Mr Biden: "Please step
forward and be held accountable."
She
added: "You should not be running on character for the president of the
United States."
Mr
Biden, who is likely to challenge President Donald Trump in November, has
denied Ms Reade's allegation.
The
Democratic party's presumptive presidential nominee appeared on morning
television last Friday to brand the allegations "false"
Ms Reade, 56, worked
as a staff assistant to Mr Biden from 1992 to 1993, when he was a senator for
the US state of Delaware.
She
has said that in 1993 he forced her against a wall and put his hands under her
shirt and skirt, penetrating her with a finger, after she delivered him his gym
bag.
"I
remember him saying, first, as he was doing it 'Do you want to go somewhere
else?' and then him saying to me, when I pulled away... he said 'Come on man, I
heard you liked me,'" Ms Reade told podcast host Katie Halper in March.
"That
phrase stayed with me."
In a clip from the
interview released on Thursday, Ms Reade was asked by host Megyn Kelly if she
wanted Mr Biden to withdraw from the race.
"I
wish he would, but he won't, but I wish he would," she said. "That's
how I feel emotionally."
Ms Reade said:
"His campaign is taking this position that they want all women to be able
to speak safely. I have not experienced that."
She
said that she had received a death threat after Biden supporters accused her
without evidence of being a Russian agent.
"It's
been stunning how - some of his surrogates with the blue checks [verified
identities] - you know, his surrogates have been saying really horrible things
about me and to me on social media," said Ms Reade.
"He
hasn't himself, but there is a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying
it's been safe - it's not been safe.
"All
of my social media has been hacked, all of my personal information has been
dragged through.
"Every
person that maybe has a gripe against me, maybe an ex-boyfriend or an ex
landlord or whatever it is has been able to have a platform rather than
me."
Ms
Reade recently said she had received no offers from the main TV networks -
apart from Fox News - to tell her story.
Megyn
Kelly, a former Fox and NBC presenter, is not currently signed with any TV
network, and posts interviews to her self-branded social media channels.
Some Republicans are
seizing on the Reade accusation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only
defend women when their claims of wrongdoing are aimed at conservatives.
Mr
Trump himself has faced a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations, which he
also denies. He once boasted of grabbing women by the genitals.
However,
the Democrats have much more strongly supported the #MeToo movement, which
backs women who make accusations of sexual assault and calls for their stories
to be heard.
Women
are a core constituency for the party, traditionally giving more votes to
Democratic candidates than Republicans.
Some liberal women have said they believe Tara Reade but will
vote for Mr Biden anyway because they view Mr Trump as much worse.
FROM .bbc.com/news/world-us-canada
No comments