Former Vice President Joe Biden has not personally responded to a former staffer's allegations of sexual assault, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is still "satisfied with how he has responded."
Pelosi spoke to CNN on Thursday about former Biden staffer Tara Reade's allegation that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. Biden hasn't responded to the allegations himself, though the campaign denies them.
Asked if Biden should publicly and personally address the allegation, Pelosi said, "I do support Joe Biden. I'm satisfied with how he has responded. I know him. I was proud to endorse him." CNN's Alisyn Camerota noted, though, "To be clear, he hasn't addressed it. His campaign has addressed it, but he has not directly addressed it."
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Camerota then asked again, "Should he, directly, publicly, address it?" Pelosi dodged the question, saying "it's a matter that he has to deal with."
Biden has been facing calls to address Reade's allegation himself in recent days, with The Washington Post's editorial board recently writing that "the way to signal he takes Ms. Reade's case seriously, and the cases of women like her seriously, is to go before the media and the public ready to listen and to reply."
Biden's campaign has also been sending out talking points on how to address the Reade allegations, BuzzFeed News reported, which included a claim that The New York Times found that "this incident did not happen." The Times has clarified that this is not the case, with a spokesperson saying, "Our investigation made no conclusion either way." Brendan Morrow
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