Secretary of the Senate says it can't release Tara Reade documents

The secretary of the Senate will not be releasing information related to a complaint Tara Reade says she made against former Vice President Joe Biden as he requested.

Biden last week after breaking his silence on the allegation from Reade, a former staffer, that he sexually assaulted her in 1993, requested that the secretary of the Senate release any documents related to a complaint she says she made. Biden, who denied the allegation, had requested a search of the National Archives but told the secretary of the Senate, "the Archives now states that the records would have remained under the control of the Senate." Biden requested the release of "not only a complaint if one exists, but any and all other documents in the records that relate to the allegation."

On Monday, however, the secretary of the Senate responded to Biden's request saying the office has "no discretion to disclose" the information, Axios reports. The statement cited "strict confidentiality requirements."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Reade says she filed a complaint against Biden with the Senate personnel office in the 1990s, although she says the complaint did not mention assault. Biden said in regard to the allegation last week, "It is not true. I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened. And it didn't. It never happened." The Biden campaign on Monday responded to the Senate secretary with several questions, including if there is anyone to whom the records could be disclosed legally.