The secretary of the Senate on Monday declined Joe Biden’s request to release any records pertaining to an allegation of sexual assault against him by former aide Tara Reade.
The former vice president made the request on Friday, following his first public statements on Reade’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a Senate hallway in 1993 when she worked for him.
Secretary of the Senate Julie Adams said the chamber has “no discretion to disclose any such information,” citing confidentiality requirements under the law.
The Biden campaign followed up by asking if the secretary could disclose whether the records exist; if there is anyone else, such as Reade, who could request the related documents; and if the Senate could release any procedures used by the office that would have overseen such a complaint on Capitol Hill in the 1990s.
Reade has said she filed a complaint with the congressional personnel office in 1993 that described her concerns about Biden. She told the Associated Press on Friday that she did not use the words “sexual harassment” or “sexual assault” in the complaint.
Biden has strenuously denied the allegation.
With Post wires