When Tara Reade first accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexual misconduct, her claim was ignored by the #MeToo movement and the news coverage in the mainstream media was minimal, at best. But now, a new video from 1993 has surfaced that appears to give Reade’s claim a lot more credit, and it could mean the end of Biden’s chance at becoming the next President of the United States.
According to The Intercept, the video that has surfaced is from a segment on CNN’s Larry King Live – which ran from 1985 to 2010 – that featured an unnamed woman calling into the show to ask about the cutthroat world of Washington DC politics and the media outlets who don’t hold politicians accountable.
There’s more than enough evidence to show that this is a credible charge. If Biden really wants to restore America’s soul, he should end his campaign, release his delegates, and request an investigation.#DropOutBiden https://t.co/pbbK3viQ73
— Chris Richards 🐬🖖🏻 eclecticradical .bsky.social (@EclecticRadical) April 25, 2020
The segment aired on August 11, 1993, and the woman’s location was identified as San Luis Obispo, California. She called in to ask for advice about a situation that happened around the time that Reade claims Biden assaulted her.
“Yes, hello. I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington?” she asks. “My daughter has just left there after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.”
In response, King says: “In other words, she had a story to tell but out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?” The caller replies, “That’s true.”
In the video clip, the woman doesn’t name any names, she doesn’t mention sexual assault or harassment, and she never describes the “problems” her daughter was facing. However, in an interview with CNN on Friday, Reade says that the woman’s voice does belong to her late mother, Jeanette Altimus.
BOMBSHELL:
In 1993, Tara Reade’s mother reportedly called in to Larry King to blow the whistle
on her daughter being sexually assaulted by Joe Biden. #DropOutBiden pic.twitter.com/MzeZudFl55
— #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) April 25, 2020
“I’ve been crying because I haven’t heard my mom’s voice in a few years. So it’s been a little emotional,” Reade said. “I miss her. I miss her voice.”
CNN has also confirmed that Altimus lived in San Luis Obispo at the time of the phone call.
Biden’s campaign has refused to comment on the resurfaced video, and instead have referred the media to previous statements that denied Reade’s allegation of sexual assault.
Reade claims that when she was working as an aide in Biden’s Senate office, she was asked to deliver a duffle bag to the then-Delaware Senator. She says that in the hallway of a building in the Capitol Hill complex, Biden had her “against the wall,” and used his knee to “spread open” her legs. She then claims that Biden put his fingers “inside” her.
She also claims that when she pulled away from Biden, he told her: “Come on man. I heard – I thought you liked me.” Then, she says he got angry and told her she was “nothing.” She also claims that on the night of the alleged assault, she called her mom, who begged her to call the police. Reade didn’t call the cops, but she does remember her mother telling her that she wanted to call into Larry King Live.
No one wants Trump. No one wants Biden. The Dems have a problem. They propped up this RACIST RAPIST w their corporate greed while people went/go hungry, jobless, & healthcareless.
YOU did this @DNC. #DropOutBiden #IBelieveTaraReade pic.twitter.com/cRF35nyn98
— FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸 (@ShannaPersin) April 25, 2020
“I think what makes me emotional is that I was really hard on her and I said, ‘Why would you do that, it’s scary to me,'” Reade told CNN. “I had told her not to do that and she did and she did it on her own and I know now. I wish I could go back and I could hug her and say thank you for being a good mom and trying to protect me.”
Multiple women have publicly come forward claiming Biden has made them feel uncomfortable when interacting with them, but Reade’s claim is the first sexual assault accusation.
On Saturday, the Larry King Live clip was trending on Twitter along with the hashtag #DropOutBiden.
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