Biden Accuser Tara Reade Is 'Angry' She's Being Ignored by Republicans

Tara Reade, who claims she was sexually assaulted by President Joe Biden and has lived in Russia for nearly a year, continues to seek aid from House Republicans who can provide her an outlet to publicly testify her complaints under oath.

Reade, who served as a Biden aide when he represented Delaware as a U.S. senator, made headlines during his 2020 presidential campaign when she filed a criminal complaint with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department alleging that he pushed her against the wall in a Senate corridor in 1993 and penetrated her with his fingers. The president strongly denied the accusations and continues to do so.

The reaction to her complaint ultimately led her to seek refuge in Moscow in May 2023. As of December, she was granted asylum in an expedited process, but remains intent on wanting to share the totality of her story and allegations with Republicans—though interest in making the testimony a public spectacle has seemingly waned.

"I'm angry that nobody is helping me," Reade, who describes herself as a political independent, told Newsweek via phone last week from her Moscow residence.

A letter was sent by Reade's attorney, Jonathan Levy, on March 21 to Ohio Republican Representative Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The letter, which was shared by Reade and Levy with Newsweek, explains Reade's intent to testify remotely from any mutually agreeable location regarding her experiences "as the target of an unconstitutional FBI special operation to silence her.

Newsweek reached out to Jordan via email for comment.

White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates referred Newsweek to comments he made about Reade last year to Fox News Digital when she attempted to become a Russian citizen, saying: "I won't attempt to speak for an aspiring Russian citizen, the convicted Russian spy who's sponsoring her, or the foreign government with which she has chosen to align."

Reade said that Republican members of Congress including Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace have previously communicated with her or expressed support towards her claims against Biden. But aside from "liking" social media posts, there has been "no direct communication, no reach out."

Last year, Reade said that Gaetz's office was working with her to tell her story to the masses. It never came to fruition and he cut off contact, leaving her "disappointed" at the time.

Now, she says it's unclear whether she will ever get an opportunity to testify about Biden—notably ahead of his reelection bid.

"I feel like it's on the backburner, but maybe in the immediate future something will happen, something will give," she said. "Matt Gaetz was good to me, so was Marjorie Taylor Greene. But maybe for another reason, me being in Russia, that's a problem."

Reade added: "My case is kind of a bargaining chip. I'm sort of a piece on a chess board being moved around a bit by those in power, but I'm not sure. I'm getting reach outs from those who are with powerful Republicans and say they will seek justice for me, then I don't hear from them."

Newsweek has also contacted Gaetz, Greene and Mace for comment via email.

In December, a new civil rights complaint was filed to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) on Reade's behalf. It sought an investigation into FBI practices that resulted in her, described within as a whistleblower victim of sexual assault with no criminal background or monetary motivation, "becoming the target" of a federal grand jury investigation and California criminal investigation "even after she requested FBI protection from death threats."

The complaint, which was not a lawsuit, alleged that Reade's First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated.

The request was followed by a lawsuit filed against the FBI earlier this year, claiming that Reade was investigated by the federal government as part of the Operation Cassandra during her years as a resident of California (2019-2021), Oregon (2021-2023) and Washington (2023) "in order to retaliate, intimidate, discredit and if possible, eliminate her as a threat to President Biden was investigated."

The suit, which began with a tort claim and provides the federal government with six months to respond, also seeks an investigation of the extent of the purported FBI surveillance, including search and seizure activities such as applications and issuances of subpoenas and warrants targeting Reade and her social media, communications and financial accounts, in addition to disclosure and copies of all records and information associated with her surveillance under her First Amendment rights.

All FBI records related to Reade are also requested to be expunged.

Levy told Newsweek via phone last week that he has not received any response from the IG or FBI.

"Maybe they're too busy to respond to stuff or maybe they don't want to deal with this," he said.

The newest letter to Jordan and his committee is a way for the FBI to publicly acknowledge complaints or turn over records, Levy added, saying that "a congressional subpoena might really break the log jam there."

"It's unusual but consistent with my client's position all along," he said. "She just wants to tell her story, first and foremost. Regardless of the tort claim, she wants to testify under oath. She has been accused of being an agent, liar, perjurer. She wants to be sworn in."

The letter to the subcommittee also makes reference to adult film star Stormy Daniels and E. Jean Carroll, both of whom have been legally entangled with presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Daniels alleged she had an affair with the former president back in 2006, a year after he married Melania Trump. She's at the center of a criminal trial in New York involving the former president, who is accused of arranging for his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to give Daniels $130,000 as hush money during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has maintained his innocence and has denied having an affair with Daniels.

In January, Trump was ordered in January to pay $83.3 million to Carroll, a former Elle columnist, for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. A separate jury last year awarded Carroll $5 million from Trump for sexual abuse and defamation. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the cases were politically motivated.

"Unlike Stormy Daniels and E. Jean Carroll, Tara reported the sexual assault by President Biden when it occurred and it was contemporaneously documented in 1993 by congressional investigators," the letter reads. "The records, however, remain sealed and locked at the behest of President Biden."

Levy said it's "obvious" why Daniels and Carroll have gained notoriety, describing affinity towards their accounts as "unofficial sponsorship" by Biden supporters. Reade's claims were not taken as seriously and led to her being victimized and not telling the entirety of her own story, he added.

"Frustrated is how I feel about the whole investigation, especially when I watch things like Stormy Daniels getting a documentary and prancing on The View," Reade said. "You know, she's a porn star and acting like she's a victim. It's disgusting.

"[Carroll's] joking around how she's gonna spend her money from Trump. I won't question the veracity of her claim. It makes it more difficult to be taken seriously about something that really affected my life. The sexual assault that happened to me didn't just end in trauma, it ended my career."

Update 03/25/24, 1:07 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from the White House.