Former Biden Staffer Tara Reade Defects to Russia, Gives Interview to State Media

2023.05.31 Wed posted at 19:19 JST

（ＣＮＮ） Tara Reade, a former office staffer who attracted attention after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by US President Biden, has defected to Russia. In an hour-long interview with state media, she said she had received threats in the United States, among other things.

Before the 2020 presidential election, Reed accused Biden of being a likely Democratic nominee. He claimed he was sexually assaulted in 1993 while he was serving in his office in the Senate.

Biden has strongly denied this. There was no testimony from the former staff of the office to support the suspicion. Reed has since been accused of misrepresenting his education and credentials.

Reed, who has been out of the public eye in recent years, appeared in the Russian capital Moscow on Thursday for a press conference with Russian ruling party lawmaker Maria Butina. Butina is a former Russian agent who was sentenced to prison in the United States in 2019.

“When I landed in Moscow, I felt safe for the first time in a very long time. I felt that my voice was heard and that I was respected. I didn’t feel that way in my home country,” Reid said.

He said he decided to go to Russia earlier this year after receiving death threats and other threats after tweeting that he could testify before Congress about the charges against Biden.

CNN has not been able to independently confirm the death threats.

He also accused a small elite of U.S. political circles of propagating “illusions” that antagonize Russia.

At the press conference, Butina pledged to consider the possibility of granting citizenship to Reid and to seek preferential treatment from Putin.