A New York Times spokesperson said Wednesday that former Vice President Joe Biden’s White House campaign twisted their reporting on Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations and claimed an exoneration that the paper never suggested.
In a statement to BuzzFeed, who first reported on the talking points, the Times said the Biden campaign’s characterization of its reporting was “inaccurate.” The talking points claim the paper ruled that Reade’s story “did not happen,” which the statement rebuts: “Our investigation made no conclusion either way,” it states.
A New York Times spokesperson says Biden campaign talking points “inaccurately” suggest that the Times investigation found that Tara Reade’s allegation “did not happen.” Response to this scoop from @rubycramer @RosieGray https://t.co/ZUD6f2WSEE pic.twitter.com/LNaHvH0ZxF
— Jonathan Easley (@JonEasley) April 29, 2020
BuzzFeed reported Wednesday while Biden has yet to publicly address Reade’s allegation, his campaign has urged surrogates to push back on reports by simply saying they “did not happen.”
“Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed,” the talking points read, according to the news outlet. “In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen.”