House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday that she was "satisfied" with Joe Biden's response to the sexual assault allegation against the presumptive Democratic nominee, even though he has not personally addressed the accusation.
"I'm a big, strong supporter of the MeToo movement," Pelosi told CNN on Thursday. "I think it's made a great contribution to our country, and I do support Joe Biden. I'm satisfied with how he has responded. I know him, I was proud to endorse him on Monday, very proud to endorse him, and so I'm satisfied with that."
Former Senate staffer Tara Reade accused Biden of forcibly penetrating her with his fingers in 1993. Biden's campaign staff has denied the charge, but the former vice president has yet to discuss the allegation. Biden conducted 19 interviews since Reade went public with the allegation on March 24 but has yet to face a single question about the accusation. Pelosi is one of several prominent Democratic supporters of Biden who previously called for survivors of sexual assault to be believed.
We must #BelieveSurvivors. I’m proud to stand with my Democratic colleagues in support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. pic.twitter.com/brXUZev23i
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 26, 2018
When CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota noted Biden had not directly spoken about the charge, Pelosi said it was a "matter he has to deal with."
"I am impressed with the people who worked for him at the time saying they've absolutely never heard one iota of information about this," Pelosi said. "Nobody ever brought forth a claim or had anybody else tell them about such a claim."
While Christine Blasey Ford's accusation of sexual assault in 2018 against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh lacked corroborating evidence, Pelosi said she believed her.
Reade was one of eight women who last year said Biden had touched her in ways that made her uncomfortable, but she did not make the more serious charge against Biden until a podcast interview in March. Friends and family members of Reade, however, recall her saying Biden harassed her at the time. Reade's former neighbor, Lynda LaCasse, told Business Insider on Monday that Reade told her in the mid-1990s about the assault.
The Biden campaign has circulated talking points to surrogates to point to an April 12 New York Times investigation of Reade's allegation as proof the assault did not occur. The Times said its report, however, made no conclusion as to the credibility of the charge.