WASHINGTON — The scrutiny surrounding an allegation of sexual assault in opposition to Joseph R. Biden Jr. intensified on Thursday, with the Democr
WASHINGTON — The scrutiny surrounding an allegation of sexual assault in opposition to Joseph R. Biden Jr. intensified on Thursday, with the Democratic Occasion’s highest-ranking officeholder expressing help for Mr. Biden’s presidential bid whereas Republicans weaponized the accusation to assault congressional Democrats as hypocritical.
As the 2 events took up sides, the Biden marketing campaign was discussing plans to extra forcefully and instantly deal with the allegation within the subsequent 24 to 48 hours, contemplating some form of interview the place Mr. Biden can communicate to the difficulty, in response to folks conversant in the plans.
Throughout her weekly information convention, Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to calm anxious Democrats, calling Mr. Biden an individual of “nice integrity” and saying that there have been no information or extra witnesses corroborating the account from Tara Reade, a former aide who labored in Mr. Biden’s Senate workplace within the early 1990s. Ms. Reade has accused Mr. Biden of assaulting her at a Senate constructing in 1993, an allegation the Biden marketing campaign says just isn’t true.
“I wish to take away all doubt in anybody’s thoughts: I’ve an important consolation stage with the scenario as I see it, with all due respect on the earth for any girl who comes ahead, with all the best regard for Joe Biden,” Ms. Pelosi advised reporters.
The speaker stated she had “full respect for the entire MeToo motion.” “There’s loads of pleasure round the concept girls will probably be heard and be listened to,” she stated. “There’s additionally due course of, and the truth that Joe Biden is Joe Biden.”
Her feedback got here as Republicans expanded their assaults in opposition to Mr. Biden, the get together’s presumptive nominee, in addition to a broad variety of Democratic candidates, calling them hypocritical on problems with sexual violence, harassment and gender inequality. Additionally they in contrast the way in which Democrats have responded to Ms. Reade’s allegation with their response to accusations of sexual assault in 2018 in opposition to Brett M. Kavanaugh throughout his Supreme Courtroom affirmation hearings.
Already, the Trump marketing campaign has signaled that it plans to make the allegation in opposition to Mr. Biden a central a part of its marketing campaign narrative, accusing him in a memo on Wednesday of “misrepresenting information reviews and his personal previous positions in an effort to place controversies to mattress or to stage expenses in opposition to the president.”
At a time when congressional Republicans and their strategists fear being dragged down by President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis, top party leaders see an opportunity to move the political conversation toward a focus on Mr. Biden.
Ms. Pelosi’s Republican counterpart, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader, quickly said her reasoning was insufficient.
“She’s being a hypocrite,” Mr. McCarthy said. “You can’t say one thing about every other time she has commented about any other accusation, and now say this is different.”
Republicans circulated remarks Ms. Pelosi made after the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh to underscore their point. In a statement at the time, Ms. Pelosi said that in declining to fully investigate the assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee, Senate Republicans had failed women across America.
“Senate Republicans chose to send a clear message to all women: Do not speak out, and if you do — do not expect to be heard, believed or respected,” she said at the time.
The National Republican Congressional Committee sought to turn down-ballot Democrats into collateral damage, firing off a flurry of emails attacking House candidates, including Representatives Cindy Axne of Iowa, Lucy McBath of Georgia and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.
“During the Kavanaugh hearings, Lucy McBath said, ‘I will not stay silent when women throughout this country are speaking out,’” one email said. “But so far, she’s stayed silent about Tara Reade who has accused Vice President Joe Biden of sexual assault. Will Lucy McBath be a leader and speak out for ALL women even when it doesn’t politically suit her?”
In an interview with Fox News, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said Mr. Biden should release his Senate papers to offer information that could shed light on the alleged assault. Mr. McConnell has not made a similar request of Mr. Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct by more than a dozen women, who have described behavior that went far beyond the allegation against Mr. Biden. Mr. Trump has also repeatedly denigrated women over their appearance and intellect.
“When you run for president of the United States, your life is an open book and I can’t imagine that Vice President Biden is not going to have to participate in releasing all of the information related to the allegations,” Mr. McConnell said. “It’s a very challenging thing to run for president. And I think everyone who’s done that has realized their entire life is opened up to scrutiny. And I think that’s happening to Vice President Biden and they shouldn’t be surprised.”
Mr. Biden’s Senate papers are housed at the University of Delaware but are not open to the public, according to Andrea Boyle Tippett, the university’s director of external relations.
“We are currently curating the collection, a process that we estimate will carry at least into the spring of 2021,” she said in an email. “As the curating process is not complete, the papers are not yet available to the public, and we are not able to identify what documents or files can be found within the collection.”
She confirmed that members of the Biden campaign had gained access to the collection, as reported by Business Insider, but she said that no one from the campaign had looked at the papers since Ms. Reade’s allegations surfaced on March 25.
As Republicans stepped up their attacks, Mr. Biden and his campaign have not addressed the issue publicly. Their silence has raised questions among some Democrats about the agility of his campaign operation and its ability to navigate what is widely expected to be a heated and deeply divisive presidential campaign this fall.
The Biden campaign has told allies that it does not believe the issue is affecting how voters view Mr. Biden and his character. Since Ms. Reade’s allegation surfaced, Mr. Biden has not been asked about it in any interviews. The Biden campaign has not made him available for an interview with The New York Times.
The issue did not come up on Thursday during a virtual event Mr. Biden held on Instagram with the soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
Jonathan Martin contributed reporting.