Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is weighing in on allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden (D).
Tara Reade, a former aide to Biden, came forward alleging he assaulted her in 1993, as IJR previously reported.
She initially filed a harassment complaint at the time of the incident, but did not say she was assaulted.
Other women have also accused Biden of inappropriately touching them.
Ocasio-Cortez recognized the significance of focusing the conversation on the sexual assault accusation against Biden during an interview with The Wing, a community space and networking organization for women, according to CBS News.
“I think it’s legitimate to talk about these things. And if we want, if we again want to have integrity, you can’t say, you know — both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you, until it inconveniences us,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Reade responded to the lawmaker’s comments in a tweet.
“Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is literally the first member of Congress to address publicly what happened to me when I worked for Joe Biden. Thank you [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez],” Reade tweeted.
Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is literally the first member of Congress to address publicly what happened to me when I worked for Joe Biden. Thank you @AOC https://t.co/TuN43vpQKq
— Tara Reade 🐎 (@ReadeAlexandra) April 15, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez went on to explain that it is not appropriate to solely focus on beating President Donald Trump in the November election over discussing sensitive issues such as these allegations.
Ocasio-Cortez referenced the #MeToo movement explaining these allegations are revisiting the height of it.
“I think a lot of us are just in this moment where it’s like, how did we get here? You know, it almost felt like we started this cycle where we had kind of moved on from, you know, from all of this. And now it feels like we’re kind of back in it. And, you know, the most diverse field that we’ve ever seen — that we’re kind of back kind of replaying old movies in a way.”
Biden’s campaign responded to the sexual assault allegation, saying in a statement, “He firmly believes that women have a right to be heard — and heard respectfully. Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: it is untrue.”
Ocasio-Cortez has not come out with an official endorsement for Biden yet. She previously stated she would support Biden if he became the Democratic nominee, as IJR previously reported.
Politico is reporting Ocasio-Cortez is in touch with Biden’s campaign.
.@AOC tells @politico her team is in touch w/ @JoeBiden's campaign, but no official endorsement from her yet
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) April 15, 2020
"I don't think the former vice president's climate change plan is sufficient…we definitely need to work on that," she adds
“I don’t think the former vice president’s climate change plan is sufficient… we definitely need to work on that,” Ocasio-Cortez told Politico.