Biden accuser Tara Reade announces defection to Russia on Russian state TV

A woman who during the 2020 presidential campaign accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her announced on Tuesday that she was defecting to Russia.

Tara Reade made the announcement during a press conference on Russian state television in which she appeared with convicted spy Maria Butina.

Reade, who served as a Biden aide from 1992 to 1993, alleged that then-Senator Biden assaulted her in 1993 at a Capitol Hill office building.

Questions about Reade’s credibility surfaced in the months after she made her allegations against Biden public.

Biden has denied the allegations.

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere reports that Butina is using her influence as a Duma member to lobby Vladimir Putin to fast-track Reade’s citizenship.

“Russian state media announces that convicted Russian spy Maria Butina, now member of the Duma, is asking Putin to fast track Russian citizenship for Tara Reade, the woman whose accusation of sexual assault rocked the Biden campaign in 2020 - and who's now already in Russia,” Dover tweeted.