Likely Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will address allegations of sexual assault against him on Friday during an appearance on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC. It will be the first time Biden has directly responded to the allegations.
Tara Reade, a former Biden staffer, has accused Biden of sexually assaulting her on Capitol Hill.
Reade told the Associated Press, "Biden pushed her against a wall in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building, groped her and penetrated her with his fingers." The alleged incident happened in 1993, Reade said.
Reade’s allegations have gained credence in recent days after a video surfaced from 1993 of a woman calling into “Larry King Live.”
The woman said, "I'm wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him."
Reade told CNN last week that she is certain the woman is her mother, Jeanette Altimus, who died several years ago.
Biden’s campaign has denied the allegations against him.
Biden became the likely presidential nominee of the Democratic Party earlier this month when rival Bernie Sanders dropped out of the race. Biden would be officially confirmed as the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention, now scheduled for August.