As a sexual assault allegation against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden continues to linger as an issue, some Democrats are ready to move on, citing Bidenâs denial.Â
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she believes Bidenâs accuser, Tara Reade, should be heard. But she also stated that she thinks the response to Readeâs allegations has been politicized and is not âsufficient.â
âIt certainly seems as though something has happened. Iâm not sure,â Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview on NPRâs âMorning Editionâ Thursday.
âFrankly, this is a messy moment, and I think we need to acknowledge that â that it is not clear-cut,â she added.
She said she believes the issue will have an âimpactâ for sexual assault survivors, and she believes survivors are paying attention to how the nationâs leaders respond to the allegation.
However, she said she does not believe the response to the allegation has been adequate, âI donât think that the response overall has been sufficient. Itâs very difficult because this is in a hyper-politicized zone.â
She continued, âInstead of focusing on her account, instead of focusing on her story as a survivor, people are fast-forwarding to the political implications, âDo you want Trump to win? Will you be voting for Joe Biden?â And that denies justice in this situation.â
Ocasio-Cortez says the public should look at âthe aims that the survivor is asking forâ and said that Reade has not called for Americans to not support Biden. She added, âIf anything, it sounds like she simply wants to be heard.â
Listen to Ocasio-Cortezâs interview below:
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Reade accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she worked for him while he was in the Senate. Biden has denied the allegation, as IJR reported.Â
âI want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They arenât true. This never happened,â Biden said in a statement.
Ocasio-Cortez previously said it is âlegitimate to talkâ about Readeâs allegation. And she stated that she will vote for the former vice president, although she has not endorsed him.
