Washington, D.C., police told the Washington Examiner they are investigating Joe Biden after Tara Reade accused the probable 2020 Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her in 1993.
“This is an active ongoing investigation and there are no further details to provide at this time,” said a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman.
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NEW: D.C. police said that the Tara Reade allegation against Joe Biden that she filed a police report about on April 9 is "an active ongoing investigation" — which is unusual since the alleged incident is past the statute of limitations
w/ @SaysSimonson: https://t.co/iXUPDyNPhj
— Emily Larsen (@emilyelarsen) April 21, 2020
‘This case is progressing through the review process’
“Cases that are handled by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit go through a multi-review prior to being assigned a disposition,” noted Washington Examiner. “This case is progressing through the review process.”
This case wasn’t getting much attention in the mainstream media, even though they were obsessed with similar allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation.
The Examiner highlighted experts who said this investigation was unusual because the statute of limitations has run out.
Reade claims she was assaulted in 1993 by the former vice president, a time when she was working in his Senate.
Team Biden 2020 is denying the charge.
Reade filed with a Washington police report on April 9 in which she declared “she was the victim of a sexual assault which was committed by Subject-2 in 1993.”
Reade has confirmed Biden is “Subject-2.”
Police say sex-assault claim against Joe Biden is under investigation https://t.co/eNgVHcIbf8
— Ron's Design (@Ronsdesign) April 21, 2020
“Reade, 56, said that she filed an incident report for ‘safety reasons,’ for the purpose of establishing a paper trail in case ‘something happened to me,’ and to show that she is serious about her allegation since it is illegal to make a false police report,” The Examiner explained. “Since coming forward with her allegations against Biden, she regularly receives threatening and vulgar messages, she told the Washington Examiner.”
Reade also said she wants other women who might have had the same experience with Biden to come forward.
“There is a mechanism for them to remain anonymous by going to the D.C. Metro Police, or they can direct them to their law enforcement,” she explained.
Experts Weigh In On Why Case Might Not Have Closed
Experts told the Examiner there might be reasons why the case wasn’t closed immediately.
“Sometimes they receive information that is never going to lead to a criminal charge, but nonetheless, does invoke some of their obligations as public safety officials,” said Wendy Murphy, a professor of sexual violence law at New England Law, Boston.
So when can we expect the police investigation to begin? Seems the allegations are credible.
The woman who alleges Joe Biden sexually assaulted her has filed a police report https://t.co/QIbCr6Y10H
— Rich M (@richhmoore2025) April 14, 2020
“One former officer, who spent years on the force in Washington and spoke to the Washington Examiner on the condition of anonymity because he now works as a consultant for various police departments around the country, said the move struck him as out-of-the-ordinary,” the Examiner noted.
The source continued: “I wouldn’t expect a department to look into this for that long, maybe just take a report and close it out. It would also automatically be closed, they wouldn’t spend time investigating something they can’t prosecute.”
“I’m sure the D.C. PD has plenty of work without creating it,” he or she added. “Obviously it’s a very high-profile case, so high-profile cases get a lot more attention unfortunately than if the victim or offender wasn’t a known public figure.”
“In spite of that, I wouldn’t expect them to proceed on something that had no chance of getting prosecution” the person said.