Rep. Ilhan Omar on Tuesday said it’s not her place to litigate the sexual assault allegations Tara Reade has leveled at presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden, after Ms. Omar had said earlier this month that she believed Ms. Reade.
“There’s obviously parts of what she has said that has been corroborated, parts of it that hasn’t — that is not my place to litigate her story,” Ms. Omar, Minnesota Democrat, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“I think it is important when somebody says they have been assaulted and they see themselves as survivors that we, as we have been saying, believe survivors,” she said.
Ms. Reade has accused the former vice president of digitally penetrating her when she worked in his Senate office in the 1990s — charges Mr. Biden has repeatedly denied.
Ms. Omar had said in an interview with the British Sunday Times published over the weekend that she does believe Ms. Reade.
On Monday, she said on Twitter that the comments were weeks old, that “quotes aren’t always in context,” and that she plans to support Mr. Biden for president.
On Tuesday, she reiterated that she plans to support Mr. Biden.
“I think this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime, and we all have to do everything that we can to restore our democracy,” said Ms. Omar, who had supported Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont in the Democratic presidential primary contest.
She said she also thinks it’s important to create a space “where we allow for survivors to come forward, and that has been consistent with my values.”
“And I think we can do both,” Ms. Omar said.
