Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez on Sunday stood by the group’s decision not to form an investigative panel to look into a sexual assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“If Barack Obama had any indication that there was an issue, Barack Obama would not have had him as his vice president. Barack Obama trusted Joe Biden,” he said. “I trust Joe Biden. And those investigations have been done.”
Perez told ABC’s “This Week” that there have been “so many investigations” into Biden, including the vice presidential vetting process, which he called the “most comprehensive.”
The DNC chairman was defending his communications director’s response to The New York Times editorial board, which requested the DNC create an investigative panel to examine a sexual assault allegation made by former Senate aide Tara Reade.
The DNC called the concept “absurd” on Saturday.
Perez backed Biden, saying he “has been very clear” and “forceful” that Reade’s allegations did not occur. He called the former vice president “an open book,” adding that he wants the Senate complaint that Reade filed in the 1990s to be released.
Reade told The Associated Press Saturday that the complaint filed 27 years ago did not directly mention sexual harassment or assault.
{mosads}ABC “This Week” host Martha Raddatz pressed Perez on why the University of Delaware wouldn’t scan Biden’s Senate documents for Reade’s name. The DNC said that would be requesting “something that doesn’t exist” in their collection.
Reade’s allegations surfaced in March but gained traction last week when her former neighbor spoke up to corroborate her statements, saying she had been told about the alleged assault in the 1990s.
The former vice president officially denied her claims in an interview on MSNBC Friday.
“They aren’t true,” Biden said. “This never happened.”