Did Joe Biden Sexually Assault Tara Reade?
Part Two: Joe Biden's Statements
Part Three: The Conclusion
Part One: Tara Reade's Statement
Tara Reade has accused Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 when she worked as a staffer in Senator Biden's office. On March 26, 2020, Reade told her story about what happened to her on the podcast "The Katie Halper Show."
"And then it wasn’t long after that, that the scheduler called me in and said, 'I want you to take this to Joe. He wants it. He wants you to bring it, hurry.' And I said, 'okay.' And it was a gym bag. She said, you know, take the gym bag she called it an athletic bag."
Reade used the term gym bag. She then said the scheduler had called it an athletic bag. A deceptive person who was making up a story probably wouldn’t mention the scheduler called it an athletic bag. A deceptive person would simply say, 'it was a gym bag.' This portion of her statement appears to be true.
Some people have a habit of using the phrase you know. It will show up repeatedly throughout their statement. That appears to be the case with Reade. Deceptive people will sometimes use this phrase because they want you to take for granted what they are saying is true. However, we take nothing for granted.
"And, you know, she said he was down towards the Capitol and he'll meet you. And so, I went down and I was heading down towards there and he was at first talking to someone, I could see him at a distance and then they went away. And then, um we were in like the side, it was like the side area."
She again used the phrase you know.
When giving a statement, people usually should only be telling us what happened or what they did. When people explain their actions, this is considered to be out-of-bounds and indicates sensitivity within the statement. We see this when she used the word so. Most people would not use this word and would say, "I went down towards the Capitol..." While sexual harassment is a sensitive issue, that is not the sensitivity I am talking about. I am talking about sensitivity in regards to deceptive.
She first used the singular pronoun someone. In the next sentence, she used the plural pronoun they. If the they refers to Joe Biden and the someone, we have a problem. She said, “they went away” but in the next sentence she is with Joe Biden.
If the they refers to the someone Biden was talking to, we still have a problem. Changing pronouns, from singular to plural, indicates deception. She should have said, “he (or she) went away.” We do have what is called the singular they. It is sometimes used when the subject does not know the sex of the person. If she didn’t know if it was a male or female, that may explain her use of the pronoun they. I would think she would have been able to tell the sex of the person Biden was talking to.
The word then can mean immediately which is how people usually want to use it. However, this word can also mean soon after which is how people sometimes use it. The latter definition indicates a passing of time. We don’t know how much time went by before "they went away" or before they were in the side area.
The interjection um indicates she is pausing to think about what to say. Is this because of a lack of memory (recalling something that happened 27 years ago) or because it is not coming from memory?
Everyone who speaks English knows the pronoun we indicates plurality. What many people fail to recognize, is the pronoun we also indicates a partnership existed. It means at least two people agreed to do something together. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are best friends. It can be a limited partnership. However, the pronoun we indicates collaboration. Victims of a sexual assault will not use the pronoun we in their statement. They are not going to partner-up with their attacker. Saying, “And then, Senator Biden and I were in like the side area” shows no partnership and lets us know exactly whom she is talking about.
The word like indicates she wasn’t sure where they were.
"And, um, he just said, 'Hey, come here Tara.' And then I, I handed him the thing and he greeted me, he remembered my name."
She previously said, 'we were in like the side area.' It appears the two of them are together. She now says Biden told her to, 'come here.' Something appears to be off here.
She again used the interjection um to pause and think about what to say.
The shortest sentence is the best sentence. The word just is usually not needed in most sentences. There are several ways the word just can be used. When this unique word is used to minimize a person’s actions, it is an indication more was going on than what the subject is telling us. Biden may have said more than 'come here.'
She again used the word then. How much time went by before she handed him the thing?
She repeated the pronoun I. This allows her to slow down her story giving her time to think about what to say.
She referred to the gym bad as a thing. Everyone has their own personal dictionary. Certain words mean certain things to people. Truthful people will usually be consistent in their language unless there is a justification for changing the language. I don’t see a justification for her first calling it a gym bag and now referring to it as a thing.
"And then, it, we were alone. And it was the strangest thing. There was no like exchange really. He just had me up against the wall."
She again used the word then. We don’t know how much time had gone by.
Once again, she used the pronoun we which indicates a partnership. She could have avoided using this pronoun by saying something like, 'And then, while no one was around he had me against the wall.'
She again used the word like.
The word really is usually not needed and indicates deception about 50 percent of the time. Chances are there was some type of exchange.
She again used the unique word just. She may have used it to indicate the suddenness of the situation. She may have also used to it minimize Biden’s actions.
"And um, I was wearing like a skirt, and you know, like a business skirt but I wasn't wearing stockings. It was kind of a hot day that day and I was wearing heels and I remember my legs had been hurting from the marble, you know, of the Capitol, like walking. And I, so I remember that kind of stuff. I remember like I was wearing a blouse and he just had me up against the wall and the wall was cold. And I remember he, it happened all at once."
She again paused by using the interjection um.
Three times she used the word like. She may have a habit of using this word. The better statement showing commitment would have been to say, "I was wearing a skirt...a business skirt."
Two more times she used the phrase you know. This may be part of her vernacular as opposed to indicating deception.
Stating it was a hot day, remembering her legs hurt and the wall was cold are all indications this portion of her statement may have happened.
She again used the word so and the unique word just.
She already stated, "He had me up against the wall." For her to state it a second time, indicate she is jumping around in her story. Portions of her story may not be coming from memory.
She had an unfinished thought; "I remember he." She doesn't state what he did or said.
"The gym bag, I don’t know where it went. I handed it to him. It was gone and then his hands were on me and underneath my clothes. And, um, yeah, then he went, (makes a sound) he went down my skirt, but then up inside it and, he, ah, penetrated me with his fingers. And, um, I, ah, he was kissing me at the same time and he was saying something to me. He said several things, I can’t remember everything he said. I remember a couple of things. I remember him saying first before, like as he was doing it, 'Do you want to go somewhere else?'"
She changed her language from thing back to gym bag. At this point in her story, Biden suddenly has her up against the wall. Therefore, it seems odd she would mention the gym bag.
She already stated she handed him the gym bag. For her to state this again, indicates her story may not be coming from memory. It is not in sequential order.
Three times she used the word then probably to indicates the suddenness of his actions but we are not certain how much time went by.
She showed a lot of hesitation at this point in her story. Generally, this would be an indication her statement may not be coming from memory. However, she is describing something that is traumatic, embarrassing and happened 27 years ago. That may be the reason for the pauses.
"And then him saying to me when I pulled away, he, um got finished doing what he was doing and I pulled back and he said, 'Come on man, I heard you liked me.' And it's that phrase stayed with me because I kept thinking what I might've said. And I can't remember exactly, if he said 'I thought,' or 'I heard,' but it's like he implied like I had done this. Like I don’t know."
We don’t know how much time went by when she used the word then.
How does she pull away or pull back when he has her against the wall? She probably could move to the side.
She again paused when she used the interjection um.
She said she pulled back from him once he "got finished doing what he was doing." This would indicate she allowed him to finish doing what he was doing. There are times when a person may become frozen in fear and doesn’t resist. However, the expectation is she would try to stop him from doing what he was doing. That she would grab his hand and pull it out of her skirt.
Three more times she used the word like. It appears she has a habit of using this word.
Saying Biden said, "Come on man, I heard you like me" and saying that phrase has stayed with her appear to be true.
"And for me it was like everything, everything shattered in that moment. Because I knew like we were alone. It was over right. He wasn’t trying to do anything more. But it’s,"
We have some more hesitation maybe because she is talking about a sensitive subject. The biggest problem with this portion of her statement is she again used the pronoun we. After he sexually assaulted her, she used a pronoun that indicates cooperation. Most victims would not use the pronoun we. They would say something like, "Everything shattered in that moment. It was over right. He wasn’t trying to do anything more."
"I looked up to him, he was like my father's age. He was this champion of women's rights in my eyes. And I couldn’t believe that was happening. It didn't, it seemed surreal. And I just, I knew, I just felt sick because he, when he pulled back, he looked annoyed and he said um something else to me that I, I don’t want to say. And then he said, he, I must've looked shocked. And he grabbed me by the shoulders, I don't know how I looked but I must have looked something because he grabbed me by the shoulders and he said, 'You're okay. You're fine. You're okay. You're fine.' And then, he walked away and he went on with his day."
She used the word just perhaps to minimize her thoughts and actions.
Earlier she said she "pulled back." Now she is saying Biden "pulled back."
She again showed some hesitation in telling her story.
Twice she used the word then. We don't know how much time went by.