Tara Reade, the former congressional aide to then-Senator Joe Biden; who has accused the American president of sexual assault did not “defect” to Russia.
Ms. Reade was preparing to testify before congress about her allegations against President Biden when she traveled to Russia to oversee the translation of her recent book. Radha Stirling, CEO and founder of Due Process International who has taken on the case, issued the following statement commenting on claims that Ms. Reade has “defected”.
“The Biden administration is attempting to escalate the persecution against Tara Reade, with the obvious intention of deflecting from her allegations against the president. This is not a story of defection; it is a story of deflection.
“It is a gross mischaracterisation to portray Ms Reade's temporary exile in Russia to escape persecution by the President of the United States, and all the weaponised intelligence and security arms of the government at his disposal, as "defection". She did not travel to Russia with any intention to stay there, but only to oversee translation of her book. While in Russia, however, the Biden machine ramped up its campaign to demonize and silence her, which meant that she could not return to her home country without the threat of immediate detention and the denial of due process. During her week-long trip, she was informed by multiple credible US sources that her life was at risk and she faced detention without charge on return to the US.
Her decision to remain temporarily in Russia was made for her own personal safety and she has not applied for asylum. Despite the disruption to her life, Ms Reade remains fully committed to testifying under oath in congress. We are working to protect her from Interpol abuse, the weaponization of the US justice system and threats to her life, while promoting safe passage for her to testify with support of members of congress and senators.
“It is remarkable that the Biden Administration has caused an American citizen, Ms Reade, to be subjected to intimidation leading to exile because she dared to speak out about alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of the president. One thing is clear, they do not want her sworn testimony anywhere near the Capitol.
“This is actually quite a familiar tactic to us. A victim of wrongdoing being falsely criminalized to ensure that they cannot fight for justice. This is something that happens in the UAE on a regular basis, and it is one of the reasons I founded this organization in the first place. It’s most disappointing to see the US engaged in similar practice”.
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