White House rejects ex-aide’s claim her life was at risk as she tries to defect to Russia

The White House on Wednesday rejected claims from ex-Biden aide Tara Reade, who said she was in danger of being killed after accusing him of assault — and who appears to be trying to defect to Russia.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby answered questions about Reade from the White House on Wednesday following her stunning performance on Kremlin-backed Sputnik TV alongside convicted “spy” Maria Butina.

She spoke of her attempt to move to Russia in an interview berating Biden and the “corrupt” Democratic National Committee and echoing what the Kremlin said about the war in Ukraine.

When asked if she was part of a Russian influence operation, Kirby replied, “I’ve seen no proof or evidence of that.”

He was initially reluctant to go into the details of Reade’s case, but did contradict her claim that she was a target for murder.

Tara Reade, Biden’s prosecutor, said she is defecting to Russia. She sat down for an interview on Kremlin-backed Sputnik television with Maria Butina, who had been convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the US.

“We wouldn’t like to comment on a would-be Russian citizen’s musings — that’s really up to her to talk to,” Kirby said. ‘I mean, I can’t get inside her head and speak for her motivations and intentions. That’s really for her to talk to.

“All I want to say are the allegations that her life was at stake by the United States government. Absolutely false, baseless. There’s nothing to that.’

Kirby said he saw no connection to Russian influence operations, but he did think about Moscow’s efforts and desire to interfere in the US election.

“I would let this future Russian citizen speak for her intentions and motivations. I mean look, it is established that Mr. Putin and the Russian government have tried to intervene and actually interfered in our elections going back to 2016,” he said, referring to the hacking operations that US intelligence went into . a troll farm in St. Petersburg, supported by the Kremlin.

‘And then that’s a matter of recording. It should come as no surprise to anyone that Mr. Putin would show an interest in making it difficult for President Biden to win elections and in trying to interfere with his ability to rule as president of the United States. But whether this person’s action is some kind of Russian information or propaganda campaign – I just don’t know.’

His comments came amid news that Reade, who accused Biden of assaulting her in 1993 during the 2020 campaign, is attempting to defect to Russia. She said in a Kremlin-backed program that she fears for her own safety in the US

Reade made a series of stunning claims when he appeared on Russian state television with Maria Butina, who was convicted of acting as an unregistered foreign agent in the US while maintaining relationships with a range of US political figures. Reade called Butina “my friend.”

Butina, who was elected to Russia’s State Duma and subject to US sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Reade made her decision while visiting Moscow.

“I’m still in a bit of a daze, but I’m feeling really good,” Reade said in an appearance broadcast on Sputnik. “I feel very surrounded by protection and security. And I just appreciate Maria so much [Butina] and everyone who gave me that at a time when it was very difficult to know whether I am safe or not.’

She addressed audience questions during a performance, where she slammed the U.S. position of arming Ukraine after its invasion of Russia.

“It is very sad that America has chosen the wrong side of history,” she said, echoing Kremlin propaganda about the Ukrainian government.

She described her visit to Moscow as breaking impressions. “The food tastes so good — there are no chemicals, there are no GMOs,” she said. “I’m not just giving you a smokescreen.”

She said she wasn’t sure she would go back to the US even if Biden is replaced, though she doubts he will “make it to work again.”

“I’m not sure the new president will change anything for me. I have lawyers currently working to find out because some cases that are sealed against me so I don’t know what they are up to. But I do know that the Democratic National Committee is unfortunately quite corrupt. Unless that is disassembled and broken down. I’m not sure it will get better,” she said.

Reade made assault allegations against Biden from 2023 when she was in his Senate office

Butina hit the US position to arm Ukraine after the Russian invasion

She echoed Russian propaganda by saying that the US was funding “extremists and Nazis.”

“I just didn’t want to walk home and walk into a cage or get killed, which are really my two choices,” she told Sputnik.

To my Russian brothers and sisters, I am sorry at this time that the American elites choose to take such an aggressive stance. Just know that most American citizens want to be friends,” she said Daily Beast reported.

She also attacked US defense contractors and called the bombing of the Nordstream pipeline a “war crime” that she suggested was committed by the US – echoing the Kremlin’s claims.

Butina said through a translator that she would pursue “people-to-people contacts” in Russia and experience Russian culture, and promised to help draft her applications to support her findings.a way for Tara to stay here in Russia’ that would go all the way to Russian President Vladimir Putin. She said she’d help pursue a’accelerated procedure.’

Reade accused Biden of sexually assaulting her during the 2020 presidential campaign when he was a senator. Biden and his team denied the accusation.

But after the allegations made headlines, there were reports she “left a trail of mortified acquaintances in the Central Coast region of California who say they remember two things about her — she spoke positively about her time with Biden, and she left them feeling cheated.”

That included a landlord calling her “manipulative” and saying that when she and her husband wanted to sell the unit she was renting, Reade, who went by a different name, told her, “You’re going to have to pay me to let me to leave.’

PBS interviewed 74 former Biden staffers after Reade made her 1990s sexual assault allegations.

The New York Times reported in April 2020 that Reade, who featured in reports from multiple women who said Biden engaged in kissing and hugging that made them feel uncomfortable, had alleged that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 in a New York City office building. the Senate.

But it also reported that “no other sexual assault allegation surfaced during the reporting, nor did former Biden associates corroborate any details of Ms. Reade’s allegation.”

She gave one cryptic tweet earlier this month after Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) invited her to testify. ‘I want to make something clear. If anything happens to me, all roads lead to Joe Biden. Joe Biden and DNC political machine threats, harassment and intimidation over the past three years will not work. I’m not suicidal. There should be no investigation into me and I am not a foreign agent.’

Late last year, Russian diplomats tried to bring Reade to the UN to testify about the diversion of US weapons delivered to Ukraine. Semaphore reported.