Ilhan Omar Says Believes Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Allegations Against Joe Biden

The former staffer previously claimed she was sexually assaulted by the former vice president during an encounter 27 years ago, which Biden has denied.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says she believes Tara Reade's sexual assault accusation against Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who is set to run against President Donald Trump in the November election.

"I do believe Reade", Omar told the Sunday Times. "Justice can be delayed but should never be denied."

Omar previously endorsed Bernie Sanders for US president, Biden's rival from the so-called progressive wing of the Democratic party, who dropped out of the race in early April and endorsed Biden's bid for the presidency.

On 1 May, Biden broke more than a month of silence on the accusations, saying they are not true and "never happened".

In March, former Senate staffer Tara Reade came forward with a criminal complaint against Biden, claiming he cornered and inappropriately touched her back in 1993 when she was working for him at the Capitol.

Biden has been dogged with repeated accusations of inappropriately touching women, but Reade's accusations remain the most serious.