After weeks of silence, Joe Biden issued a statement and spoke on MSNBC's Morning Joe today, insisting that the sexual assault "never happened."

Tara Reade, a 28-year-old entry-level staffer in Biden's Senate office in 1992, alleged a year ago that Biden had made her feel uncomfortable on at least three occasions, putting his hands on her shoulder and neck. Reade stated that, at the time, she complained to supervisors, who told her to find another job. A year later, in March 2020, Reade alleged in a podcast that Biden also pushed her up against a wall, reached up under her skirt, and pushed two fingers inside of her. "It was such a nightmare."

She said he asked, "Do you want to go somewhere else?" She said that when she pulled away, he said, "Come on, man, I thought you liked me," then told her that she meant "nothing" before finally grabbing her shoulders and saying, "You're okay.

Since March, the New York Times and Washington Post thoroughly investigated the allegations. Both publications found a friend who corroborated the allegation. Former staffers in Biden's office recall no such incident. Meanwhile, in a 1993 clip on Larry King, a woman Reade claimed was her mother called into the show to complain that her daughter was having issues with a powerful Senator. Reade claims she was the daughter and that Biden was the Senator. A neighbor and a former co-worker in another office have both claimed that Reade told them about Biden's assault in the 1990s.

Reade is one of eight women who has accused Biden of unwanted touching.

In a statement this morning, Biden stated that the allegations "aren't true. This never happened." Biden called upon the National Archives to search for a written complaint that Reade says she filed in 1993. "If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there."

"As a presidential candidate," Biden stated. "I'm accountable to the American people. We have lived long enough with a president who doesn't think he is accountable to anyone, and takes responsibility for nothing. That's not me. I believe being accountable means having the difficult conversations, even when they are uncomfortable. People need to hear the truth."

Several Democrats have come out in support of Joe Biden, including Stacy Abrams -- a potential VP pick -- and Nancy Pelosi, who claimed that she believes him "based on the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden." Republicans claim that Democrats are being hypocritical, comparing the allegations against Biden to those against Brett Kavanaugh.