Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez
Thomas Edward PerezClinton’s top five vice presidential picks Government social programs: Triumph of hope over evidence Labor’s 'wasteful spending and mismanagement” at Workers’ Comp MORE on Sunday stood by the group's decision not to form an investigative panel to look into a sexual assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump retweets personal attacks on Clinton, Pelosi, Abrams Biden swipes at Trump: 'Presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart' How will COVID-19 affect the Hispanic vote come November? MORE.
“If Barack Obama
Barack Hussein ObamaThe star of tomorrow: Temptation and a career in politics reporting Blair questions Trump approach to coronavirus pandemic How a global 'Manhattan Project' could end pandemics MORE had any indication that there was an issue, Barack Obama would not have had him as his vice president. Barack Obama trusted Joe Biden,” he said. “I trust Joe Biden. And those investigations have been done.”
Perez told ABC’s “This Week” that there have been “so many investigations” into Biden, including the vice presidential vetting process, which he called the “most comprehensive.”
The DNC chairman was defending his communications director’s response to The New York Times editorial board, which requested the DNC create an investigative panel to examine a sexual assault allegation made by former Senate aide Tara Reade.
The DNC called the concept “absurd” on Saturday.
NEW: “I don’t really rely on polling this far out,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 3, 2020Ronna Romney McDanielStates push millions of people toward absentee voting amid pandemic RNC rakes in more than million in April The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump taking malaria drug; mayor eyes DC reopening MORE tells @MarthaRaddatz when asked about recent polls and whether she’s worried that the coronavirus pandemic is threatening President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump retweets personal attacks on Clinton, Pelosi, Abrams Biden swipes at Trump: 'Presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart' GOP sues California over Newsom's vote-by-mail order MORE’s reelection message. https://t.co/0S3PJSE3zI pic.twitter.com/LRT3YwnEKd
Perez backed Biden, saying he “has been very clear” and “forceful” that Reade’s allegations did not occur. He called the former vice president “an open book,” adding that he wants the Senate complaint that Reade filed in the 1990s to be released.
Reade told The Associated Press Saturday that the complaint filed 27 years ago did not directly mention sexual harassment or assault.
ABC "This Week" host Martha Raddatz pressed Perez on why the University of Delaware wouldn’t scan Biden’s Senate documents for Reade’s name. The DNC said that would be requesting “something that doesn’t exist" in their collection.
Reade’s allegations surfaced in March but gained traction last week when her former neighbor spoke up to corroborate her statements, saying she had been told about the alleged assault in the 1990s.
The former vice president officially denied her claims in an interview on MSNBC Friday.
“They aren’t true,” Biden said. “This never happened.”
