Tara Reade, the woman who accused Joe Biden of a 1993 sexual assault, was represented by Doug Wigdor, a top lawyer who handles sexual assault cases. He has previously represented women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and was a big supporter of Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault.
On Friday, Wigdor dropped Reade after CNN came out with an extensive investigation of her past. To start with, she has claimed to have graduated from Antioch University in Seattle with a Bachelor of Arts degree. When CNN asked the school about this, they said she attended but never graduated from the school. This means she lied about something that could easily be checked (and eventually was checked), and clearly that was a huge red flag to Wigdor. Lawyers know that when people lie about one thing, they often lie about other things as well.
As a sidebar, universities are significantly constrained about what they can reveal about a former student, particularly without that student's permission. Basically, they can give a yes/no to: "Did they attend?" and "Did they graduate?" That means that the range of possibilities here is pretty broad. Reade might have enrolled for one class in one semester and not shown up for a single meeting. Or, she might have failed the final exam of her final class with a 69.9%, thus coming within a whisker of graduating. Anything in between those two extremes is covered by the information Antioch released.
Anyhow, Reade's lie about her educational credentials started the ball rolling in other areas. Reade has appeared as an expert witness on domestic violence in court cases for a decade. At least three of those cases were in the past 2 years. In those cases, she stated, under oath, that she had a degree that she did not have. Not only is this perjury, but it could have given her credibility with juries that she was not entitled to have. Lawyers for the defense in some cases where she testified are now looking to reopen the cases and possibly overturn convictions due to a tainted witness.
In addition, in these cases, before letting her start her testimony, the judge asked her to explain to the jury why she qualified as an expert witness. In her response, she noted that she previously worked as a "legislative aide" for Biden, who co-sponsored the "Violence Against Women Act" along with then-senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). In truth, she was actually a "staff assistant," which is a different (and lower) position, one usually supervised by a "legislative aide." So she lied about her past employment under oath, as well. In a podcast, Reade once said that she worked with the interns and helped distribute the mail, which is consistent with the job description of a staff assistant. In contrast, legislative aides do research for a senator or representative concerning proposed legislation. In her testimony in court, Reade seemed to praise Biden for his work supporting women who had experienced violence. One time, she mentioned that he had stroked her neck and played with her curly hair, but nothing else.
In addition to the CNN piece, there was also one from Politico last week that may have raised some other red flags for Wigdor. It's focused on interactions that Reade had in her private life. One sentence in the story pretty much says it all: "A number of those who crossed paths with Biden's accuser say they remember two things: She spoke favorably about her time working for Biden, and she left them feeling duped." Undoubtedly, most people have a few enemies in their past who would be happy to speak ill of them if asked. However, the pattern of behavior that these folks (who have never met one another) describe is exceedingly consistent. They all paint a picture of Reade as someone who is charming and friendly while money and other favors are forthcoming, but who turns nasty and goes scorched earth when the money and favors are cut off.
In many cases, Reade's acquaintances whom Politico talked to had e-mails, screenshots of Facebook Messenger, text messages, invoices, court records, and other evidence to back up their claims. Politico also reviewed dozens of public records, including court documents, her divorce filings, and her 2012 bankruptcy records. The case that she is an untrustworthy person is extremely strong, backed up by multiple witnesses and documents. The Politico article, linked to below, is long and detailed, with direct quotes from many people who knew her well. The case that she is a truthful and trustworthy person is . . . well, that she says she is.
All in all, Wigdor, who has sympathy for assaulted women and experience representing them, decided he didn't want to help Reade. While he didn't say why he was dropping her in his statement, it certainly looks like he came to the conclusion that he doesn't believe her story.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/15/tara-reade-left-trail-of-aggrieved-acquaintances-260771
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