Tara Reade, the American woman who publicly accused former President Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, has been granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin.
“This was a very special day,” Reade wrote on X on Monday.
“I am now a Russian citizen! What an honor. Thank you to President Putin for this amazing honor of signing a decree making me a citizen and keeping me safe when I applied for asylum.”
Tara Reade’s Allegations Against Joe Biden
In 2020, Reade alleged that then-Senator Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 while she worked in his office. According to Reade, the incident involved Biden pushing her against a wall in a Senate corridor before assaulting her. Biden has consistently denied the allegations.
Following these claims, Reade has said she feared for her safety in the United States and spent the last two years living and working in Russia.
Tara Reade Says She Was Forced To Move To Russia
Reade, who works for the state-controlled media outlet RT, told the network on Monday that she was “forced” to move to Russia in May 2023 due to security concerns.
“I was under threat by the U.S. government, by the Biden regime,” Reade said. “And my family was under threat, my life was threatened. Congressman Matt Gaetz told me that I was safer to stay here, in Russia.”
After being granted asylum, Reade began working at RT, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to “rebuild my life.”
“I was really in a bad position,” she said. “It was very scary, facing possible prison in the U.S. if I went back. They said I violated sanctions for being on Russian TV network Channel One, and had issues with me working for RT. And I’m very proud to work for Russia Today, so I’ve been very outspoken and pro-Russia, and the Biden administration didn’t appreciate that.”
This was a very special day.
I am now a Russian citizen! What an honor. Thank you to President Putin for this amazing honor of signing a decree making me a citizen and keeping me safe when I applied for asylum.
Thank you to @Maria_Butina who stood with me and helped me on this… https://t.co/hAGsG7BWG5— Tara Reade 🐎 (@ReadeAlexandra) September 22, 2025
Tara Reade’s Plan to Return to the US
In a press release posted on X on July 16, 2024, Reade announced she intended to return to the United States to “press criminal charges against Joseph Biden for Third Degree Sexual Abuse, a felony under the Code of the District of Columbia carrying a penalty of up to ten years in prison.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
