Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to Tara Reade, the American woman who accused former US President Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s.A decree published on Russia’s official legal information portal confirmed that “McCabe Alexandra Tara, born February 26, 1964,” has been made a Russian citizen. Reade, who also goes by Alexandra McCabe, changed her name in 1998, reportedly to protect herself from an abusive former husband.Reade first made headlines in 2020, claiming that Biden sexually assaulted her in a congressional corridor in 1993, when he was serving as a senator and she was working in his office. Biden firmly denied the allegations, but the claims drew significant attention during his election campaign against President Donald Trump‘s first term.Trump himself has faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault. He returned to power in 2025.Investigations into Reade’s account highlighted inconsistencies, including the absence of any record of the complaint she said she had filed with Congress at the time, news agency AFP reported. In May 2023, Reade revealed in an interview with Russian state media outlet Sputnik that she intended to seek Russian citizenship. Speaking from Moscow, she said she feared for her safety in the United States and had decided to remain in Russia.The following year, in July 2024, she announced on social media platform X that she was preparing to return to the US to file a formal complaint against former President Biden. The announcement came just days before the ailing president withdrew from his re-election bid.
