Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who alleged presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, is being represented by a lawyer that donated to President Trump’s 2016 campaign, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Attorney Douglas Wigdor told AP he is not being paid for his work with Reade and his firm denied there was a political motivation for his decision to represent her.
“We have decided to take this matter on because every survivor has the right to competent counsel,” the firm said in a statement to AP.
Reade alleges Biden sexually assaulted her while she was working in his Senate office in 1993.
Biden has denied the allegations.
Reade has said she was struggling to find a lawyer to represent her.
Wigdor suggested Reade’s struggles to find representation were because of “politics,” according to the news source.
“I think highly of a lot of these people,” he told AP. “These are my friends and colleagues, people who I respect, but they tend to be Democrats or liberals, and they were not interested, because of that, in representing Tara Reade.”
The Hill reached out to the law firm for comment.
Wigdor is a prominent lawyer known for working on cases related to sexual harassment and assault. He previously represented six women who accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct as well as a number of Fox News employees in cases alleging gender and racial discrimination, according to the AP.
He told the news outlet he plans to help Reade in dealing with the media and any independent investigations into her allegations that might occur. He also did not rule out bringing a lawsuit based on the claims, but said the two have not discussed doing so.
Wigdor donated about $55,000 in campaign contributions to Trump in 2016, but he has not donated to either Trump’s or Biden’s 2020 campaigns, the wire service reports, citing Federal Election Commission records.
He’s also supported some Democrats in the past including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), according to the AP.
Reade discussed the allegations Thursday in a televised interview with Megyn Kelly and said she wanted the former vice president to be “held accountable” and called on him to drop out of the presidential race.