In March 2020, during that year's election campaign for President of the United States, congressional aide Tara Reade alleged that Democratic nominee Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her in 1993 in a Capitol Hill office building when she was a staff assistant in his office. Biden denied Reade's allegation.

Reade worked for Biden as a Congressional aide in 1992 and 1993, and later attended Antioch University and Seattle University School of Law. She later worked as a domestic violence advocate. She said she suffered emotional and violent physical abuse from both her father and ex-husband, which motivated her to work on behalf of victims. Reade misrepresented herself and her life experiences on numerous occasions, including lying under oath and in court proceedings. For example, she falsely claimed to hold a bachelor's degree from Antioch University.

Before accusing Biden of sexual assault in 2020, Reade made other comments that cast her encounters with Biden differently. In April 2019, Reade said that she filed a complaint in 1993 against Biden with a Senate human resources office, in which she alleged that Biden had made her feel uncomfortable through comments she deemed demeaning, allegedly including a compliment about her looks and a request for Reade to serve drinks at a Senate event. However, in her complaint, Reade did not accuse Biden of any kind of sexual misconduct and made no mention of the alleged assault.

In May 2023, Reade defected to Russia to seek Russian citizenship, citing security concerns. She announced this during an interview with Sputnik in Moscow alongside activist Maria Butina. Reade said that she felt safe in Moscow.