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ABC NewsBy JOHN VERHOVEK and MOLLY NAGLE, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Friday denied an allegation of sexual assault from Tara Reade, a former staffer who served in Biden’s Washington Senate office for a brief period in 1993.

“I want to address allegations by a former staffer that I engaged in misconduct 27 years ago. They aren’t true. This never happened,” Biden said in a statement Friday morning.

The accusations first surfaced publicly in late March, raised by Reade, 56, a California woman who once served as an entry-level Senate staff assistant. Reade alleged that Biden aides asked her to hand-deliver a gym bag to him in a Senate office building. And when she did, she alleges Biden moved in close, pinned her against a wall, slipped his hand under her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers.

Biden campaign officials have vehemently denied the allegations, but this is the first time Biden has directly addressed the claims.

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