A Democratic state lawmaker is apologizing amid calls for his resignation after he claimed Tara Reade was “looking for attention” when she accused Joe Biden of sexual assault.
Richard Komi, a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, told the Washington Examiner in a Friday phone call that he was sorry for tweeting: “Judging by the position of the female vagina, it will not be easy for just anyone to put their finger into the vagina unless their is some Cooperation from the female herself. That is why I believe Tara Reade’s allegations is false. She is looking for attention.”
The tweet was soon deleted as Komi faced calls from New Hampshire House Speaker Steve Shurtleff, also a Democrat, to resign.
“I regret the poor choice of words that I used,” Komi said. “It kind of portrayed me as someone who doesn’t care about women or the victims of sexual assault. That is not the case.”
Komi said that he was an “advocate” for victims of not just sexual assault but also domestic violence.
“It’s regrettable that I used those words, those words do not reflect the person I am. I wish that I had chosen my words more carefully, and I do apologize,” he said.
Komi said that he had spoken to the Shurtleff and would make a decision about whether he would resign in the “next couple of days,” though when the Washington Examiner pointed out that his Twitter biography now reads “former Member of New Hampshire House of Representatives,” he did acknowledge that he changed it following the controversial tweet.
The lawmaker said that Biden had been advocating for women “for the longest time” and that despite the accusation by Reade, it was hard for him to imagine that Biden would have been involved “in any such thing.”
New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley rebuked the tweet and said, “Representative Komi’s comment is wrong, inappropriate, and offensive to all Democrats, and does not reflect the values of our party.”
Shurtleff, the speaker, said in a statement that he was “appalled” by the comments and that “they were dismissive and hurtful to survivors of sexual assault.”
According to the New Hampshire House of Representatives website, Komi “is a former refugee who was re-settle to the United States in 1999” and is serving his second term in the state House. Komi’s Instagram page includes multiple photos with himself and Biden.
Reade, one of Biden’s former Senate aides, accused Biden in March of forcibly kissing her and using his fingers to penetrate her in 1993. Biden completely denies the accusation.
JUST IN: @NHSpeaker Steve Shurtleff calls on fellow Democratic Rep. Richard Komi, of Manchester, to RESIGN over a Facebook message over a vulgar, victim-blaming tweet relating to Tara Reade + Joe Biden.
Statement on left. Tweet on right.
Warning: explicit content.#nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/J1xGarEsSZ
— Ethan DeWitt (@edewittNH) May 1, 2020