Tara Reade Expands Lawsuit Against DOJ, Seeks $100 Million for 'Weaponization'

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Tara Reade, a former Democratic staffer who accused President Joe Biden of sexual assault, has escalated her legal battle against the Biden administration, increasing her lawsuit’s damages to $100 million. The amended complaint, filed on February 24 with the FBI’s legal counsel in Washington, alleges that the FBI, the Department of Justice (DOJ), former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and former FBI Director Christopher Wray violated her state and federal constitutional rights.  

 

Reade initially filed a tort claim covering the period between April 4, 2019, and January 20, 2025, but never received a formal response from the DOJ. Originally seeking $10 million, she has now increased the demand tenfold.  

 

"I think the lawsuit's going to just kind of show the Deep State; how the Biden administration was able to manipulate Western media pretty well using money and other means," Reade told *Newsweek*, referencing the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden's laptop. She further stated that the lawsuit demands an investigation into the alleged third-degree sexual assault and hopes it will help clear her name.  

 

Citing standard legal practice, an FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.  

 

Reade, who previously worked as an aide to Biden when he was a U.S. senator from Delaware, made headlines in 2020 when she accused him of assaulting her in a Senate corridor in 1993. Biden has consistently denied the allegations, and his administration has pushed back against Reade’s claims. Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates dismissed her as "an aspiring Russian citizen" who had aligned with a foreign government.  

 

Her attorney, Jonathan Levy, told *Newsweek* that they delayed amending and refiling the complaint until Kash Patel was confirmed as FBI Director, which happened last Thursday. Levy pointed to former President Donald Trump’s recent executive order aimed at "ending the weaponization of the federal government," suggesting that this move could help bring attention to Reade’s case.  

 

"The Biden administration appeared to be hands-off, at least as far as responding to any kind of legal process or request," Levy explained. "President Trump signing the anti-weaponization executive order is a big change. The idea is to investigate and bring some light onto the weaponization that occurred toward influencing the presidential campaigns, as well as to go after whistleblowers connected with the Biden family."  

 

Levy noted that the decision to increase the damages sought was influenced by the legal precedents set in cases like writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against Trump. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages in 2023 after a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and an additional $83.3 million in January 2024. "We probably had too low of a number there to begin with," Levy admitted. "Looking at similar cases, like E. Jean Carroll, this seems like a more appropriate figure. Also, we're now naming Merrick Garland as a defendant."  

 

Reade, who left the U.S. for Moscow in May 2023, was granted expedited asylum in Russia later that year. She now works as a contributor for RT (formerly Russia Today), a state-funded media outlet.  

 

Her lawsuit claims that the government played a role in tarnishing her reputation by portraying her as a "Russian agent" and unlawfully surveilling her. She alleges that her communications and financial records were seized and that she faced numerous death threats, leading to severe emotional distress and anxiety.  

 

A separate civil rights complaint filed to the DOJ in 2023 accused the FBI of investigating her under the guise of "Operation Cassandra," even as she sought their protection from threats.  

 

Despite vocal support from Republican figures such as Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace on social media, Reade expressed frustration that no congressional Republicans had directly assisted her. However, she remains hopeful that figures like Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard will take an interest in her case.  

 

"My hope is that because the weaponization in my case was so egregious, it will come to their attention and for their benefit," Reade stated. "But if they choose not to, they choose not to. I really am hopeful that they will prioritize citizens that have been targeted like I was, and I'm not the only one. But I am the only one right now that I know of that's actually pursuing damages in a lawsuit with the DOJ and FBI, to open my files and have them expunged."

 

Based on a report by Newsweek  2025-02-26