NY Times Editor Says Biden Sexual-Assault Article Was Edited after His Campaign Complained

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said on Monday that the paper made a controversial change to its report on the sexual-assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden after his campaign complained about the wording.

In an interview with Times media columnist Ben Smith, Baquet said the Biden campaign took issue with some of the phrasing in the paper’s report on former Senate staffer Tara Reade’s allegation that Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993.

“No other allegation about sexual assault surfaced in the course of reporting, nor did any former Biden staff members corroborate any details of Ms. Reade’s allegation,” the report read. “The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.”

The Times subsequently deleted the second half of that sentence, eliminating the description of Biden’s conduct to which women have previously objected.

“I want to ask about some edits that were made after publication, the deletion of the second half of the sentence,” Smith asked Baquet. “Why did you do that?”