{"id":24867,"date":"2020-08-15T14:49:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T18:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=24867"},"modified":"2020-08-15T14:49:33","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T18:49:33","slug":"why-isnt-biden-authorizing-university-of-delaware-to-release-his-official-senatorial-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=24867","title":{"rendered":"Why isn&#8217;t Biden authorizing University of Delaware to release his official senatorial records?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>University of Delaware sued after denying information request for Biden Senate collection<\/h1>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Natalia Alamdari<br \/>\nDelaware News Journal<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"DELAWAREONLINE-Embed Player\" src=\"https:\/\/uw-media.delawareonline.com\/embed\/video\/3356522001?placement=snow-embed\" width=\"540\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A conservative nonprofit, along with a news website co-founded by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, are suing the University of Delaware for its refusal to release former Vice President Joe Biden\u2019s senatorial records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The university is violating the Freedom of Information Act by denying requests to release the documents, the lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Biden\u2019s sealed Senate documents, donated to the university in 2012, have pushed UD into the political spotlight this year. Some have suggested\u00a0the collection could contain files related to former Senate staffer Tara Reade\u2019s accusation that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked in his office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The nonprofit\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judicialwatch.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\">Judicial Watch<\/a>\u00a0filed the lawsuit Wednesday, on behalf of itself and the\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/section\/daily-caller-news-foundation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\">Daily Caller News Foundation<\/a>. Both organizations have filed information requests for Biden\u2019s Senate collection, along with any records about the preservation and release of the documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">But the university maintains that Biden\u2019s Senate papers are not public records, university spokeswoman\u00a0Andrea Boyle Tippett said in a statement.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/06\/30\/PWIL\/19db4fa5-9229-4345-8ca2-dd8b77613197-AP20182621144557.jpg?width=660&amp;height=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/06\/30\/PWIL\/19db4fa5-9229-4345-8ca2-dd8b77613197-AP20182621144557.jpg?width=1320&amp;height=880&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville on Tuesday, June 30, 2020.\" data-c-credit=\"Patrick Semansky, AP\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><strong class=\"gnt_ar_b_al\">PAST PRESSURE:<\/strong><a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.delawareonline.com\/story\/news\/2020\/05\/01\/ud-now-center-sexual-assault-allegations-against-joe-biden\/3063427001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\">UD is now at the center of the sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Initially, the papers were expected to be available to the public two years after Biden\u2019s last day in elected office. After\u00a0Biden announced his bid for president, the conditions of the agreement changed. The documents will not be made public until two years after Biden retires from public life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">UD continues to state that it will not violate its contract by releasing the documents without Biden\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">A former Senate staffer, Reade\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/d922da60baa91121f4529fe51a0fd55a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\">previously told the Associated Press<\/a>\u00a0that in a Capitol Hill office building in 1993, Biden pushed her against a wall, groped her and digitally penetrated her without her consent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Biden has said the incident never happened.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/07\/USAT\/aa5da17d-d49c-4baa-9658-8b3a38f55088-AP_Tara_Reade_Assault_Claim.JPG?width=660&amp;height=440&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2020\/05\/07\/USAT\/aa5da17d-d49c-4baa-9658-8b3a38f55088-AP_Tara_Reade_Assault_Claim.JPG?width=1320&amp;height=880&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"In this April 4, 2019, photo Tara Reade poses for a photo during an interview with The Associated Press in Nevada City, Calif.\" data-c-credit=\"Donald Thompson, AP\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Reade\u2019s own public account of her allegations has shifted over the past year, and she has faced scrutiny for not stepping forward sooner. But traumatized victims of sexual violence are not always able to tell consistent stories about their abusers, and often do not share those stories at all, according to abuse experts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Wednesday\u2019s lawsuit is the latest in months of pressure on the university to open the collection for public review. In May, Reade\u2019s attorney demanded Biden open up the archives \u2014 a vast collection that spans more than 1,850 boxes, along with 415 gigabytes of electronic records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Shortly after,\u00a0<a class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.delawareonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2020\/05\/21\/university-delaware-target-gop-ads-amid-biden-sexual-assault-allegations\/5228002002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-t-l=\"|inline|intext|n\/a\">UD was the target of an ad campaign pushed by the Republican National Committee<\/a>, claiming that the university is being \u201ccomplicit in a sexual assault cover up\u201d by\u00a0not releasing the documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Now, Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller are leveraging a legal battle against the university\u2019s long-held exemption from most Freedom of Information Act requests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The university initially denied Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller\u2019s requests because public funds are not used to support Biden\u2019s Senate collection. The state attorney general\u2019s office upheld this.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller argue that the university was able to make that statement without offering full corroboration that no state dollars went into funding the Biden collection.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gnt_em gnt_em_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/d5f6f1d3fb78932ec8c1f4f53034bcfb4028c4c2\/c=0-148-3883-2342\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/11\/06\/Wilmington\/Wilmington\/636455768104386807-110617-CollegeEnrollment-SP209.JPG?width=660&amp;height=373&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/d5f6f1d3fb78932ec8c1f4f53034bcfb4028c4c2\/c=0-148-3883-2342\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/11\/06\/Wilmington\/Wilmington\/636455768104386807-110617-CollegeEnrollment-SP209.JPG?width=1320&amp;height=746&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp 2x\" alt=\"Students hang around Old College near Main Street on the UD campus.\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"gnt_em_img_ccw gnt_em_img_ccw__cap gnt_em_img_ccw__crd\" data-c-caption=\"Students hang around Old College near Main Street on the UD campus.\" data-c-credit=\"SUCHAT PEDERSON\/THE NEWS JOURNAL\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cPartisan gamesmanship by a public university is unseemly and unlawful,\u201d Daily Caller president Neil Patel said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t want to do the right thing, we will force them in court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In accordance with Delaware law, UD and Delaware State University are not state agencies, and are exempt from information requests unless they directly pertain to the expenditure of public funds. The question of whether UD is public or private has been explored in numerous court cases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">UD has long pointed to its charter as evidence that it is a \u201cprivately governed, state-assisted university. While it must share information directly related to public funds, all other financial information is considered private. Because of this, taxpayers are largely kept in the dark about the school\u2019s finances and business practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Whether the collection contains evidence of Reade\u2019s accusation is unclear. Reade has maintained that her workplace discrimination and harassment complaint would be housed in the collection at UD. Biden has said that any personnel files would be in the National Archives, and not the UD collection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The collection is still being curated, and the university expects the process to last until at least the spring of 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\"><em>Natalia Alamdari covers education for The News Journal.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.delawareonline.com\/story\/news\/2020\/07\/08\/university-delaware-sued-over-refusal-release-biden-senate-collection-freedom-of-information\/5399702002\/\">https:\/\/www.delawareonline.com\/story\/news\/2020\/07\/08\/university-delaware-sued-over-refusal-release-biden-senate-collection-freedom-of-information\/5399702002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>University of Delaware sued after denying information request for Biden Senate collection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}