WASHINGTON (AP) – Joe Biden is denying a former staffer’s allegation of sexual assault, saying the accusation is not true. “This never happened,” Biden says in a statement Friday. It’s Biden’s first public comment on an accusation of sexual assault by his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade. He appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss the allegation for the first time on television. A number of former Biden staffers have defended him. The accusation had taken on fresh attention this week after two of Reade’s associates said she previously told them about elements of her allegations.