Did bidens daughter state he showered with her as a child

Checked on December 1, 2025
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Executive summary

Ashley Biden’s journal entries that surfaced in 2020 include a passage saying showers with her father as a child were “probably not appropriate,” and multiple fact-checkers and court filings have treated a version of the diary as a real document (Snopes reports the diary exists and contains a line calling the showers “probably not appropriate”) [1]. However, specific widely‑circulated quotes alleging she said she was “so afraid of him coming in the shower” do not appear in the published diary PDF that reporters and Snopes reviewed [2].

1. How this claim originated: leaked diary, partisan outlets

The controversy began when a PDF alleged to be Ashley Biden’s diary was published by right‑leaning outlets in 2020 and excerpts spread online; outlets such as National File ran stories claiming the diary described “not appropriate” showers with Joe Biden [1]. The diary’s emergence also intersected with a criminal case: two Florida defendants later pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal and sell property tied to Ashley Biden, which contributed to assertions that the diary itself was authentic [3] [1].

2. What Ashley’s diary actually says, as reported by fact‑checkers

Snopes and related fact‑checks report that a diary attributed to Ashley Biden contains wording that showers taken with her father as a child were “probably not appropriate,” and that some portions of the diary have been corroborated by court documents and testimony tied to the theft case [1] [3]. However, other specific alarmist lines that circulated on social media — for example, a quote reading “I [am] so afraid of him coming in the shower with me that I’ve waited until late at night to take a shower” — were not found in the 112‑page PDF reviewed by Snopes [2].

3. Conflicting narratives and where evidence diverges

Reporting shows two competing threads: one, that a diary exists and includes a passage labeling childhood showers as “probably not appropriate” [1]; two, that many viral, graphic quotes and memes attributed to Ashley are not present in the published diary and thus are unsupported by that document [2]. Independent outlets such as PolitiFact and other debunking articles noted that the FBI’s criminal filing about sale of stolen property did not “confirm” every claimed diary line or publicly validate the lurid social‑media claims [4].

4. How media and partisan actors amplified the story

Right‑wing and tabloid outlets republished provocative excerpts and commentary, sometimes presenting the diary as a political scandal; later pieces continued to press for answers and framed the diary material as an unresolved controversy [5] [1]. Fact‑checking organizations flagged numerous viral posts as exaggerations or misquotations of the diary’s actual text [2] [1].

5. Legal and ethical context: stolen property and authenticity

Coverage of the matter is entangled with a criminal case in which two people pleaded guilty to a scheme to sell property said to belong to Ashley Biden; that legal proceeding has been used to argue the diary’s provenance, but court filings did not automatically validate every contested excerpt circulating online [3] [4]. Fact‑checkers note the existence of the diary is supported by these legal touchpoints, while also urging caution about unverified, sensational quotes [1].

6. What credible sources do and do not say

Credible fact‑checking reporting confirms a diary attributed to Ashley Biden contains a line calling showers with her father “probably not appropriate” and that related stolen‑property prosecutions occurred [1] [3]. Those same sources say that many specific, graphic quotes widely shared on social media are not found in the released diary PDF and therefore lack documentary support [2]. Available sources do not mention a verified law‑enforcement confirmation of sexual abuse allegations drawn from the diary beyond the stolen‑property investigation [4].

7. How to read the reporting: caution, context, competing motives

Readers should separate three elements: the diary’s partial corroboration via court filings and guilty pleas over stolen property [3] [1]; the diary’s actual language as reviewed by fact‑checkers, which includes a “probably not appropriate” line but not every meme quote attributed to it [2] [1]; and the political amplification by partisan outlets pushing a scandal narrative [5] [1]. Both political actors and tabloid publishers had clear incentives to emphasize sensational passages; fact‑checkers and courts provide the more restrained record [1] [3].

8. Bottom line for readers

Yes — reporting and fact‑checks say a diary attributed to Ashley Biden contains wording that childhood showers with her father were “probably not appropriate,” and the diary’s circulation is linked to a criminal case over stolen property [1] [3]. No credible source among the fact‑checks reviewed finds the most viral, graphic quoted lines in the released diary PDF; those specific social‑media quotes are unsupported by the document fact‑checkers examined [2].

Want to dive deeper?
Did Hunter Biden or other family members ever corroborate claims about Joe Biden showering with children?
What did reporters and fact-checkers conclude about the allegation that Joe Biden showered with his daughter?
Are there video clips or archived interviews where Biden or his family discussed childhood bathing or affection?
How have social media platforms and major news outlets treated and labeled this specific allegation since 2020?
What legal or ethical standards apply to reporting unverified claims about public figures and their families?