To the Editor:
Re “Investigate Tara Reade’s Allegations” (editorial, May 2):
Thank you for this editorial. For the record, I’m a lifelong Democrat and will vote Democratic this fall, regardless. Defeating Donald Trump and saving our democracy is the most important thing. However, we still need a full, transparent investigation.
Making allegations of sexual assault is not easy. Those who do so deserve fair and thorough investigations. We demanded one with Brett Kavanaugh, and it’s no different now. As a party, we cannot say we stand for sexual assault survivors, yet turn our backs when it’s something we don’t want to hear.
I’m disgusted by the attacks on Tara Reade, the insufficient mainstream media coverage, the slanted headlines and the flimsy excuses, such as that Joe Biden was already vetted when he ran for vice president. Hypocrisy looks bad no matter what side you’re on. Innocent people have nothing to hide. They encourage full transparency. Yes, that means we need to look at the University of Delaware files. We deserve the truth, no matter what it is.
Sara Durnan
Madrid
To the Editor:
I totally disagree with this editorial. I don’t want an investigation. I want a coronation of Joe Biden. Would he make a great president? Unlikely. Would he make a good president? Good enough. Would he make a better president than the present occupant? Absolutely. I don’t want justice, whatever that may be. I want a win, the removal of Donald Trump from office, and Mr. Biden is our best chance.
Suppose an investigation reveals damaging information concerning his relationship with Tara Reade or something else, and Mr. Biden loses the nomination to Senator Bernie Sanders or someone else with a minimal chance of defeating Mr. Trump. Should we really risk the possibility?
Martin Tolchin
Alexandria, Va.
The writer is a former member of The Times’s Washington bureau and a founder of Politico.
To the Editor:
Your editorial is infuriating. Not because of what you’re asking for, but rather because the level of scrutiny you demand has been notably and consistently absent in every one of the numerous allegations against Donald Trump.
For nearly four years we have seen the same depressing pattern: A woman comes forward to claim that Mr. Trump assaulted her, the press fixates on her for a few days and then the whole matter fizzles out.
No matter what happens with Joe Biden, the American public deserves to see the media apply steady and sustained pressure on Donald Trump. Thus far, it has not been forthcoming. Why?
George A. Milite
Lancaster, Pa.
To the Editor:
Re “Biden, Breaking Silence, Denies Assaulting Aide” (front page, May 2):
The sexual assault allegations by Tara Reade after 27 years make me wonder about the timing of these charges. When Joe Biden was running as Barack Obama’s vice president and would have been a heartbeat away from the presidency, why didn’t Ms. Reade speak up then? Why suddenly now? Something seems odd about this.
Rita Stewart
Rye, N.Y.
To the Editor:
You report, “In 2017, Ms. Reade retweeted praise for Mr. Biden and his work combating sexual assault.” What woman who has been sexually assaulted as claimed by Tara Reade praises her assailant for his work combating sexual assault?
Eugene Golden
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
I am a retired attorney and a survivor of multiple #MeToo experiences over my 66 years, including a violent rape. I loathe hypocrisy and try to avoid it and those who practice it. I disagree with nearly everything our current president does or says. I fear for the future because of the irreparable harm he has done to the country.
I learned early in my career that the practice of law, and life in general, is a series of bad choices, particularly in bad times. The trick is to select the least awful option. I’m voting for Joe Biden for multiple reasons having nothing to do with his or President Trump’s alleged conduct with women. That Rubicon has been crossed.
We cannot survive as a democratic society with Mr. Trump in office for four more years. The need to get him out of office overrules every scruple we may have. I will live with my hypocrisy and believe that tens of millions of Americans will feel the same.
Karen Wilson
Dallas
To the Editor:
I do not know whether something occurred between then-Senator Joe Biden and Tara Reade, but I can say that it is highly unlikely that an event occurred as described. In 1993, a congressional staffer most likely would have been wearing something like a knee-length tailored skirt and pantyhose. It would be extremely difficult for someone to reach below the tight skirt, then bring his hand up to the waist and then down into the pantyhose. The fact that this supposedly occurred in a public corridor makes the story even more unlikely.
Katharine H. McVeigh
New York
To the Editor:
The pendulum has swung too far — from women not being believed to every woman being believed. A story 27 years old. Perhaps absolutely accurate. Perhaps imagined, or enhanced over the years.
Any man can now be accused without proof. And the burden is on him to refute it. His reputation may be compromised; the accusation will be remembered more than the denial or the lack of proof. So now it seems that every man must pay for the sins of some or many men.
As an ardent #MeToo supporter, I do not feel that the movement, long overdue and so important, is enhanced by embracing another “victim” without proof of the charge. If the burden of proof is on the accused, then all that has happened is that men are now in the position of women in the past, and have to fight to be believed.
Betty Romer
Amherst, Mass.