Questions for the candidates: Taking both Biden’s and Trump’s accusers seriously

Reade’s charges must be answered by Biden.

In her interview with Megyn Kelly, Tara Reade offered a detailed account of what she says was a 1993 sexual assault by then-boss Joe Biden. As they used to say at Kelly’s old employer, “we report, you decide”: Voters should unflinchingly hear Reade’s claims (which have shifted substantially over time), Biden’s categorical denials and make up their own minds on a matter no objective evidence is likely to settle.

Biden, who claims no memory of Reade, asked the National Archives to plumb Senate personnel files for any Reade sexual harassment complaint. The Archives say there’s no there there, pointing to the Secretary of the Senate — which, citing confidentiality rules, says it can’t help either.

For maximum clarity, Biden should allow a dive into his papers, housed at the University of Delaware, by a trusted third party.

While we’re on the topic of sexual assaults alleged to have occurred in the 1990s, the writer E. Jean Carroll offers a detailed account of how Donald Trump allegedly violated her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman.

E. Jean Carroll talks to reporters outside a courthouse in New York, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.(Seth Wenig/AP)

The president, who at least a dozen other women have accused of misconduct, says of Carroll, he “never met this person in my life.” At least one photo establishes otherwise, and Carroll says she has saved a dress from the day of the assault, which she says contains vital DNA evidence.

How’s this for a bargain, Mr. Art of the Deal: You turn over your DNA and Biden opens up the Delaware archives for a search.