to the editor: <u+201c> in <u+2019>90s crisis, trump used a tax tactic now banned <u+201d> (front page, nov. 1) does the very thing many are excoriating the f.b.i. director, james b. comey, for doing <u+2014> using your bully pulpit to influence the election days beforehand. as a retired accountant, i assume that donald trump took an aggressive tax posture to either buy himself some badly needed time or to use ambiguity in the tax law to his advantage. the i.r.s. had the tools and the standing to challenge him. and congress eventually stopped the practice, but apparently mr. trump won the day. you aren<u+2019>t reporting the news in this case. wonderful, reasonable editorial fodder, but not news. thomas scerbo glen rock, n.j. to the editor: re <u+201c> two investigations, one protective reflex <u+201d> (news analysis, nov. 1): your comparison of the whitewater investigation and james b. comey<u+2019>s new inquiry into hillary clinton<u+2019>s emails refers to a <u+201c>protective reflex<u+201d> from the clintons. this is better characterized as a reflex on the part of the media and the public to concoct scandals involving the clintons that simply don<u+2019>t exist. what do the investigations into whitewater, mrs. clinton<u+2019>s emails and the clinton foundation have in common? no charges were brought, despite intense scrutiny. the real story is that, despite being perhaps the most closely examined presidential candidate in history, no wrongdoing has been found on mrs. clinton<u+2019>s part. jess coleman brookline, mass. to the editor: hillary clinton should be excused for associating james b. comey<u+2019>s letter to congress with the kenneth starr investigation of her husband. yes, mr. starr doggedly pursued the clintons over whitewater. but it was mr. comey who, as deputy special counsel of the republican-led senate whitewater committee, publicly accused mrs. clinton of the mishandling and destruction of documents as well as of patterns of concealment <u+2014> comments that sound eerily similar to his equally unsubstantiated and unsolicited accusations about her emails in 2016. following his transparently political role in the failed whitewater investigation, mr. comey pursued bill clinton for pardoning marc rich in 2001. to his credit, when mr. comey brought no charges, he refused to comment on his investigation, noting it would be unethical to do so. would that the lesson had stuck. evan stark woodbridge, conn. the writer is professor emeritus of public affairs at rutgers university-newark. to the editor: the idea of early voting seems to have gotten out of hand. when voters cast ballots weeks before election day, as is the trend today, they are not able to take into account late-breaking events and information that might have changed their votes. making voting more convenient doesn<u+2019>t necessarily make it better. adrian kuzminski fly creek, n.y. to the editor: re <u+201c> cnn cuts ties to analyst as emails show she tipped off clinton allies <u+201d> (news article, nov. 1): the donna brazile story should have taken the lead over the donald trump tax avoidance article. that<u+2019>s old news. if mr. trump did anything illegal with his tax reporting, he would be in jail by now. too many deductions? rewrite the tax code. but ms. brazile apparently shared questions with officials of hillary clinton<u+2019>s campaign before cnn-sponsored campaign events. now, that<u+2019>s tantamount to election tampering. antonia tamplin bronx to the editor: on monday evening i found myself, an uncommitted voter originally from cleveland, sitting at a bar at a local pizzeria in fort lauderdale, fla., between a clinton campaign worker and a retired married couple, both of whom are staunch donald trump supporters. all three of them are chicago natives and die-hard fans of the cubbies. myself, i<u+2019>m an indians fan. over a round of house chianti, we debated the world series, the political environment and the future of both political parties. by the time we had finished our glasses of wine, we unanimously agreed that we are fortunate to live in the greatest country on the planet. we genuinely smiled and shook hands, just as our teams will do at the end of the series. and the rest of us must do the same on nov. 9. sarah b. cavanaugh fort lauderdale, fla. a version of this letter appears in print on november 2, 2016, on page a24 of the new york edition with the headline: trump<u+2019>s taxes and clinton<u+2019>s emails. today's paper | subscribe
donald trump<u+2019>s taxes and hillary clinton<u+2019>s emails
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