One potential limit, in particular, could loom extremely large.

The nature of both background checks and sexual misconduct allegations make it unlikely the FBI would ever turn up conclusive evidence one way or another about Christine Blasey Ford’s and Deborah Ramirez’s allegations. The real danger for Kavanaugh, it would seem, is in whether he made any provably false statements while defending himself.

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In particular, Kavanaugh made a few claims about things he wrote in his high school yearbook that strained credulity and were contradicted by classmates. Kavanaugh claimed the entry about being a “Renate Alumnius” wasn’t an insulting reference to a female classmate but was “clumsily intended to show affection.” That’s despite his lawyer previously saying it was about a kiss they had shared and four classmates disputing Kavanaugh’s claim to the New York Times. Kavanaugh claimed that “boofed” was a reference to flatulence and “Devil’s Triangle” was a drinking game, shrugging off suggestions that they were sexual references. Classmates dispute these claims, too. Yale classmates have also come forward to say that he became aggressive when he was drunk, contradicting Kavanaugh’s more benign characterization.

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It’s easy to dismiss the yearbook comments as superfluous. Next to sexual assault allegations, they seem insignificant and even trivial. They also don’t have direct bearing on whether he did the things he is accused of.

But Kavanaugh chose to flatly deny their sexual interpretations in ways that have clearly rubbed people who were there at the time the wrong way. The idea that the “Renate Alumnius” entry was intended to show “that she was one of us” is an extremely difficult pill to swallow. If you stack all these up next to other claims Kavanaugh made that tested the bounds of logic, including about those stolen Democratic emails during the Bush administration, it paints the picture of a nominee for whom candor may be the biggest hurdle to confirmation.

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But only if the FBI actually asks about all this.

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According to an NBC News report this weekend, the bureau has not been authorized to talk to classmates besides Mark Judge, nor has it been permitted to ask about the yearbook entries. While Trump denied there were limits on the probe, Republicans spent the weekend defending the idea that it would be limited to the actual allegations.

"They wanted . . . the FBI to talk with the witnesses that Dr. Ford named,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “They’re going to [Kavanaugh’s friend] Mark Judge — 'Did you ever see Brett Kavanaugh drug women or engage in gang rape?’ I think that’s going to be the focus of it.”

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Investigators could ostensibly ask Judge about the yearbook comments, given he was so close to Kavanaugh at the time. If indeed the “Renate Alumnius,” “boofed” and “Devil’s Triangle” were references were to sex, Judge would have to confirm or deny Kavanaugh’s claims under penalty of making false statements to the FBI. It would seem easy to establish whether people close to Kavanaugh either affirm or contradict his claims. The Times clearly didn’t have too much trouble finding people to dispute them.

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But Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer and an expert in federal background investigations, said he wouldn’t expect the FBI to ask about it under normal circumstances.

“It would seem a simple matter to just ask Judge for his definitions, but I wouldn’t think this is going to be an issue the FBI is going to focus on,” Zaid said.

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He also said it would be difficult, even if they did ask, to establish a provably false statement.

“Even if Judge remembers ‘Devil’s Triangle’ differently, what does that really mean, unless it is so fundamentally obvious as to what the term was used for by him and others,” Zaid said. “The yearbook line is an inside joke, which means verification will also be very difficult.” He added that “getting something wrong during testimony because of inaccurate memory recollection doesn’t necessarily equate to lying/false statement.”

It may be unlikely this will wind up costing Kavanaugh, even if the FBI does inquire with Judge and others about it. But it seems to be about the only thing absent really compelling proof of sexual assault that could ruin his nomination.