The scrambling continues. On Wednesday afternoon, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley presented Dr. Ford with even more options regarding her testimony. From CNN:

"We are doing everything that we can to make Dr. Ford comfortable to coming before the committee in an open session or a closed session, or a public or a private interview," the Iowa Republican told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday. "That's four different ways she can choose to come. So, I'm not worried about anything other than just focusing for the next few days on encouraging her to come."

Unfortunately, the offer came with something of a poison pill attached.

"The FBI does not make a credibility assessment of any information it receives with respect to a nominee," Grassley wrote. "Nor is it tasked with investigating a matter simply because the Committee deems it important. The Constitution assigns the Senate, and only the Senate, with the task of advising the President on his nominee and consenting to the nomination if the circumstances merit. We have no power to commandeer an Executive Branch agency into conducting our due diligence. The job of assessing and investigating a nominee's qualifications in order to decide whether to consent to the nomination is ours, and ours alone."

This is an answer to a question nobody has asked. There is nobody asking for the committee to "commandeer" the FBI. The president* has to ask the FBI to reopen its vetting investigation into Judge Kavanaugh, and the president* has no intention of doing so, and Grassley et. al. have no intention of asking him. They want a quick and dirty he said-she said proceeding that they all can pretend is an actual inquiry.

Win McNamee Getty Images

Then they can vote with whatever conscience they still have being clear. They want Kavanaugh seated when the Court's term begins in October. That's why they're pretending there's a clock on this, as Senator Lindsey Graham pretty much admitted on Wednesday.

"Requiring an FBI investigation of a 36-year-old allegation (without specific references to time or location) before Professor Ford will appear before the Judiciary Committee is not about finding the truth, but delaying the process until after the midterm elections," he said in a statement. "It is imperative the Judiciary committee move forward on the Kavanaugh nomination and a committee vote be taken as soon as possible."

As Merrick Garland can testify, the "process" is whatever the Senate majority decides it is. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is pulling back the curtain so that anybody can see what a puppet show this whole nomination is.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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