Outside of Mr. Trump’s bubble, however, it is widely recognized as no longer acceptable to respond to a woman’s claims of sexual assault by calling her a liar. Doing so carries real political risks in the age of #MeToo. Which is why so many Republicans have been working themselves into a lather to discredit Dr. Blasey by more nuanced means.

Witness the popular mistaken-identity theory that says Dr. Blasey isn’t lying about the attack, but is simply confused about who did the attacking. Judge Kavanaugh himself planted this seed in the brain of Senator Orrin Hatch, at least according to the senator’s office, and the nominee’s defenders have been peddling extended versions of it with gusto. This includes a bonkers incident Thursday night in which a longtime conservative operative, Edward Whelan, posted a series of tweets offering up the name, photo and other private information about a former classmate of Judge Kavanaugh’s whom Mr. Whelan claimed might be the real attacker. The tweets were deleted after they prompted a massive backlash on social media — and after Dr. Blasey said she knew both men and even at the tender age of 15 could tell them apart.

As insulting as this “she’s just a confused girl” defense may be, it is modestly less offensive than the snickering boys-will-be-boys excuses emanating from certain musty corners. Or the related contention that this was a case of teenage horseplay gone awry — an innocent misunderstanding, if you will. The most head-smacking defense thus far may have come from Franklin Graham , the evangelical leader turned Trump lackey, who spun the alleged attack as a portrait in chivalry: “Well, there wasn’t a crime committed. These are two teenagers and it’s obvious that she said no and he respected it and walked away.”

What all of these approaches have in common is that they are part of a desperate effort to distract from Republicans’ unwillingness to initiate a proper effort to get at the truth of what happened. It is a sorry abdication of duty damaging to all involved. At this point, Dr. Blasey’s accusations need to be examined not only for her sake but for that of Judge Kavanaugh and of the entire Supreme Court — especially if Republicans are convinced of the nominee’s innocence.