Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a frequent opinion contributor to CNN and The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author; view more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) The FBI probe apparently did not find any corroborating evidence into allegations of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh because it was never meant to do that. It was not a search for the truth. It was a charade meant to appear as a real investigation, with the purpose of giving Republicans a fig leaf to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court without paying a political price. The final outcome of the vote is uncertain, but given the Friday morning results on a procedural vote, the odds seem to favor confirmation.

The investigation and much of what has gone along with it amount to a cover-up. No serious observer would mistake it for an effort to ascertain what really happened on those occasions when Kavanaugh, according to his accusers, was drunk, aggressive and assaulted them. He has repeatedly denied all the allegations.

The objective from the Republicans and from President Donald Trump was to pretend to have taken those accusations seriously. After all, women across the country were already incandescent with rage as the all-male Republican majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee pushed to confirm the judge with little regard for claims that rang familiar to millions of women who have endured serious sexual attack -- the kind that, as Christine Blasey Ford said of the laughter by Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge during the alleged attack in the early 1980s, remains " indelible in the hippocampus " for a lifetime.

Republicans agreed to grant the FBI one week to investigate. That was a tight timeline but, it turns out, more than enough for the job. Within a quick five days the report was all done. Why so fast? The restrictions that made the investigation largely meaningless made additional days unnecessary.

The scheme became visible almost immediately. On Saturday, reports started filtering out that the White House gave the FBI a list of four people to interview. Protests threatened to erupt, so Trump quickly denied it on Twitter. "NBC News incorrectly reported (as usual) that I was limiting the FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh, and witnesses, only to certain people. Actually, I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion. Please correct your reporting!"