(CNN) In an unsigned editorial Tuesday morning, The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote this about the planned Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on sexual assault allegations made by California professor Christine Blasey Ford against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh:

"This is simply too distant and uncorroborated a story to warrant a new hearing or to delay a vote. We've heard from all three principals, and there are no other witnesses to call. Democrats will use Monday's hearing as a political spectacle to coax Mr. Kavanaugh into looking defensive or angry, and to portray Republicans as anti-women. Odds are it will be a circus."

That argument is part of a broader case made in the WSJ piece that the timing of Ford's decision to come forward, her hiring of a lawyer with a past of Democratic activism and the decisions of Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein all reek of politics -- of an attempt by the opposition party to do whatever it takes to besmirch a good man and, by doing so, hurt President Donald Trump and the broader conservative movement.

The problem with the editorial (or I should say, the main problem, because there are several -- which I'll lay out later) is this: It makes the argument for less transparency, less disclosure, less light. We can't know who is telling the truth here, so we can't possibly try, is the underlying argument. This is never an acceptable argument when dealing with allegations of sexual assault of the sort Ford is making. That's particularly true given the stakes here. We are talking about a lifetime appointment for Kavanaugh to the highest and most influential court in the country. In the last decade, we have seen the Supreme Court legalize gay marriage, reshape campaign finance laws and uphold the Affordable Care Act and Trump's travel ban. It's a hugely influential role, and knowing the character of the people you are putting on the court is absolutely essential.

Ford's husband, Russell, put that idea nicely in an interview with The Washington Post , which initially broke the news of the accuser's identity. "I think you look to judges to be the arbiters of right and wrong," he said. "If they don't have a moral code of their own to determine right from wrong, then that's a problem. So I think it's relevant. Supreme Court nominees should be held to a higher standard."

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