“Dr. Ford passed a lie detector test and asked for an FBI investigation. Will Judge Kavanaugh do the same?”

— Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), on Twitter.

Jennifer Rubin: “Ford might choose to appear on Monday, and make a powerful opening statement accusing Republicans of running a sham investigation… In short, Ford can use the hearing to put the senators, who have behaved shabbily, on defense.”

“Ford has another option: Hold a news conference with her own experts and make the case directly to the American people. She can sit down for an interview with a respected TV journalist. She can say whatever she wants, make certain that experts are heard and even recount the much more extensive investigative efforts undertaken when Hill stepped forward. To make her case to the American people and convince them that she is sincere, honest and credible, Ford doesn’t need the Senate.”

“Ford also might have the ability to go to local police to investigate if the White House refuses to activate the FBI.”

Quinta Jurecic: “Ford’s story is highly credible. Kavanaugh denies it. This is where we are.”

“Here’s another question: What level of certainty about the nominee’s guilt should drive a senator to vote against that nominee? The standard to convict a defendant in criminal court is often understood as requiring anywhere from 95 to 100 percent certainty of the defendant’s guilt. In civil court, the ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard requires 51 percent certainty. As the economist Justin Wolfers asked on Twitter, ‘Would you appoint someone to the Supreme Court if you think there were a 25 percent chance they’ve done bad things? A 10 percent chance? A 5 percent chance? A 1 percent chance?’”

Kathleen Davis: “Far too often in cases of sexual harassment or sexual violence, the accused is given the benefit of the doubt while the accuser is saddled with the burden of proof, even though studies show that the rate of false accusations is incredibly low (around 2-6%).

First Read: “Importantly, however, Ford’s lawyers have yet to say she won’t be testifying on Monday.”

“While this story remains a stalemate, each side has important questions to answer. For Republicans, why do they need to do this by Monday? What is one more week? It’s only September, and the election is still seven weeks from now. In addition, why no other witnesses?”

“For Ford and Democrats, if Monday isn’t suitable, don’t they need to provide a reasonable day that is? This limbo can’t go on forever.”

Matt Bai: “My fear about Kavanaugh isn’t that he’s a sexual predator; barring new revelations, there’s no evidence to suggest he is.”

“My fear is that his experiences as a partying teenager didn’t actually teach him a hell of a lot about fallibility or shame. He seems not to have emerged with much appreciation for the gray areas in which most larger truths reside.”

“A Supreme Court justice doesn’t need to be a perfect person, or to have led an unfailingly exemplary life. None of us can say that. But, especially on a divided court in a divided nation, we deserve a justice who demonstrates a capacity for nuance, reflection and humility. Whatever else is true about him, Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t seem to be that guy.”

President Trump and Senate Republicans “took a hard line: full-speed ahead on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination for the Supreme Court despite an allegation of sexual assault decades ago,” the Washington Post reports.

“But privately, discussions about the political fallout gripped the party, with Republican lawmakers and strategists unnerved by the charged, gender-infused debates that have upended this campaign season.”

Mike Allen: “Republicans are privately worried about the risk unleashed by an explosive allegation of a teenage sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but still hope to push ahead to a final confirmation vote next week.”

President Trump “is growing more confident that his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, can weather a charge of sexual assault and will be confirmed,” Politico reports.

“The feeling is shared by some of Trump’s key Republican allies, even as controversy continues to rage over a sexual-assault allegation against the conservative judge. The White House and its allies have taken no steps to line up a new nominee, according to four people familiar with the confirmation process.”

The Fix: Republicans seem to have the votes to confirm Kavanaugh.

Cristina Miranda King, a former schoolmate of Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, wrote a Facebook post saying she recalls hearing about the alleged sexual assault involving Kavanaugh, NBC News reports.

Said King: “Christine Blasey Ford was a year or so behind me. I did not know her personally but I remember her. This incident did happen.”

She added: “Many of us heard a buzz about it indirectly with few specific details. However Christine’s vivid recollection should be more than enough for us to truly, deeply know that the accusation is true.”

“As questions swirl about whether a public hearing will still go forward Monday if Christine Blasey Ford doesn’t show, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is continuing with prep sessions at the White House today,” a source familiar tells CNN.

“Kavanaugh wants to be prepared to give his account if Ford does decide to testify without first having an FBI investigation. He has undergone multiple, lengthy practice sessions over the last few days — detailing his teenage years and dating life to his confirmation team after Ford went public with her accusation of sexual assault.”

President Trump addressed the allegation of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, casting doubt on the accusation and saying that the judge “has been treated very, very tough,” CNBC reports.

Said Trump: “I can only say this, he is such an outstanding man, very hard for me to imagine that anything happened.”

Playbook: “All of a sudden, out of seemingly nowhere, it seems like Republicans are gently steering Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination back on track.”

“Republicans and Democrats are at a stalemate. Senate Republicans offered Christine Blasey Ford the chance to testify publicly or privately, but her lawyer said that first the FBI should investigate the three-decade-old sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.”

“Republicans will insist they were reasonable, and Kavanaugh’s fate will be in the hands of Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The more time that goes by without her testifying, the more likely it is that Kavanaugh will be confirmed.”

In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford said that she was expected her to testify “at the same table as Judge Kavanaugh in front of two dozen U.S. Senators on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident.”

However, a committee spokesman insisted that “was never the plan and that was certainly never conveyed.”