“Why We Need an F.B.I. Investigation: A hearing without evidence would be little more than theater.” Nancy Gertner has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Kavanaugh accuser won’t testify Monday but open to doing so later next week”: Seung Min Kim, Josh Dawsey, and Emma Brown of The Washington Post have this report.

According to the article, “Amid the maneuvering, the nomination was roiled further late Thursday by incendiary tweets from a prominent Kavanaugh friend and supporter who publicly identified another high school classmate of Kavanugh’s as Ford’s possible attacker.”

Update: The current version of the article also states, “Republicans on Capitol Hill and White House officials immediately sought to distance themselves from Whelan’s claims and said they were not aware of his plans to identify the former classmate, now a middle school teacher, who could not be reached for comment and did not answer the door at his house Thursday night.”

Someone having the same name as the high school classmate whom Whelan identified appears among the signers of this letter in support of the nominee, and that letter identifies the signer as a middle school teacher in suburban Atlanta.

“Ed Whelan just showed what Brett Kavanaugh’s defense will look like — and metaphorically set himself on fire”: Philip Wegmann has this essay online at the Washington Examiner.

“‘These are the stories of our lives’: Prep school alumni hear echoes in assault claim.” Joe Heim has this article in today’s edition of The Washington Post.

And online at The Washington Post, columnist Alexandra Petri has an essay titled “Some interpersonal verbs, conjugated by gender.”

“Harvard Law Students Say School Should Reconsider Brett Kavanaugh’s Teaching Job”: Amanda Terkel of HuffPost has this report.

“Kavanaugh booster faces backlash after pushing mistaken-identity theory on Twitter”: W. James Antle III and Daniel Chaitin of the Washington Examiner have this report.

“Yale Law dean: Reports that professor groomed female clerks for Kavanaugh ‘of enormous concern’; Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken wrote that she wanted to ‘address the press reports today regarding allegations of faculty misconduct.'” Adam Edelman and Kasie Hunt of NBC News have this report.

“After the Kavanaugh Allegations, Republicans Offer a Shocking Defense: Sexual Assault Isn’t a Big Deal.” Jia Tolentino has this post online at The New Yorker.

“Opposition to Kavanaugh Nomination Grows Among Voters, New Poll Shows; Weak support among women could have political ramifications in midterm elections”: Janet Hook of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“How Strong Does the Evidence Against Kavanaugh Need to Be? Even if it wouldn’t support a criminal conviction or civil liability, a merely credible allegation is enough to disqualify him.” Law professor Kate Shaw has this essay online at The New York Times.

“The Case for Impeaching Kavanaugh: If the Democrats win the House this fall, they can investigate the charges against him, should he be confirmed.” Law professor Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr. has this essay online at The New York Times.

“Ties to Disgraced Judge Could Reemerge at Kavanaugh Hearing”: Melissa Heelan Stanzione of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“Kavanaugh Accuser Open to Negotiations to Testify Before Senate Panel; Lawyers for Supreme Court nominee’s accuser Christine Blasey Ford propose call later Thursday to discuss hearing; Kavanaugh’s wife gets violent threats”: Kristina Peterson, Peter Nicholas, and Natalie Andrews of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

Zoe Tillman and Paul McLeod of BuzzFeed News report that “The Woman Who Accused Brett Kavanaugh Of Assault Still Wants To Testify, Her Lawyers Say.”

And Kaitlan Collins of CNN reports that “Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford receiving death threats.”

“SC congressman jokes about Supreme Court sexual assault amid Kavanaugh drama”: Jamie Lovegrove of The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina has this report.

And in related coverage, Steven T. Dennis and Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News report that “Kavanaugh Drama Risks Driving Moderates, Women Away From GOP.”

“Kavanaugh Accuser Opens Negotiations on Testimony Next Week”: Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times has this report.

“Grassley in firing line on Kavanaugh assault allegation; The curmudgeonly Iowa Republican’s legacy is at stake as he navigates both sides of the Supreme Court nomination chaos”: Burgess Everett and Elana Schor of Politico have this report.

“What Would a Serious Investigation of Brett Kavanaugh Look Like?” Law professor Jeannie Suk Gersen has this post online at The New Yorker.

And online at The Washington Post, columnist Megan McArdle has an essay titled “A full Kavanaugh investigation? Yes — it won’t take long.”

“Kavanaugh case shows how little has changed for Judiciary Committee”: Joan Biskupic of CNN has this report.

“Trump claim that FBI can’t probe Kavanaugh allegations is wrong, ex-officials say; Former government officials from both parties questioned the GOP’s argument against FBI involvement in the high-profile controversy, which Kavanaugh’s accuser has requested”: Josh Gerstein of Politico has this report.

“The 2017-18 term marked the end of an era for the Iowa Supreme Court”: Rox Laird has this post at “On Brief: Iowa’s Appellate Blog.”

In Bashman news from Australia: 9News reports that “Duo savagely bash man because of his man-bun.”