Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke with reporters Monday afternoon, setting a bar for Brett Kavanaugh's nomination process, following credible allegations that he attempted to rape a young woman when they were both in high school. "I want to have both individuals come before the Senate Judiciary Committee and testify under oath," Collins said.
At this point, Republicans are trying to make this go away with a conference call between Kavanaugh and Republican committee staff, a tactic that has been rejected by committee Democrats, who say that because of the "enormity" and "seriousness" of these allegations, "a staff-only phone call behind closed doors is unacceptable." Democratic staff will not participate.
As for what happens after that testimony, she says "Obviously if Judge Kavanaugh lied about what happened, that would be disqualifying." Of course, she could declare herself perfectly happy with all of his answers and troubled by Christine Blasey Ford's answers and vote for him anyway, but she's clearly giving herself an out here on the final vote.
But now that Collins has said that she needs to see both parties testifying under oath, she's also painted herself into a bit of a corner. She's going to have to oppose him if that doesn't happen. She's made that demand, and would lose whatever shred of credibility still clings to her if she relents.