On Face the Nation, GOP Representative Trey Gowdy countered Ford’s and Democrats’ demand for an FBI investigation. “I’m a big fan of the FBI, but they don’t investigate sex-assault cases,” he said, adding that there is no crime scene or forensic evidence to analyze. And though investigators could interview possible witnesses, Gowdy argued that the FBI doesn’t have any advantage over senators: “They’re not human polygraphs, so they can’t tell us who’s telling the truth.”

When asked what standard to use when assessing the allegation, the former prosecutor professed a leaning toward victims of sexual assault but said since a Supreme Court nominee was accused of “a crime that goes to the heart of your character, I think the American people expect there to be a high evidentiary burden.”