Deborah Ramirez, a college friend of Kavanaugh, accused the nominee of sexual assault but was denied an opportunity to speak at the hearing. This, after the New York Times reported that, after she gave the F.B.I. a list of at least 25 individuals who may have had corroborating evidence, the Bureau interviewed none of them. According to New York Times reporters Pogrebin and Kelly, agents told Ramirez they found her charges against Kavanaugh “credible.” But a McConnell-controlled Senate had imposed strict limits on the investigation and Ramirez was never called to testify. Collins voted for Kavanaugh, calling it a fair hearing.

Now Collins is saying she will be an impartial juror at Trump’s trial. The thing is, McConnell is still the decider on the process. Collins will use his method for cover when witnesses crucial to the impeachment hearings are not heard. Collins, our “moderate Senator,” will be able to make her “impartial decision” on impeachment without listening to critical witnesses. We’ve seen this movie before.

Collins plays the part of a small-town Mainer who believes in fairness. Beneath this continuing fraud, Collins is just another played-out, partisan politician — cynical, calculating — and without a real “down-home” moral compass to guide her to the heart of the matter — a process leading to justice.