Above the Law

* President Trump asked the FBI to investigate the claims of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the first two women to accuse would-be SCOTUS justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault and misconduct, leaving out Julie Swetnick's claims to the chagrin of her lawyer. [Wall Street Journal]

* So, just how limited in scope will the FBI's new Kavanaugh inquiry be? Trump claims that the bureau has "free rein," but no one who has contradicted the judge's claims about his drinking and partying as a high school and college student are going to be interviewed. [New York Times]

* HLS is second best at feeling shame: Following student protests against Kavanaugh teaching at Harvard Law, the elite law school's dean won't come out and say whether the accused jurist will still have a job in legal academia come 2019. [HuffPost]

* ICYMI amid the Kavanaugh craziness, a judge ruled that the plaintiffs in Blumenthal v. Trump -- the 201 Democratic members of Congress -- have standing to sue the president for his alleged violations of the emoluments clause. [National Law Journal]

* That was quick! In the span of just a few days, Elon Musk settled the securities fraud lawsuit filed against him by the SEC, and the deal calls for him to pay a $20 million fine and step down as Tesla's chairman for the next three years. [New York Times]

* Many believe that today's Supreme Court is one of the hottest benches in history; Adam Feldman uses data to assess the claim. [Empirical SCOTUS]

* As for who takes the SCOTUS bench, contingency plays a major role -- along with credentials and conservatism, as Ian Millhiser explains. [ThinkProgress]

* Most people have their minds made up about Thursday's Supreme Court confirmation hearings featuring Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh -- but if you're still trying to process the proceedings, David Oscar Markus offers five simple rules for evaluating the witnesses. [The Hill]

* Ann Althouse has some reflections on Judge Kavanaugh's emotional testimony and "present-day conservative masculinity." [Althouse]

* David Bernstein proffers this interesting solution to the Kavanaugh nomination situation -- but don't hold your breath for its implementation. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]

* If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, "the EU is busy building a three-lane highway that leads to a particularly dark place," according to Charles Glasser. [Daily Caller]

* Lawyer Luddites: "AI in the legal space is not scary," as explained by David Kleiman of Bloomberg Law. [Artificial Lawyer]

* Indeed, as Greg Lambert argues, lawyers -- especially "working partners" -- need to join the innovation conversation. [3 Geeks and a Law Blog]

JEFF FLAKE (AND OTHERS) DEMAND AN F.B.I. INVESTIGATION: He traded the cow for some magic beans, but maybe he bought a beanstalk.

IF THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION, YALE IS ALL UP IN IT AGAIN: F.B.I. director Chris Wray is a Yale and Yale Law School alumn.

YALE LAW DEAN IS NOW SUPPORTS THAT INVESTIGATION: Dean Heather Gerken supports the ABA's calls for a Kavanaugh investigation.

ASSUMING THE REPUBLICANS STILL RAM KAVANAUGH THROUGH THOUGH: Best prepare for a world without affirmative action.

OH, YEAH, SUMMER ASSOCIATES: I forgot they left. But here's their report card on the firms they were at.