UPDATE II: Booker's entire charade has been exposed. The documents were cleared for publication at 4 a.m. this morning. Update here.
UPDATE: Chairman Grassley has released all requested documents.
Now, Grassley's office has formally released the committee confidential emails that Booker published earlier, along with other Kavanaugh docs Dems had asked to be made public. It wasn't immediately clear if this would affect Booker's possible liability https://t.co/21tnqdbK9f
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) September 6, 2018
***Original post***
The third day of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's hearing to become the next Supreme Court Justice got off to a wild start Thursday morning.
Democrat Cory Booker vowed to break Senate rules by releasing confidential Committee documents and dared the Senate to expel him for knowingly doing so.
First, part five of Senate Rule XXIX:
Any Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the Senate, shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.
Booker's threat:
.@CoryBooker: “I am going to release the email about racial profiling and I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate.” pic.twitter.com/BzFtmNNkUA
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 6, 2018
.@CoryBooker: “I sincerely believe that the public deserves to know this nominee’s record.” https://t.co/akz4tCODv8 pic.twitter.com/c11xp199N0
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 6, 2018
.@CoryBooker: “Apply the rule and bring the charges.” https://t.co/akz4tCODv8 pic.twitter.com/kwsce9btmG
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 6, 2018
The emails Booker is referring to are from Kavanaugh's time at the White House after 9/11 when he discussed the use of racial profiling in the age of terrorism.
Other Democrat Senators joined Booker and encouraged their Republican colleagues to also expel them from the body for knowingly breaking Senate rules. In addition, they argued that because they don't believe the Kavanaugh nomination is legitimate, they don't have to follow the rules.
Holy hell.
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) September 6, 2018
Whitehouse: 'I do not recognize the legitimacy of this hearing so I don't have to follow the rules.'
Eventually through proper Committee processes, the email in question was allowed to be released.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I will happily work with any of my colleagues from across the aisle to go through the necessary steps and processes to try and get specific classified documents released to the public. #Kavanaugh #SCOTUS
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) September 6, 2018
Mike Lee: I sometimes hate our rules and laws, too. But if we don’t like them, we need to respect the process and change the rules and laws (not break them).
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) September 6, 2018
You can read the emails below:
Booker Confidential - Kavanaugh Hearing by Senator Cory Booker on Scribd