By Dustin Rowles | Politics | September 6, 2018 |
By Dustin Rowles | Politics | September 6, 2018 |
Look: I don’t want to be cynical, but I have no idea how much of this is grandstanding, or if there is an actual chance that Republicans might expel him from the Senate, but Senator Cory Booker announced this morning that he would release “committee confidential” emails to illustrate that these documents have nothing to do with national security and everything to do with the GOP trying to hide information about Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh from the public.
“I am going to release the email about racial profiling. And I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate. And if Sen. Cornyn believes that I violated Senate rules, I openly invite and accept the consequences…the emails being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security.”
Sen. Cory Booker says he will release confidential committee documents about Brett Kavanaugh: "I come from a long line…of understanding the consequences of civil disobedience…I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the senate." pic.twitter.com/N2OERLRkk0
— Axios (@axios) September 6, 2018
Here’s John Cornyn threatening expulsion.
Dramatic moment when Booker pledges to release committee confidential documents whether Republicans agree or not and Cornyn threatens to to try to expel him from the Senate
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 6, 2018
"Bring it," Booker says
(via @atrupar)pic.twitter.com/0WMOrUAdl5
The email that Booker plans to release comes from the Monday night document dump, 42,000 documents the Republicans finally gave the Democrats only hours before confirmation hearings were set to begin. The NYTimes has also released an email from those committee confidential documents showing that Brett Kavanaugh did not necessarily believe that Roe v. Wade was settled law.
Breaking: Leaked committee docs show where Kavanaugh says Roe can be overturned. #disqualified #StopKavanagh pic.twitter.com/c1ndIYX13m
— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) September 6, 2018
(And if he doesn’t believe it is settled law, then what the hell, Susan Collins?)
Senator Hirono plans to join Cory Booker.
Mazie Hirono announces that she'll also release a Committee confidential document to the press, says that if Cory Booker is going to be punished, "count me in, too."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018
Senator Durbin just jumped in, too.
Dick Durbin to Cory Booker: "I concur with what you are doing. Let's jump into this pit together … If there is going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in. I want to be part of this process." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/4x9FW84L10
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018
The head of the Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, seems to be threatening/daring Democrats?
Meanwhile, Senator Kamala Harris grilled the hell out of Brett Kavanaugh trying to tease out a conflict of interests regarding the Mueller investigation, or whether Kavanaugh spoke with anyone from the law firm of Trump’s personal attorney. Kavanaugh bumbled the hell out of his answers."You want to give up your emails right now? Make them public? I don't think you do!" Grassley tells Democrats
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) September 6, 2018
CSPAN has posted the entire nearly 8-minute exchange between Kamala Harris and Kavanaugh on the Mueller probe. It is worth your time. pic.twitter.com/ezJVEuDeUK
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018
Public support for Kavanaugh is weak, but it remains to be seen if any of this will matter. It’s clear, however, that Kavanaugh is taking a bigger beating than most might have expected, thanks mostly to Harris, Booker, and Hirono.