Posted on 09/06/2018 9:13:08 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Thursday released emails from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's time as a White House counsel, escalating a heated fight over his documents.
Booker released approximately 12 pages of emails tied to discussions Kavanaugh had on racial inequality including one email thread titled "racial profiling."
The documents are marked "committee confidential," meaning they are not supposed to be discussed or released publicly.
But the move comes after Booker said during a heated debate on Kavanaugh's third day before the Judiciary Committee that he would release the email thread.
"I am right now, before your process is finished, I am going to release the email about racial profiling, and I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate," Booker said at the hearing.
Booker acknowledged that he would be "knowingly violating the rules."
Booker questioned Kavanaugh on Wednesday night about his stances on racial inequality, referring to emails from his time as a White House counsel for President George W. Bush. But, Republicans later pointed out, one of the emails he was referring to was labeled as "committee confidential."
In one of the emails, Kavanaugh questioned Department of Transportation (DOT) affirmative action regulations.
"The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what in reality is a naked racial set-aside," Kavanaugh writes in one of the emails from 2001.
He adds that he believes four Republican justices will "realize as much in short order and rule accordingly."
Tens of thousands of documents have been given to the committee under the label of committee confidential.
Shortly after Booker released the documents, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) staff released a bulk of new emails, previously marked "committee confidential," that had been cleared for public release. Booker's emails were included in the document tranche.
Booker's announcement immediately sparked a rhetorical firefight between Judiciary Committee members, with both sides accusing the other of bad behavior.
Democrats on the committee argued that the process wasn't fair. Democrats have taken issue with Bill Burck, Bush's lawyer, being able to sort through the documents. Burck is a former GOP staffer and colleague of Kavanaugh's.
"I have not made a big fight about this ... but again, lest silence imply consent, I think that rule is as ineffectual as if the chair had unilaterally repealed the law of gravity," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said. "It simply isn't so. I haven't agreed to this rule. I haven't voted on this rule."
Other Democrats quickly backed up Booker.
Sen. (D-Hawaii) followed Booker's lead, tweeting screenshots of documents from Kavanaugh's time in the Bush White House that are stamped "committee confidential."
Hirono's tweet included two pages of an email thread from 2002 about "Treasury testimony on Capital Investment in Indian Country."
"I think the testimony needs to make clear that any program targeting Native Hawaiians as a group is subject to strict scrutiny and of questionable validity under the constitution," Kavanaugh wrote in the email thread.
I would defy anyone reading this document to conclude this document should be deemed confidential in any way shape or form, Hirono said prior to releasing the tweets.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) added that there was "no basis for the rules" and said Democrats are "here under protest."
"I hereby reserve the right to release documents before any confirmation vote, so that my colleagues can see what the truth is. Between now and any vote on confirmation there is the right to release documents that she or he believe are appropriate," Blumenthal said.
The moves rankled Republicans on the committee.
Grassley, growing testy, interrupted Booker to ask: "How many times you going to tell us that?"
Democrats lamented that some documents were committee confidential, and Republicans warned that Booker would be breaking Senate rules.
"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said to Booker. "I'd encourage our colleagues to avoid the temptation to either violate the Senate rules or to treat the witness unfairly."
Cornyn added that: "This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information. ... That is irresponsible and outrageous."
So the net result of Mr. Booker’s foolishness is nothing. Which will be followed by more revelations of... nothing.
Maybe the Left will hire an ex British intelligence agent to write up something. Maybe a dossier...
I dont know why they made the emails confidential. Kavanaugh’s legal opinions in them were accurate statements of law. Any specific quantifiable racial preference or set aside is subject to strict scrutiny and not likely to be upheld.
Let us not forget that Sandy Burglar (D) STOLE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS (rolled up in socks) from the NATIONAL ARCHIVES. The resultant penalty was akin to a summons for J walking!
Gay NJ Booker can only wish he was in that Broadway farce called Hamilton or was it Halitosis?
Party on you multiCulti freaks you will lose this round
PeeWee Booker.
All show.
So, the man who states that he is “knowingly breaking the law when I shoot Booker to death” will be exonerated?
What sort of sick pervert can reason like this?
Booker, D-NJ, that’s who! I hope that he is thrown out of the Senate ASAP.
Laid out Jack Cashill yesterday
Next time Trump runs I want him to put the list down and nominate judges the same way democrats do: the most extreme 'legislators' they can find. I want conservative judges who are 'citizens of the world (the conservative world) and can 'find' in the Constitution all the things WE want to accomplish.
Maybe the little liberal shits on MSNBC will discover that the way DEMOCRATS have been 'playing' isn't fair... they won't get that until WE DO TO THEM WHAT THEY DO TO US.
Soon
I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate,” Booker said
Do it, Mitch.
Fixed it.
Booker is a known security risk, at a minimum he should not have access to secure material.
If I had done this I would be in jail..
‘Now, let’s not be too hasty...’ - Mitch McConnell
The hot civil war gets closer every day. Trump should respond by releasing all documents emails etc from every obama appointee starting with brennen. As cory said, bring it.
The hearing for a Supreme Court justice has devolved into a comedic black/mulatto minstrel show. There is no decorum, no rules unbroken and just a sham of anything remotely resembling a legal hearing. The Senate has outed them selves as buffoons run roughshod over by paid protestors and communist members that all are afraid to control lest the be called raysis.
Let’s be real. Nobody on the mainland is gonna get too upset about issues involving Hawaiian natives.
For us, Hawaii is Gilligan’s Island, Pearl Harbor, Pineapple, Magnum PI, and Hawaii 5-O.
Beyond that, good luck getting anyone to worry about Booker’s memo.
And Booker has no chance. We already had a black, America-hating marxist. Booker is just slightly more angry, and is a reputed to be a homo.
It’s already been done boy.
Keep it up and you still may be. ;-)
Leaking on the lowdown is classic Senate behavior and has been tolerated forever. Openly and brazenly telling your fellow senators I don’t have to abide by the rules like everyone else has to be dealt with.
He needs to be removed from office but that won’t happen. He does need to be removed from any committee that has access to national security secrets. He has shown he can’t be trusted to abide by his word and the law.
If this goes unpunished there will be a flurry of national security secrets released by the deep state. Senators are you going to act on the rule of law or allow mob rule? My money says you cut and run. Senators you stand on the abyss...
Turns out the document had been cleared last night anyway—did Booker know?
This is all about rousing the base—these people have no intention of winning an honest vote, they just plan to take over.
Sort of ironic and an example of the state of america today when a senator advocates breaking rules norms and yes senate precident in a hearing for a supreme court nominee that they themselves on the left keep demanding to uphold precident. To the left the end justifies the means. Period. I fully expect that when all comes out and obama and brennan are exposed for ordering the surveliance and destruction of americans, including trump, they will say that they had to do it for the good of the nation. We are one small spark away from cw2 which the left actually appears to sadly want.
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