Booker dares Senate GOP to kick him out for releasing Kavanaugh email

Democratic resistance to the rigged confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh reached a dramatic zenith Thursday when Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) declared that he would unilaterally release a “committee confidential” email, and welcome the consequences.

Booker objected to the “sham” process by which Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have hidden emails and other Kavanaugh documents from public view.

And in a dramatic act of protest, Booker declared he was releasing one of those emails.

“I come from a long line, as all of us do, as Americans — I understand what that kind of civil disobedience is, and I understand the consequences,” Booker said. “So I am right now, before your process is finished, I am going to release the email about racial profiling. And I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate.”

Booker added that if the Republican senators on the committee believe he has violated a rule regarding confidential documents, he invites and accepts the consequences.

Booker said that he was releasing the email in question to demonstrate that “the emails that are being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security, nothing to jeopardize the sanctity of those ideals that I hold dear,” and that the Senate is “rushing through this before me and my colleagues can even read and digest the information” about Kavanaugh’s extensive record.

Booker later clarified that he does not believe he has actually violated Senate rules, because “there is no Senate rule that accounts for this process, period.”

But, he added, there are Senate rules against “conduct unbecoming a senator.” If Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) isn’t just engaging in “political bluster” and “sincerely believes” Booker has violated those rules, Booker said, Cornyn should bring official charges against him.

On Wednesday night, Booker grilled Kavanaugh on the contents of the email in question, titled “racial profiling,” which Booker said showed Kavanaugh’s “openness” to racial profiling  on an “interim” basis following the attacks of 9/11.

But that email was not available to the public, because it had been marked “committee confidential” by the Republicans, and Kavanaugh dodged the questions by insisting he needed to see the email.

Following his dramatic statement Thursday, Booker released several emails, including the “racial profiling” email. The contents of the exchange were as Booker had described, showing his openness to racial profiling.

That email is just one of the documents that are being hidden from the American people in the rush to ram through Trump’s nominee. But courageous leaders like Cory Booker will do whatever it takes to expose the truth about Brett Kavanaugh.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.