'Bring it': Cory Booker says he's releasing a confidential document on Kavanaugh, risking expulsion from the Senate
- Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Thursday said he's releasing a committee confidential document on Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, which would violate Senate rules and risk penalty of expulsion.
- The document Booker wants to release is an email regarding Kavanaugh and racial profiling.
- Many of Booker's Democratic colleagues in the committee stood by him and said they'd join him in risking expulsion by releasing committee confidential documents.
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Thursday said he will release a committee confidential document on Judge Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing, which would violate Senate rules and risk a penalty of expulsion.
The document Booker wants to release is an email regarding Kavanaugh and racial profiling.
The New Jersey senator said "I openly invite and accept the consequences" of such an action, noting he was aware he could be "ousted from the Senate."
After the dramatic moment, Republican Sen. John Cornyn accused Booker of grandstanding as part of his suspected plans to run for president in 2020.
"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate," Cornyn said. "This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified."
As Cornyn read the rules of expulsion to Booker, the New Jersey senator said, "Bring it."
Many of Booker's Democratic colleagues in the committee stood by him and said they'd join him in risking expulsion by releasing committee confidential documents.
The email Booker says he'll release is among thousand of documents handed over to the Senate Judiciary Committee by a lawyer for a lawyer for former President George W. Bush. The documents have been deemed committee confidential, which mean they cannot be made public. The documents relate to Kavanaugh's time as a lawyer in the Bush administration, and reveal his views on everything from abortion to affirmative action.
Several of the documents were leaked to The New York Times late on Wednesday.
Democrats contend the documents should be released so the public is fully aware of Kavanaugh's stances on an array of major issues as his nomination for the Supreme Court is considered.