Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey is relishing his new role as antagonist of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Supreme Court hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
Democrats are not happy with Republicans, and they want someone to fight hard for their interests and their point of view. Along with Senator Kamala Harris of California, Booker has stepped up and is playing that role.
In his latest gambit, he announced Friday that he is releasing more so-called “confidential” documents from Kavanaugh’s time spent as an attorney in the George W. Bush White House.
Booker’s actions come even as he faces potential ethics investigation in the Senate from vindictive Republicans. GOP Senator John Cornyn of Texas made the threat and Booker responded yesterday on Twitter:
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“Weds—I broke committee rules by reading from “committee confidential” docs.
Thurs—Cornyn threatened me with expulsion.
He then changed his story & backtracked. Now he’s back at it threatening an ethics investigation b/c we exposed this sham process.”
Then yesterday afternoon Senator Booker tweeted the link to the new disclosures:
“We have added 19 new Kavanaugh “committee confidential” documents to the others publicly released yesterday. All docs available here:”
Booker’s latest set of “committee confidential” emails totalled 82 pages and were released Friday evening. He defended his actions by arguing that the Republican process for Kavanaugh’s confirmation “makes a mockery of Senate precedent” and the chamber’s “duty of advice and consent.”
He said:
“The public – and the Senators whose responsibility it is to vet this nominee – have the right to know where Judge Kavanaugh stands on important issues of law and justice.”
Included in the documents released by Booker are emails to Kavanaugh and other federal employees from then-GOP Senate aide Manny Miranda discussing Democratic strategy for opposing a judicial nomination. Miranda had illegally hacked into Democratic files in 2002 to obtain this information, and Kavanaugh knew it.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
