Kavanaugh SCOTUS hearings

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(09-06-2018, 02:33 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Cory Booker has violated Senate rules by releasing an email from Kavanaugh that was deemed "committee confidential". The email itself is in regards to racial profiling, shedding some light on his views. Booker took issue with the fact that the shielding of this document as "committee confidential" on the grounds of national security was a partisan move to either slow the process or hide some of his views that would be considered controversial and has nothing to do with national security. The documents were marked as confidential by a Bush lawyer who previously worked under Kavanaugh.

Senator Mazie Hirono (D- HA) followed suit and released an email also marked as confidential in which Kavanaugh debates whether native Hawaiians should receive the same protections as Native American tribes.

Senate Democrats are frustrated at the massive amount of documents being shielded from both them and the public by the Trump administration and former Kavanaugh deputies working as Bush lawyers. They can request some of these be released, but ultimately it's a process whose timing and speed will depend on those who are preventing them from seeing them in the first place.

Booker had tried to bring up a detail in the email chain during his questioning last night but was told he could not as he had to be able to present the document in question to Kavanaugh, which he couldn't because of its confidentiality. From what I have read, it may have actually been cleared after he requested it cleared last night, but it still presents a question as to why something not relevant to national security is having a roadblock put in front of it.

It also begs the question: Who are Corey Booker and Mazie Hirono to violate Senate rules? Or is OK to violate the rules if we agree with the reason?

As I said during Booker's opening. He has just announced his 2020 candidacy.