Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt that it “wouldn’t surprise” him if Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) faces some scrutiny from the Senate Ethics Committee after his decision to publish committee classified documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.
“When you break the Senate rules, it’s something the Ethics Committee could take a look at,” McConnell said. “And that would be up to them to decide. But it’s routinely looked at the Ethics Committee.”
He also called Booker’s action “unusual behavior.”
In a theatrical move, Booker announced Thursday that he would release some of Kavanaugh’s emails over Republican objection, and his Democratic peers rallied around him. Yet, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) had apparently cleared those documents for release earlier in the morning, and released many of the documents in question to the public mere minutes after Booker did. It’s unclear whether Booker was aware that the documents had been approved for release when he sent them out.
Democrats have been accusing Republicans of withholding records from the public that would make Kavanaugh seem less palatable. And indeed, some argue that the emails are revelatory, even damning. Republicans, in turn, accuse Democrats of acting out of partisan spite without any consideration of the nominee’s credentials.
Not that it seems like it will matter much — with the Republicans’ Senate majority and seeming reluctance of any of the caucus to flip, Kavanaugh’s confirmation is all but assured.
