CBS News September 6, 2018, 10:18 AM
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It’s day three for Judge Brett Kavanaugh as President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court faces another round of questions by lawmakers. Kavanaugh wrapped up his first round of probing after 12 hours of questions and answers before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
While pressed on an array of key court issues, the judge deflected many questions on his position on landmark women’s reproductive rights case Roe v. Wade, and refused to explicitly answer hypothetical questions surrounding presidential authority and executive power.
He did, however, assert that he owes his “loyalty to the Constitution,” and not to the president that nominated him.
Follow along for live updates of the hearing:
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Booker says he’ll release committee confidential documents
After threatening to release “committee confidential” documents, risking his ouster from the Senate, Booker is admonished by Republican committee members including Cornyn for making such a suggestion.
“Running for president is not an excuse for violating the rules of the Senate,” said Cornyn, calling his threat “irresponsible and outrageous.”
The document pertains to an email from Kavanaugh kept confidential on the issue of racial profiling. Booker maintains the email has “nothing to do with national security” and should not have been marked confidential in the first place.
Democrats including Dick Durbin and Mazie Hirono joined in on Booker’s plea, saying “count me in”, decrying the hearing process as having “broken down” and accepting a similar fate of possible retribution for the release of documents.
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Hearing underway
Day three began shortly after 9:30 a.m. as Grassley gaveled in Thursday’s session. Grassley began the hearing by once again bringing up Democrats’ concerns over access to individual documents.
“My staff was here until 3:00 a.m. trying to accommodate everyone who requested documents,” Grassley bemoaned to Sen. Cory Booker over the Democrats’ complaint that he was unable to ask specific questions without proper access to documents.
“We are holding back not only documents, but not even giving us the time to read those documents,” said Booker. He called the release of one document the “tip of the iceberg of all documents that will continue to be released until we have a vote on the senate floor and beyond.”
Booker added, “I’m sure you can understand, sir, how it puts us in a difficult position.”
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Judicial Crisis Network launches ad in support of Kavanaugh
In a $600,000 national cable ad buy, the conservative-leaning Judicial Crisis Network urged viewers to tell their Senators to confirm Kavanaugh as their next Supreme Court justice.
The 30-second spot features Kavanaugh “in his own words” and will air for two weeks across major cable networks including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, all of which have been broadcasting portions of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.
“If confirmed to the Supreme Court I will keep an open mind in every case. I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law,” Kavanaugh is featured saying.
Judicial Crisis’ Chief Counsel and Policy Adviser Carrie Severino said in a statement, “We’re tired of the Democrat carnival. It is time for the American people to meet Judge Kavanaugh for themselves — here he is in his own words.”
Here’s the ad:
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What to expect for Thursday’s hearing
Questioning continues
Thursday’s line of questioning will involve 20 minute rounds of questions for each committee member in what Chairman Grassley hopes to be the final day of probing of the Supreme Court pick. Members are also expected to get 15 minutes for a third round of questioning if needed.
Following the day-long session, a closed-door evening session will take place.
Protests ramp up
According to the U.S. Capitol Police, officers arrested 73 protesters and charged them with unlawful demonstration activities associate with Wednesday’s hearing. Demonstrators spaced out their disruptions throughout the day, forcing committee members to add additional time to their questioning after significant delays. Throughout their shouts, Kavanaugh has remained unaffected and at times stone-faced as protesters demand the hearing to stop.
