MSNBC "All in with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Sen. Cory

Interview

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HAYES: Joining me now Senator Cory Booker who is a member Judiciary  Committee and made his protest quite clear today in that confirmation  hearing. First, how did that come about?

BOOKER: Well, last night I had a frustration that there were documents  that we had in our possession that they were -- they were not allowing the  public to see after repeated requests from Democrats. I just used that  documents last night in violation of procedure and it began to bubble up  again this morning as they were scrambling to deal with what I had done.  And so there was a lot of heat going into that and at some point I just had  had enough and basically I`ve been doing what I`ve been doing all day, is  just releasing document, after document, after document. I`ve released  about 20 so far in violation of their sham rules.

HAYES: OK, right. So Bill Burck who is the lawyer -- who`s by the way,  Steve Bannon`s lawyer, Don McGahn`s lawyer and also the lawyer for the Bush  administration overseeing the release of documents basically said to  reporters today, this was a stunt you pulled because they already cleared  all the documents. You -- these documents were cleared and Cory Booker  just was grandstanding. Is that true? Where the documents already clear?  Were you violating the rules? Like I don`t know.

BOOKER: I violated the rules and I am violating the rules. And if it was  just that, history (INAUDIBLE) and why would John Cornyn do something that  really I`ve never seen before in the Senate which is literally accused me  of breaking rules and telling me that I was facing an ousting of the  Senate, really threatened me with that. So if what he`s saying is true,  then John Cornyn wouldn`t have gone there.

And the reality is it`s all moot at this point because I`m continuing to  release documents that they haven`t -- they haven`t approved yet.

HAYES: So this is a small thing but I just want to make sure. You go  there and you said this is a ridiculous rule. We have these documents.  These should be made public. What is the possible rationale for keeping  them? You release them, a violation. John Cornyn read you the riot act  and says the penalty for this is expulsion. And then later what you`re  saying is they`re lying to save face by basically saying like, no we didn`t  -- we already said it was fine but that`s a lie is what you`re saying.

BOOKER: Yes. Well, they also are last night when I broke the rules. Now,  they`re scrambling to try to do it. John Cornyn went where he should not  have gone and that`s why I said some of this meetings, I will accept  responsibility because they know it`s a sham rule.

HAYES: Well, he also said they (INAUDIBLE) for expulsion. And then you`re  not going to get expelled from the Senate?

BOOKER: I`m not going to get expelled for the Senate. And so -- and so  now they`re trying to clean it up talking about one document when I`ve  ordered released 20 documents.

HAYES: OK. Here`s the thing about these documents which are fascinating.  There`s 40,000 in this bunch that got dumped, right? I don`t even  understand what is their stated reason? This guy was in the Bush  Administration for years. They`re being turned over and curated by again  Steve Bannon`s lawyer, real thing. What was even the stated purpose that  we can`t see these? They seem entirely germane. Some of them actually make Brett Kavanaugh look like a pretty thoughtful dude.

BOOKER: Right. And so that`s the point. There`s absolutely no reason.  These aren`t (INAUDIBLE) because they`re classified or national security.  There`s no legitimate reason for them to be withheld. But that`s not even  the largest point. The largest point is they`re coming out literally we  got a 1,000 documents at 1:20 p.m. today, 1,000 documents on the last day  to question him. These were just a fraction of the totality of the  documents, only about ten percent of the total documents of this man`s body  of work we`ve been able to see. And so we`ve just gone through all these  hearings having ten percent of his resume in order to evaluate them. And  some of those documents might be exculpatory. Some of them will bring up  issues around torture, around Roe, around race and the law. You name it.

And so this whole process has been a sham it`s being -- we`re being blocked  from a full airing of this person`s record, the full opportunity to vet  them and that`s why this should catch everybody at a time where we are --  we are in a crisis in our country with what`s going on in the White House  where this person has expressed views about giving the president a free  pass should he get in trouble. All this stuff is going on for him. The  lifetime appointment and we don`t even know his record.

HAYES: As I watched -- I watched the drama unfold today and it was  fascinating for a bunch of reasons. How much is what`s happening because  of Merrick Garland for this reason? The -- your perception, your  colleagues perception of the gravity of the violation of traditions in  norms by Mitch McConnell and not offering the President even the hearing on  his nominee makes whatever norms or procedures, whatever they`re imposing  now seemed preposterous to you.

BOOKER: You know, Merrick Garland is an insult and injury in and of  itself. But this one, this is to me a grievous that we are rushing a  Supreme Court Justice through and at a time where we don`t have is hundreds  of thousands of pages, thousands and thousands of documents. It just --  this is not the way it`s done and then this sham process to shield  documents from the public, this is in and of itself rotten to the core and  again we know what happened with Merrick Garland was rotten as well.

HAYES: So there`s a question about are you going to get any more, can you  get any more, can you do anything to delay because there are as you said --  and Mitch McConnell flag this apparently was lobbying the White House not  to pick Brett Kavanaugh precisely because of this issue, hundreds of  thousands of documents from this time in the Bush administration like  what`s going to happen.

BOOKER: Well, again, I don`t know. We`ve shaken up the process today.  We`re seeing them move to try to release more documents so I think we`ll  get some but it`ll still be a drop in the bucket about the totality. What  I`m hoping is that people will understand that at a time that we need more  legitimacy in the Supreme Court, the time the Supreme Court might face real  issues about can a president be indicted, can a president pardon themselves  in the like, that perhaps some Republicans will say that wait a minute at a  time when we might be going into a constitutional crisis, the legitimacy  the court is important. And we`re either going to join Democrats in  demanding that he recuse himself or perhaps we should pause.

Now, I don`t know how that`s going to play out. I`ve seen on health care  some Republicans shift at the last minute. And so that`s what I`m going to  continue to press for. I don`t care if somebody tells me it`s that this is  an inevitable conclusion. I`m going to fight every single step of the way.

HAYES: There is a third round of questioning those hearings are ongoing,  am I correct about that?

BOOKER: You are. As soon as I am done with you, I`m running back to the  committee room.

HAYES: And more -- and there`s -- I mean that -- and then that will be --  will that be it for questions tonight and then there`s more testimony  tomorrow?

BOOKER: No, we`re -- that`ll be it for the open testimony and then we will  go into a private room where the public cannot see and ask him questions.  Someone of which are appropriate for being private but then those committee  confidential documents, the once I haven`t been able to release yet and a  lot of others, we`ll get a chance to talk to him about that. And that to  me again should not be.

HAYES: That is crazy.

BOOKER: That is -- that is absolutely crazy.

HAYES: Wait a second. But those are -- they`re just committee  confidential because Bill Burck, this lawyer said it? Like, I don`t get  it. They`re not classified.

BOOKER: No. And who is Bill Burck? Again --

HAYES: That`s the one who`s making the determination about what you  talking in closed session?

BOOKER: Yes and that`s why again, if you read my Twitter account, that`s  why I am releasing these things regardless of what the consequences are to  my time in the Senate. But I promise you, at least I believe strongly that  because they`re sham rules they`re not going to move to oust me from the  Senate.

HAYES: Well, yes, I mean they don`t have the votes for expulsion so just  you know, fire up your phone and live stream the closed session all right.  You really want to -- you really want to -- you really want to shake things  up. Senator Cory Booker, thank you very much.

BOOKER: Thank you very much.

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