Screengrab of Cory Booker flashing White Power sign from https://youtu.be/dY2YCdBONWE

Wow, what an epic day at the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. And it is only noon.

Yesterday, Kamala Harris had center stage. Today it is New Jersey senator, T-bone’s best friend, and 2020 presidential hopeful Cory Booker.

Breaking: Cory Booker says he is going to "knowingly violate" the Senate rules and release one of emails that's being concealed by Republicans from Brett Kavanaugh's White House service. He says it's "civil disobedience."

— James Hohmann (@jameshohmann) September 6, 2018

Booker announces that he is releasing an email from Kavanaugh kept confidential on racial profiling "understanding the penalty comes with ouster of the Senate"

— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 6, 2018

And this is the first act:

“I am going to release the email about racial profiling, and I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate,” he said.
…
In a much more dramatic way, Booker tried to make the same point: “I am releasing [the email chain] to expose that none of the emails are being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security, nothing to jeopardize the sanctity of those ideals that I hold dear.”

Chuck Grassley wasn’t taking it too seriously.

@CoryBooker flashes the White Power sign right in the face of @ChuckGrassley and gets away with it. pic.twitter.com/pUHFpFDodh

— streiff (@streiffredstate) September 6, 2018

And release it, he did. You can read it here, or skip to the punchline below.

https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/1037731687449456640

Cory Booker: By releasing these emails, I AM SPARTACUS!
Documents: Kavanaugh's not a racist, and properly understands the role of precedent in Supreme Court jurisprudence.
Booker: YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT I AM SPARTACUS

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 6, 2018

But no grandiose gesture is really complete without allies:

I stand w/ Judiciary Committee Democrats who are well within their rights to release these very important documents that a former Kavanaugh deputy designed as “committee confidential.”

The American ppl deserve to know the truth about Judge Kavanaugh’s record. #WhatAreTheyHiding?

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 6, 2018

Dick Durbin to Cory Booker: "I concur with what you are doing. Let's jump into this pit together … If there is going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in. I want to be part of this process." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/4x9FW84L10

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018

And without the “Me, too! Me, too!” crowd:

Mazie Hirono announces that she'll also release a Committee confidential document to the press, says that if Cory Booker is going to be punished, "count me in, too."

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018

And without the ignominious walkback:

Cory Booker says he's going to violate Senate rules and release an email kept confidential on "racial profiling" to "expose" that docs being withheld "have nothing to do with national security."

"I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate." (ABC) pic.twitter.com/fzAEM4J8Ej

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018

Senator Cory Booker boldly declared he is knowingly violating Senate rules.

30 minutes after his grandstanding for the cameras, Booker says he didn’t violate any Senate rules.https://t.co/9DLlgapDxM

— GOP (@GOP) September 6, 2018

Cory Booker can’t keep his grandstanding straight: Booker v. Booker on breaking the Senate rules https://t.co/NF1Rwe97vM pic.twitter.com/6fBmakWV9X

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 6, 2018

Senate Judiciary Committee staffers tell our @GriffJenkins that the documents SenBooker released today were already agreed to and cleared late LAST NIGHT. Not clear exactly which senators knew that before Booker publicly announced he was willing to violate policy and release.

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) September 6, 2018

Last night I thought Kamala Harris had edge in 2020 Dem race with her 'Have you ever spoken to anyone about Mueller and/or his investigation?' question. Now, I think Cory Booker has moved in front with his 'I am Spartacus' civil disobedience moment. But it's just noon…

— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 6, 2018