WASHINGTON — Democratic Sen. Cory Booker commandeered the third day of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Thursday to release confidential documents pertaining to Kavanaugh's time working in the George W. Bush White House.

But after his grand display, which could have resulted in expulsion from the Senate under its maximum penalty, it became clear that Booker may have not broken any rules, as the documents were cleared for release Wednesday night.

Thursday morning as the hearing just began, Booker told the committee he would be releasing emails from Kavanaugh pertaining to racial profiling, despite them being classified as committee confidential.

"I openly invite and accept the consequences of releasing that email right now," Booker said. "The emails are being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security."

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn then accused Booker of blustering ahead of a potential 2020 presidential run by noting the release of such documents could result in his expulsion from the Senate.

"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to," he said. "This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified by the executive branch because you happen to disagree with the classification decision. That is irresponsible and outrageous."

"No senator deserves to sit on this committee, or serve in the Senate in my view, if they decide to be a law unto themselves and willingly flout the rules of the Senate and the determination of confidentiality and classification," Cornyn added. "That is irresponsible and conduct unbecoming of a senator."

Booker fired back, "Bring it," as his Democratic colleagues stood by him in what he described as "

The Kavanaugh emails, which Booker's staff then posted online for the public to read, showed the Supreme Court nominee's opposition to racial profiling for airport security screenings post-September 11.

Booker appeared to have committed a grave offense that comes with a severe penalty. But later on Thursday, Bill Burck, the former attorney for President Bush, said in a statement that everything Booker released was already cleared before the Thursday hearing even began.

Senate Republicans are doing everything they can to distract from their sham process to rush through a Supreme Court justice who will overturn Roe v. Wade, demolish the Affordable Care Act, and protect President Trump from being investigated."