Kavanaugh's emails reveals he questions constitutionality of aid to Hawaiians

THIS MORNING (Sept. 6), Senator Mazie Hirono released confidential emails from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that opined that government programs targeting Native Hawaiians "as a group" is "of questionable validity under the Constitution" and would be "subject to strict scrutiny."

"I think the testimony needs to make clear that any program targeting Native Hawaiians as a group is subject to strict scrutiny and of questionable validity under the Constitution," Kavanaugh wrote in a 2002 email in response to a Treasury Department official regarding federal assistance in "Indian Country."

READ Brett Kavanaugh's emails about Native Hawaiians.

Though the documents released in Hiriono's tweets were stamped "committee confidential," they were made public earlier by the office of Senate Judicial Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley without the confidential markings minutes before Hirono's tweet.

The Judicial Committee is having several days of hearings to decide on whether or not Donald Trump's nominee is qualified to fill a seat on the nine-member Supreme Court bench.

Grassley's office released the additional documents from Kavanaugh's work in the White House on Thursday morning after requests from several committee Democrats yesterday.

Though the emails had previously been labeled "committee confidential," Grassley noted his staff worked through Wednesday night to tackle "last-minute" requests from Democrats to release the documents publicly, according to The Hill.

The senator from Hawaii said at Kavanaugh's hearing that she saw no reason for the paper to be confidential.

“I would defy anyone reading this document to conclude this document should be deemed confidential in any way shape or form,” she said. 

Yesterday (Sept. 5), Kavanaugh's sentiments on assistance to Native Hawaiians, who he doesn't consider to be indegenous people, were revealed under Hirono's grilling. 

By extension, Hirono said, Kavanaugh's positions would also cover the native people in Alaska, the home of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who Democrats hope will vote against Kavanuaugh.

Earlier documents that were deemed "committee confidential" were released after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) earlier threatened to go against committee rules that forbade their release. His trove of documents related to Kavanugh's race-related opinions that reflect his positions on affirmative action or racial justice. 

“The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT (Dept. of Transportation) regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what is a naked racial set-aside,” he wrote,

In another email he expressed that for security reasons,t racial profiling might be allowed. 

A 2003 email indicates that Kavanaugh's previous testimony that he would support the precedence set by Roe v. Wade giving women the right to make medical decisions, specifically around abortion.

"I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe v. Wade as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so," he wrote._______________________________________________________________________________