Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Cruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish MORE (D-N.Y.) said on Monday that he is requesting that documents from Brett Kavanaugh's White House tenure currently marked "committee confidential" be shared with the entire Senate.

"I will ... be submitting a request to the chairman and the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee for access for all senators to all of the Kavanaugh documents in the possession of the committee," Schumer said on Monday.

He added that "withholding documents from the Senate and the American people under the bogus label of committee confidential is a dark development for the Senate."

As the legal team for former President George W. Bush hands over documents on Kavanaugh's work as a White House counsel to the Judiciary Committee, the paperwork is initially marked "committee confidential." The documents are then reviewed to determine which can be released publicly.

ADVERTISEMENT

Democrats estimate that roughly one-third of the documents handed over by the Bush legal team to Chairman Chuck Grassley Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyGOP lawmakers distance themselves from Trump comments on transfer of power The Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Top GOP senators say Hunter Biden's work 'cast a shadow' over Obama Ukraine policy MORE (R-Iowa) are still marked "committee confidential," preventing them being released publicly.

"It's outrageous. Now, Chairman Grassley is usually a fair minded man. ... But when it comes to this area, Chairman Grassley's actions are manifestly unfair, not typical of his character. I understand the pressure he is under, but that doesn't forgive the result," Schumer added.

Republicans have dismissed the attacks, arguing that Democrats have focused on Kavanaugh's paperwork because they've struggled to find a policy issue that could sink his nomination.

Grassley called out Schumer in a tweet saying any senator was able to stop by the Judiciary Committee to review the documents.

SenSchumer, as chair I welcome any senator 2 stop by judic cmte any day (& nite) incl wknds 2 review cmte conf docs A desk is waiting +there r the hundreds of thousands docs already avail w/ more all the time Is nom now under consideration or is vote still pre-determined NO? — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) August 20, 2018

A spokesman for Grassley also called accepting documents as "committee confidential" an "old hat."

"Now, as in the past, the committee has agreed to accept material at least initially on a committee confidential basis in order to facilitate timely access and review. Doing so ensures that members of the committee have access to records that presidents may otherwise privilege. This procedure is old hat and the Democrats know it," the spokesman added.