A New Jersey senator with a history of telling tall tales is set to become the first sitting senator to ever testify against a Senate colleague during a confirmation hearing.
Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), who told detailed stories of a fictional gang banger during his political runs, announced that he would testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee against the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.) for attorney general. Sessions' hearing began on Tuesday morning.
Booker's office said it checked with the Senate historian to make sure that the move was unprecedented. Critics of Booker's decision such as Rep. Chris Collins (R., N.Y.) say that "Booker is all about the latest stunt" and that what he is doing "is nothing but self-serving grabbing headlines."
One headline-grabbing story, was Booker's tale of "T-Bone," a Newark drug pusher who threatened to "put a cap" in Booker when they first met and ended up crying and sobbing.
"I walked up to this charismatic black guy my age called T-Bone, who was one of the drug lords," Booker said. "I just said, 'Yo, man, wha's up,' and he leaped in front of me, looked me right in the eye and said, 'Who the blank do you think you are? If you ever so much as look at me again, I'm going to put a cap in your ass.'"
Booker went on to say that he befriended "T-Bone" and tried to convince him to turn himself in.
"He looked at me with this vicious ferocity that he looked at me with when he first threatened my life, and he bit down hard on his lip and he burst into tears and he started crying and sobbing into my dashboard," Booker said.
The story, which Booker says he told a "million times" during his New Jersey campaigns, was made up, according to an investigation conducted by Eliana Johnson for National Review.
Johnson spoke to people familiar with Newark and found that nobody had ever heard of a man named "T-Bone."
Johnson spoke to a Booker supporter who criticized him for creating a fictional character that "pandered to a stereotype of inner-city black men." The supporter said that after a "tough conversation," Booker admitted there was no T-Bone.
Other supporters of Booker supported his story-telling ways, arguing that the tactic gets results.
"If that makes you shed a tear and contribute money to save people like this, then so much the better," a Newark city councilman who supported Booker told Johnson, acknowledging that it was fiction.
Booker made it a habit to tell tall tales during his political rise. In one instance, he faced criticism from the grieving family of popular Newark activist Judy Diggs after he lied about the way she died while delivering her eulogy.
Booker's plan to attack Sessions is facing new criticism on Tuesday as video was released of Booker saying that he was "blessed and honored" to work with the Alabama senator to honor those that marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to promote civil rights for African Americans in 1965.
Booker is now emerging as a leading voice for Democrats as they mount their resistance to the incoming Trump administration.
Booker was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, but has previously had issues falling into line with the party.
Booker was in hot water with Democrats in 2012 over his decision to attack President Obama's reelection campaign over its decision to make an issue of Republican Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital.
Many speculated that Booker's decision to defend the private equity firm against attacks from Obama were due to his close ties with Wall Street.
Booker received nearly $2 million from securities and investment firms during his 2014 run for senate, relying on the sector more than any of his Democratic colleagues.