DENVER — Colorado’s Congressional delegation is responding to the U.S. House’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into whether President Donald Trump asked a foreign government to investigate the son of a political opponent.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the announcement on Tuesday following a whistleblower complaint related to Trump’s correspondence with the Ukrainian president. Trump has been accused of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden’s business ties there. Hunter Biden is the son of former Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Trump has acknowledged mentioning Biden in a phone call but said it was about not wanting "people like Vice President Biden and his son creating to the corruption already in the Ukraine."
All Democrats in the delegation said Monday and Tuesday they support the inquiry.
Republican Representative Scott Tipton has not responded to the announcement. These are the lawmakers from Colorado who have issued responses:
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D)
Tuesday, all 100 U.S. Senators voted in favor of a resolution calling for the complaint to be released to the House and Senate intelligence committees. After, Bennet appeared on MSNBC Tuesday afternoon for an interview with Meet the Press host Chuck Todd.
“Not a Republican, they did not object to it. Now you need to wonder about that because I guarantee you, they have more access to the substance of that complaint than we do right now. It'd be interesting to see what Mitch McConnell knows about that, but they did not object, which means we have now said as a body, our expectation is they need to send that stuff over here,” he said.
“I think we need to see what's in the complaints, we need to understand what's in them, the intelligence committee so far is working in a bipartisan way on this, and it's gratifying.”
SEN. CORY GARDNER (R)
With the Senate resolution vote being unanimous, Gardner was, obviously, one of the approving votes on the measure.
In a formal statement, he said:
"Today the Senate unanimously voiced its support for the full release of the whistleblower report and the Senate Intelligence Committee will be conducting a formal inquiry, which I support. Starting an impeachment inquiry to appease the far-left is something the majority of Americans do not support and will sharply divide the country. Instead, we should focus our efforts on finding real, bipartisan solutions to lower health care costs, solve our broken immigration system, and protect our public lands."
Earlier in the day, Gardner spoke to 640 KHOW's Ross Kaminsky. He told Kaminsky:
"Well, I think what has to happen is, step back from the politicization of this that you’ve already seen rampant on the headlines, and get the information. I think that is simply what we have to do -- follow the process of the Intel Committee, which is in an effort right now to get the information, to hold a hearing and to have a briefing. And I think that’s the kind of thing that we need to do to get the information because this is serious, and that’s why it should be taken seriously, and not just in the context of an election."
REP. KEN BUCK (R)
Wednesday, Buck tweeted:
"Democrats spent 3 years trying to overturn an election that didn’t go their way. They wasted $40 million of taxpayer money to find no collusion & no obstruction. Now [Pelosi]'s call for a formal impeachment inquiry is based solely on rumors & hearsay. It’s time to move on."
REP. JASON CROW (D)
Crow is one of seven freshman Congressmen who penned an op-ed in the Washington Post regarding the allegations on Monday.
It said, in part:
“If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense. We do not arrive at this conclusion lightly, and we call on our colleagues in Congress to consider the use of all congressional authorities available to us, including the power of “inherent contempt” and impeachment hearings, to address these new allegations, find the truth and protect our national security.”
REP. DIANA DEGETTE (D)
“The president’s own admission that he urged a foreign power to intervene in our election process constitutes an impeachable offense. We need to gather the evidence and complete this impeachment inquiry immediately given the threat this poses to our national security.”
REP. DOUG LAMBORN (R)
"Since day one, Democrats have been trying to wrongly impeach the duly elected President. The Mueller report demonstrated there was no collusion or obstruction by President Trump, and now Democrats have jumped to their next partisan accusation. Instead of spending their time working on solutions for the American people, Democrats continue to pander to their radical base and put politics before progress. To call for impeachment before the transcript has been released demonstrates their willingness to disregard reason and facts. Democrats should instead be conducting a formal investigation into Hunter Biden's corruption with Ukrainian oligarchs."
REP. JOE NEGUSE (D)
Neguse said in a tweet:
“The President has shown complete disregard for the law, the office of the Presidency and our Constitution. In the last week, we learned that he pressured Ukrainian officials to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden. There is no question that inviting political interference in our democratic process is an impeachable offense."
“These new allegations come on the heels of wholesale obstruction of Congress that the President has been engaged in since the release of the Special Counsel’s report. He has ignored subpoenas, instructed Administration officials not to come before Congress, exercised false executive privilege and now refuses to hand over this whistleblower complaint and the underlying evidence in its entirety, which Congress is entitled to by law.”
“Donald Trump has abused the Presidency and the law. We must move forward with impeachment immediately.”
REP. ED PERLMUTTER (D)
“I support the formal impeachment inquiry announced by the Speaker. In light of what we know from the investigations so far, and particularly after recent developments dealing with the whistleblower complaint and Ukraine, it is time to bring all six committees under the umbrella of a formal impeachment inquiry and accelerate the House’s investigations to ensure the Constitution, the rule of law and our national security are protected and defended.”
COLORADO REPUBLICAN PARTY (Buck is head of the Colorado GOP, but did not issue this statement)
From Senior Party Advisor Don Ytterberg:
"Last week, Democrats wanted to impeach Justice Kavanaugh. This week, they want to impeach President Trump. Who will it be next week?"
"Time and again Democrats' accusations have proven false, but yet again they are putting their political ambition ahead of solving problems for hardworking Coloradans. It is clear that Nancy Pelosi has lost control over her caucus and has yielded to the far-left wing of her party."
"Democrats like Jason Crow will regret siding with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib over the people of Colorado."
COLORADO DEMOCRATS
From Party Chair Morgan Carroll:
“I applaud Speaker Pelosi and Colorado’s U.S. House Democrats for standing up to this President’s unprecedented desecration of our country’s values, norms, laws, and institutions. President Trump’s own admission of attempting to coerce a foreign power to intervene in the 2020 election is a massive abuse of power, and it is the duty of Congress to serve as a check and hold him accountable."
“No one is above the law -- not even Donald Trump, despite what he may think. It should not be hard to unequivocally condemn asking a foreign power to interfere in our elections, but we have yet to hear that from Senator Cory Gardner or Colorado Republican Chair Ken Buck. If they are so weak that they are afraid to step one toe out of line in the eyes of Donald Trump, then they truly don’t deserve to be in office, and they will answer to the voters in 2020."
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