Hint — it’s as you’d expect.
It was yet another big day in Washington, with the release of the whistleblower complaint against President Donald Trump and public testimony from National Intelligence Director Joseph Maguire to the House Intelligence Committee.
As the drama unfolds, CPR is keeping track of how Colorado’s Congressional representatives are responding.
Rep. Diana DeGette (Democrat - District 1)
“This complaint lays out a compelling case that President Trump, Attorney General Barr and Rudy Giuliani have tried to manipulate Ukrainian officials for months to aid them in an elaborate scheme to interfere in the upcoming 2020 election. The complaint further alleges that White House officials have taken extraordinary steps to cover up additional conversations President Trump has had with other foreign leaders. These alleged acts are impeachable offenses – and must be investigated immediately.”
In an interview today with MSNBC, DeGette called the whistleblower “an American hero.”
Rep. Joe Neguse (Democrat - District 2)
Neguse tells CPR that “The whistleblower complaint is beyond disturbing and details a blatant abuse of power by the President and a betrayal of the constitution. Every American should read it. It is Congress’s duty to hold the President accountable for this abuse of power and lawlessness, and we must do so.”
Neguse sits on the House Judiciary committee, which will be responsible for drawing up articles of impeachment if the committees investigating the President conclude it’s warranted.
Rep. Scott Tipton (Republican - District 3)
“I supported releasing the relevant documents to the American people and I remain committed to reviewing the facts of any ongoing investigation including what happened before and after the U.S.-Ukrainian military aid transfer, any possible conflicts of interest with former U.S. officials, and of course ensuring that future U.S. elections are free from any foreign influence. Impeachment calls made before an investigation has concluded are premature.”
Rep. Ken Buck (Republican - District 4)
Congressman Buck’s staff said he has no comment at this time.
In an appearance on KOA-radio Thursday morning, Buck said he was not following the testimony because he had other committee hearings to attend. Asked whether the evidence suggests the president has committed an impeachable offense, Buck answered:
“Absolutely not. This is another example of a few Democrats — most Democrats are not concerned about this — but a few Democrats are overreaching on this issue as they have on so many other issues. This is a president, one, head of law enforcement for the United States talking to the head of law enforcement for the Ukraine, asking him to cooperate on an investigation. And that cooperation will involve the discovery of potential crimes involving the former Vice President. It’s a serious matter. Joe Biden is not going to be the Democrats’ nominee in the presidential race. And what the President of the United States did is try to further an ongoing investigation.”
Rep. Doug Lamborn (Republican - District 5)
"The transcript of the phone call between President Trump and the Ukrainian President, the whistleblower report, and the Department of Justice memo on the whistleblower report have all been made available to the public. It is now abundantly clear that the Trump Administration neither threatened Ukraine nor offered a quid pro quo.
Despite all this, Speaker Pelosi and the leftwing Members now controlling the Democratic Party are continuing to beat the drums of impeachment. They started the so called “impeachment inquiry” without having even seen these documents. The House Majority seeks to smear the President, the Attorney General, and any other public official that stands in the way of their extreme agenda.
It is time that Democrats put aside their anger and hatred of the President and work on addressing the issues facing our country—President Trump and Congressional Republicans are eager to work with them."
Rep. Jason Crow (Democrat - District 6)
Rep. Perlmutter ( Democrat - District 7)
“The whistleblower account is credible and concerning, as evidenced by attempts from White House officials to lock down all records of the call, including the official transcript which still has not been released.
“This is the straw that broke the camel’s back on a pattern of unconscionable behavior and someone who believes he is above the law.”
Sen. Cory Gardner (Republican)
“I joined my Senate colleagues in unanimously supporting the release of the whistleblower report, and I support the Senate Intelligence Committee’s on-going bipartisan review to gather all of the facts. Nancy Pelosi’s impeachment inquiry to appease the far-left isn’t something the majority of Americans support and will sharply divide the country.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (Democrat)
Bennet’s staff says he has read the whistleblower complaint and attended the Senate Intelligence Committee’s closed door testimony from Director Maguire Thursday afternoon, but has not commented so far.
