Sen. Michael Bennet claimed President Trump has “utter contempt” for Congress and Americans, citing an accusation by John Bolton that Trump withheld money from Ukraine to force an investigation of Joe Biden.
The Colorado Democrat was responding to Bolton’s book, The Room Where it Happened, which claims, according to leaked portions, that Trump told Bolton he would refuse to send military aid to Ukraine unless officials announced an investigation into Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. Bennet alleged that the White House’s demand that Bolton adhere to executive privilege and refuse to testify in the Senate impeachment trial proved that Trump has contempt for the American people.
“It shows you what level we’ve sunk to,” Bennet said on MSNBC on Monday. “The president has utter contempt for Congress, I think for the American people, but we knew that. The question for the senators is, how much contempt do we have for ourselves, how much contempt do we have for our institution?”
He added: “If we can’t stand up to the president under circumstances like this, if we can’t avoid, you know, being his patsy or covering up under circumstances like this, what is going to happen in the future? So what I would say to Republicans in America who support this president is they should want to see the evidence just as much as anybody because this guy is not going to be president for life, even if he thinks he’s going to be president for life.”
The senator warned that allowing Trump to skate through impeachment without hearing testimony from Bolton could set a bad precedent and leave “no check and balance left.”
Bennet, 55, has been running for president in the 2020 Democratic primary since May but has gained little traction. He painted himself as a moderate candidate for those opposed to socialism, but he hasn’t qualified for a debate since July.
Bennet, along with fellow Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar, has been stuck in Washington for the impeachment trial ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3.
It is not yet clear if the Senate will call any new witnesses forward in the trial. Trump denied the claims made in the leaked sections of Bolton’s book and alleged that the leak was a ploy to sell more books.
