{"id":3965,"date":"2026-08-20T21:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965"},"modified":"2026-08-20T21:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T21:34:11","slug":"bennet-requests-senate-investigation-into-trump-administrations-smoking-gun-colorado-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965","title":{"rendered":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet asked Senate leadership to launch committee investigations into the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to withhold funding and close a marquee climate lab in Colorado last year, alleging that the apparent retribution \u201cstrikes at the core of our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sundance bringing all-star film fest event to University of Denver ahead of Colorado debut<\/a><\/p>\n

Bennet made the request in a Thursday morning letter to Sen. John Thune, the Republican majority leader, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader. It follows last week\u2019s call from U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper for the inspectors general of several federal agencies to investigate whether federal resources were used to target the state.<\/p>\n

The request comes a week after attorneys for the state of Colorado disclosed a December email from a White House aide summoning officials from several agencies to discuss \u201cimmediate actions that your department or agency can take with respect to Colorado.\u201d The email was then followed by funding cuts, the proposed closure of Boulder\u2019s National Center for Atmospheric Research and the denial of disaster assistance funds.<\/p>\n

Echoing allegations raised by attorneys for the state, who called the email a \u201csmoking gun,\u201d Bennet in his letter to Senate leadership accused the Trump administration of targeting the state because of Tina Peters\u2019 then-continued incarceration. Attorneys for the state have also argued that Colorado had also drawn the president\u2019s ire because of its mail-in balloting system and its laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n

In court filings, the administration has argued that it\u2019s not unusual for the federal government to \u201cmake decisions based on political or geographic considerations.\u201d The White House has denied that Colorado officials\u2019 refusal to release or transfer Peters played a part in the email or subsequent administrative decisions.<\/p>\n

An ally of President Donald Trump, Peters was serving a prison sentence for her role in giving an unauthorized person access to secure voting equipment in Mesa County. Her sentence was commuted by Gov. Jared Polis in May, and she was released June 1.<\/p>\n

Bennet said that presidential administrations were entitled to advance their political priorities but that they couldn\u2019t \u201cdictate terms to states.\u201d Three constitutional law professors told The Denver Post last week that the email \u2014 and the coordinated effort it appeared to reveal \u2014 was unprecedented and likely illegal. One also warned about a permanent rupture of trust between state and federal authorities, an argument that Bennet also stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing this unconstitutional overreach to go unchallenged sets a dangerous precedent, and unsettles the relationship between states and the federal government,\u201d Bennet wrote. \u201cNo state should ever be subject to punitive measures for decisions that simply happen to go against a sitting president\u2019s desires \u2014 and no American should be denied relief from floods and wildfires, or see their opportunity for clean water ripped away, simply because they happen to live in a state at odds with a given administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more US aircraft carrier arrives in Middle East, relieving long-deployed USS Lincoln<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Emails sent to Thune and Schumer\u2019s offices were not immediately returned Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

The December email, first teported last week by The Post, was read aloud in federal court on Aug. 11, and a copy was released in federal filings Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Under the subject line \u201cbrainstorm call,\u201d the email was sent by a Trump assistant to 14 federal officials and White House aides. The recipients included the chiefs of staff for the departments of energy, education, transportation, interior and agriculture. A deputy secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development was also included, as was a White House lawyer and an associate director for the Office of Management and Budget.<\/p>\n

Federal action against Colorado rolled out quickly after the brainstorm session. The next day, the Energy Department\u2019s deputy general counsel summoned several people to a \u201cportfolio review\u201d meeting requested by the White House, according to additional records filed in federal court. Several emails withheld by the Justice Department, but described in a log turned over to the state, involved Energy Department staff discussing the portfolio review and \u201cpotential termination\u201d of grants to Colorado in the days after the email.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Officials from within the U.S. Department of Agriculture swapped similar emails soon after the White House meeting. The log shows senior agency officials emailing each other about a new pilot program, which would have required Colorado to swiftly recertify Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program eligibility for 100,000 recipients. Some emails also included Emily Underwood, an assistant to Trump and the author of the initial \u201cbrainstorm\u201d email.<\/p>\n

Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Meta defends its child safety efforts but critics say the social media giant falls short<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet asked Senate leadership to launch committee investigations into the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to withhold funding and close a marquee climate lab in Colorado last year, alleging that the apparent retribution \u201cstrikes at the core of our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nBennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet asked Senate leadership to launch committee investigations into the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to withhold funding and close a marquee climate lab in Colorado last year, alleging that the apparent retribution \u201cstrikes at the core of our democracy.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colorado Springs Moverss\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"headline\":\"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965\"},\"wordCount\":805,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965\",\"name\":\"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?p=3965#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Springs Moverss\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss","og_description":"U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet asked Senate leadership to launch committee investigations into the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to withhold funding and close a marquee climate lab in Colorado last year, alleging that the apparent retribution \u201cstrikes at the core of our democracy.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965","og_site_name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","article_published_time":"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"headline":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email","datePublished":"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965"},"wordCount":805,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp","articleSection":["News","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965","name":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email - Colorado Springs Moverss","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-20T21:34:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9971c14e4d54fb2a8ffe57149d1a41b7-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3965#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bennet requests Senate investigation into Trump administration\u2019s \u2018smoking gun\u2019 Colorado email"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/","name":"Colorado Springs Moverss","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4857af3bff7f66cee0c97667a8e70c1c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}