Ken Buck

In 1986, he was hired by Congressman Dick Cheney to work on the Iran-Contra investigation. Following that assignment, he worked as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C.[9]

In 1990 Buck joined the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado where he became Chief of the Criminal Division. Buck was formally reprimanded and required to take ethics classes in 2001 for a meeting he had with defense attorneys about a felony case he thought should not be pursued.[6][10] Only one of the three men initially indicted on felony charges was convicted, for a misdemeanor offense.[10] Buck said he is "not proud" of the incident that effectively ended his career with the Justice Department,[10] but says he felt it was "unethical" to prosecute such a "weak" case against the three men.[11] One of the three men donated $700 to Buck's 2010 Senate campaign.[10]

Buck was elected the District Attorney for Weld County, Colorado in 2004. When he suspected that Social Security numbers were being stolen by undocumented immigrants, he raided a tax service in Greeley, Colorado and seized more than 5,000 tax files. The American Civil Liberties Union sued Buck's office for violating the privacy of the service's clients and after an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, costing the county approximately $150,000, the raid was deemed unconstitutional.[6] Buck has said that his time enforcing laws for the Justice Department and Weld County stoked his desire to become a lawmaker himself.[6]

During the 2010 Senate race, The Colorado Independent ran an article entitled "Suspect in 2005 Buck rape case said he knew it was rape,".[12] The article, about a case Buck refused to prosecute in 2006, included a complete transcript of a tape between the victim and her attacker, including the following dialogue: Victim: "You do realize that … it’s rape." Suspect: "Yeah, I do." Victim: "Like in a number of different ways, because I didn’t want to do it and because I was intoxicated and because I was afraid." Suspect: "Yes I do. I know." The tape, which Greeley police had the victim record during their investigation, was available before Buck made his decision not to prosecute the woman's admitted rapist. According to a following article in the Independent, "Buck’s refusal to prosecute 2005 rape case reverberates in U.S. Senate race,"[13] the reporter provides a transcript of another tape of a conversation between the woman and Buck, in which "Buck appears to all but blame her for the rape and tells her that her case would never fly with a Weld County jury." “A jury could very well conclude that this is a case of buyer’s remorse,” Buck told the Greeley Tribune in 2006.[14] "That comment made me feel horrible," the victim told the Colorado Independent in 2010. "The offender admitted he did it, but Ken Buck said I was to blame. Had he (Buck) not attacked me, I might have let it go. But he put the blame on me, and I was furious. I still am furious, she said. According to the Independent, "A man entered the alleged victim’s apartment and had sex with her while she was drunk, she says. As she passed in and out of consciousness, she says she told him “no” and tried to push him away. If he had been a stranger, the case may have played out differently, but he was a former lover, and she had invited him over." In the meeting that she recorded, Buck said, “It appears to me … that you invited him over to have sex with him," and that he thought she might have wanted to file rape charges to retaliate against the man for some bad feeling left over from when they had been lovers more than a year earlier. According to the Independent, "Buck also comes off on this tape as being at least as concerned with the woman’s sexual history and alcohol consumption as he is with other facts of the case." Drawing on Buck's abortion stance, the Independent also pointed out that "The suspect in this case had claimed that the victim had at one point a year or so before this event become pregnant with his child and had an abortion, which she denies, saying she miscarried. The suspect's claim, though, is in the police report, and Buck refers to it as a reason she may be motivated to file charges where he thinks none are warranted."[15]

On May 6, 2020, The Denver Post published a recording of a conference call between Buck and local Republican party official Eli Bremer, who confirmed the authenticity of the recording.[16]

In the recording, Buck first asked Bremer if he understood "the order of the executive committee and the central committee" to put activist David Stiver "on the ballot" in the November 2020 election for the District 10 state senate seat. Stiver had not qualified for the November ballot because he only received 24% of votes from Republicans in the district, short of the 30% qualifying mark. Bremer replied: "Uh, yes, sir, I understand the central committee has adopted a resolution that requires me to sign a false affidavit to the state". Buck continued: "And will you do so?" Bremer replied: "I will seek legal counsel as I am being asked to sign an affidavit that states Mr. Stiver received 30% of the vote. I need to seek legal counsel to find out if I am putting myself in jeopardy of a misdemeanor for doing that." Buck lastly asked: "And you understand that it is the order of the central committee that you do so?", to which Bremer acknowledged he understood, and reiterated he would seek legal advice.[16]

Buck told The Denver Post on May 6 that Colorado political party committees traditionally made such decisions. The primary between Stiver and his opponent had been "unfair" due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado, claimed Buck. He further claimed that he was not asking Bremer "to commit fraud", but asking "if he understood the decision of the central committee and if he was willing to follow the request of the Republican central committee". Buck also claimed he had no "personal stake in the process". Meanwhile, Bremer decried that the Republican Party he belonged to was "for the rule of law except when it applies to us".[16]

Angered by what he later called the nation's "lurch to the left,"[11] Buck announced his plans to run for U.S. senator on April 28, 2009.[17] In his first run for state-wide office, Buck frequently referenced national issues in defining his goals as a U.S. senator. Among these were his opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (a program of federal economic stimulus initiated under President George W. Bush and finalized under President Barack Obama) and the role of federal policy czars.[11] Buck also stressed mounting governmental debt, an issue to which he was to frequently return throughout the primary campaign.[11] Buck, contrasting himself to what he argued was the "top down" style of early Republican favorite Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton, also pledged a "bottom-up" campaign that would include visits to each of Colorado's 64 counties.[11]

Initially Norton was seen to have had a nearly insurmountable advantage against "a band of underfunded unknowns" that included Buck, who early in the primary season was called "a dead-in-the-water Republican U.S. Senate candidate with laughable fundraising totals and little establishment GOP support". Norton's staff at the beginning of the campaign was twice the size of Buck's. He attempted to make a virtue of his meager war chest by positioning "himself as the small-money underdog" in an election cycle that saw a "populist push for outsider candidates to upset the Washington establishment".[18]

After receiving nearly $600,000 in a television advertising support from Americans for Job Security and a victory in March at the state party's caucuses, Buck began to receive endorsements and notice. By late spring of 2010, Colorado had highly competitive Republican and Democratic primaries.[18]

Although Buck positioned himself as the candidate for the Tea Party movement during the Republican primary,[19] he stirred controversy at times with remarks critical of former Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Tea Party favorite, and the statement "Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I'm on the camera?" – a reference to those suspicious of President Barack Obama's place of birth. Buck blamed the comments on his exhaustion and frustration after months of campaigning, and on his exasperation that it was difficult to keep campaign debate focused on the issue of mounting governmental debt.[20] Tea Party leader Lu Busse criticized Buck's "choice of words" and inclination to treat all Tea Party adherents as a uniform group.[21]

Buck again stirred controversy by suggesting voters should cast their votes for him over Norton because, unlike his female competitor, "I do not wear high heels."[22][23] Buck later stated that he was responding to Norton's television ad claiming he was not "man enough" to attack her himself.[24] (According to mass email, sent on behalf of Senator Jim DeMint, it was a joking paraphrase of his opponent's suggestion to vote for her, "because I wear high heels").

Making reference to Buck's mandatory ethics classes, Norton argued that she "didn't need an ethics class to know what's right. ... Ken broke the rules, and the facts speak for themselves."[25] After Buck's former supervisor, then-U.S. Attorney John Suthers, endorsed Norton, the Colorado Democratic Party Chair called for Buck's resignation from his Weld County post because of his "career bypassing justice and ethics to reward political allies and campaign contributors".[25]

On August 10, Buck defeated Norton in the Republican primary election by a 52% to 48% margin,[26] the end of "a bitterly contested primary that saw him go from an obscure and cash-starved underdog to a gaffe-prone mascot for anti-establishment conservatives [in Colorado] and nationally."[27]

In the November 2010 general election, Buck was defeated by appointed Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat by a margin of 48.1% to 46.4%.[28][29]

On August 19, 2013, Buck emailed supporters and announced that the lymphoma he had been diagnosed with was in remission following treatment and he would run against Senator Mark Udall in 2014. He had already filed to run on August 7, 2013, before he sent out the email.[30] In March 2014, Buck withdrew from the race following the entrance of Rep. Cory Gardner, and decided instead to run for Gardner's seat in Colorado's 4th congressional district.[31]

Buck won the Republican primary, defeating three other candidates, with 44% of the vote[32] and proceeded to win the general election, defeating Democratic nominee Vic Meyers with 65% of the vote.[33]

Buck voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[34] Buck believes the bill is "fairer for American families" and that it will "keep more jobs in America."[35] He also says that it will simplify the tax code, when the process has been recognized as not being simpler than current tax filing processes.[36]

On March 4, 2020, Buck was one of only two Representatives to vote against an $8.3 billion emergency aid package meant to help the United States respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.[37][38][39] Buck subsequently voted against the March 14, 2020 Coronavirus Relief Bill that passed the House by a vote of 363–40.[40]

While vaccines were approved for use to prevent the coronavirus and being distributed, Buck told Fox News he would refuse inoculation, saying. "I will not be taking the vaccine." "I'm an American. I have the freedom to decide if I'm going to take a vaccine or not and in this case I am not going to take the vaccine. I'm more concerned about the safety of the vaccine than I am the side effects of the disease."[41]

In December 2020, Buck signed onto the lawsuit seeking to overturn the result of the 2020 election.[42]

• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law
• Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade

• Congressional Western Caucus[43]
• Freedom Caucus[44]
• Republican Study Committee
• Second Amendment Caucus

In December 2020, Buck was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[45] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[46][47][48]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Buck and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[49][50] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Buck and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[51]

Buck later became one of a group of seven Republicans who did not support their colleagues' efforts to challenge the results of the election on January 6, 2021. These seven signed a letter that, whilst giving credence to election fraud allegations made by Trump, said Congress did not have the authority to influence the election's outcome.[52]

Buck opposes abortion, including in cases of rape and incest, but makes exceptions if the mother's life is in danger.[53]

Buck supports a revamp of the Department of Education and questions the department's constitutionality.[54]

Buck rejects scientific consensus on climate change. In an October 2010 meeting with supporters in Fort Collins, Colorado, Buck endorsed the views of Senator James Inhofe, saying "Sen. Inhofe was the first person to stand up and say this global warming is the greatest hoax that has been perpetrated. The evidence just keeps supporting his view, and more and more people's view, of what's going on."[55] According to a Buck spokesman, "Ken believes there is global warming but thinks the evidence points to it being natural rather than man-made."[56]

Buck opposes gun control and is endorsed by Gun Owners of America. He stated that he would "oppose any federal legislation to compile a database of gun owners or to further proscribe Americans' freedoms under the Second Amendment".[57]

He opposes the health care reform laws that were enacted in 2010. He instead favors free market-based reforms.[54] His campaign website states, "We need to let the market work, make people responsible for their own insurance, and restore Americans' freedom to decide for themselves whether and how much insurance to buy."[58] He supported a state constitutional amendment that would give rights to unborn fetuses, but then later withdrew his support reportedly after he found out that the measure would have restricted certain fertility and contraception procedures.[59]

Buck supports the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. He said, "I do not support the repeal of don't ask don't tell. I think it is a policy that makes a lot of sense."[60] Buck believes that being gay is a choice. He said, "I think birth has an influence over it, like alcoholism ... but I think that basically you have a choice."[61] The Log Cabin Republicans have rebuked him for this comment.[62]

Buck signed his support for Ajit Pai's motion to abolish Net-Neutrality, alongside 106 other Republican representatives. When asked about Pai's work to unravel net neutrality rules, Buck said: "I support Chairman Pai's efforts to free internet providers from burdensome regulations that stifle innovation and increase costs for Coloradans."[63]

During debate over the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020, Mr. Buck offered an amendment to the title of the bill so as to read: "A bill to be known as the Federal Initiative to Spy on Americans (FISA) Act." With only 35 votes in favor, the amendment was not adopted.[64]

Buck proposed privatizing Veterans Administration hospitals so they would "be better run".[65] Three months later, Buck changed positions and his campaign said, "... while Buck does indeed believe that private sector providers might do a better job than the VA in delivering health care to veterans, he is not in favor of fully privatizing health care for veterans."[66]