President Donald Trump called for Sen. Richard Blumenthal to be investigated in a Truth Social post late Tuesday night, hours after the Democratic senator sparred with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a contentious Senate hearing.
Referencing decade-old allegations that Blumenthal “lied” about his military service in Vietnam, Trump said in the post, “This guy shouldn’t be in the U.S. Senate. It should be investigated, and Justice should be sought.”
Shortly after, Blumenthal responded to Trump’s claims, telling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” that the allegations are “completely deceptive and distorted.”
“This allegation of 15 years ago has been really rejected by the voters of Connecticut three times, overwhelmingly reelecting me,” Blumenthal said.
The senator acknowledged that he misspoke about his service on “a couple of occasions.”
“I served in the reserves and I referred to my service ‘in Vietnam’ on a handful, just a couple of occasions, rather than ‘during Vietnam,’” Blumenthal told Collins.
Blumenthal admitted in a 2010 New York Time story to misrepresenting his military service after saying that it had been “in” Vietnam. Blumenthal served in the Marine Reserves in Washington, and he was not deployed to Vietnam.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Blumenthal over his military record. In 2017, the pair exchange jabs online after the president criticized him.
Trump did not serve in the military and received several deferments during the Vietnam War. During his first term, he also criticized then-Sen. John McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam and who died in 2018.
Since taking office, Trump has sought retribution against his political opponents, launching several investigations, including into former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted last month.
Earlier Tuesday, when Blumenthal questioned Bondi over her connections to a law firm involved in a merger scrutinized by the Justice Department, Bondi — like Trump — accused him of lying about his military service.
“Senator Blumenthal, I cannot believe that you would accuse me of impropriety when you lied about your military service,” Bondi said. “How dare you? I’m a career prosecutor. Don’t you ever challenge my integrity.”
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