Days after Democrat Michael Bennet was sworn into the U.S. Senate, the freshly minted senator sold off at least $2 million worth of investments, according to a Center for Responsive Politics review of newly released personal financial disclose reports.

At the same time, he opted to retain at least $50,000 in a Colorado company that has been a major financial supporter of his reelection bid, the Center found.

Bennet was sworn into office on Jan. 22, 2009. Five days later, he sold between $2 million and $5.6 million worth of stocks and other securities in more than 80 companies and investment funds.

Because lawmakers’ are only required to disclose their assets, liabilities and financial transactions in broad ranges, the exact value of the interests he sold is not known.

Companies that Bennet dropped include political heavyweights AT&T, Altria Group, Verizon, BP, Chevron, General Electric, JP Morgan Chase and pharmaceutical makers Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly.

According to Bennet’s personal financial report, he opted to retain between $500,000 and $1 million in Regal Entertainment Group, which operates thousands of screens in more than 500 movie theaters across the country, and between $50,000 and $100,000 in Level 3 Communications Inc., a Colorado-based company that provides fiber-based communications services.

The political action committee of Level 3 Communications has donated $6,000 to Bennet’s reelection efforts since he was sworn into office. The Center’s research further indicates that individual employees of Level 3 Communications, along with their spouses, have also donated $13,550 to Bennet since last January — ranking the company among his top financial backers.

Bennet’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Update 2:10 PM: Adam Bozzi, a spokesman for Bennet, issued the following statement to OpenSecret Blog: “Upon taking office, Michael sold several of his stocks to simplify his portfolio.”)

Bennet, the former superintendent of the Denver public school system, was elevated last year by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado, after President Barack Obama tapped Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) to serve as Secretary of the Interior. He is facing a tough left-wing primary challenge from former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, and whoever wins is expected to face a strong Republican challenge in the general election.

Bennet’s financial disclosure report also notes that he stepped down from several nonprofit boards in January 2009, upon his elevation to the Senate. Bennet had previously headed the Denver Public Schools Board, the Denver Scholarship Fund and a another education group called Junior Achievement.

Bennet’s largest holdings at the end of 2009 were between $5 million and $25 million in U.S. Treasury securities, according to his personal financial disclosure report.



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