Colorado Politics

Denver’s Western Conservative Summit announces initial speakers

So far there’s no Donald Trump or even a William Barr, but the Western Conservative Summit is starting to fill its roster of speakers for its 2019 Denver gathering.

Hailed annually as the largest event for conservatives outside Washington, D.C., this year’s show is set for July 12-13 at the Colorado Convention Center.

There’s no Special Counsel Bob Mueller, either, but Ken Starr, the independent counsel whose investigation led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998, is on the list of confirmed speakers.

In 2016, Starr was fired as president of Baylor University in the wake of a sex assault scandal involving the school’s football team.

> RELATED: Republicans are giddy for Western Conservative Summit (and so are Democrats)

Starr has been a backer of President Trump in the wake of Mueller’s nearly two-year investigation into whether Trump’s campaign illegally conspired with Russians in 2016. Mueller’s report cited 10 instances in which the president tried to impede the investigation.

“But, there was no obstruction here,” Starr said on Fox News last month after the redacted report was released. “The 10 obstructive acts don’t add up to be an obstruction of justice in the criminal sense.”

The conference routinely hosts top officials from Republican administrations.

Last year’s summit included then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Former Ambassador John Bolton spoke at the summit a few days before he was named Trump’s national security adviser.

In 2016 on the campaign trail, Trump stopped in Denver to greet the conservatives, where he was joined by former Alaska Gov. (and vice presidential candidate) Sarah Palin.

The speakers list, so far, this year includes Grover Norquist, the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, a prime shaper of opinions for the conservative movement.

Trump super fans Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA return this year, along with attorney and radio host Larry Elder.

There’s also Thomas J. Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative group that’s led the attacks on Mueller’s investigation, as well as Trump’s evangelical advisory board co-chairman Johnnie Moore, who was former presidential candidate Ben Carson’s special faith advisor in the 2016 race.

Western Conservative Summit tickets start at about $50 for a single session — there are three sessions a day — and range up to $500 for VIP access. Tickers are available online by clicking here.

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions addressed the Colorado Convention Center crowd at the 2018 Western Conservative Summit.
David Zalubowski / AP
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