Sanders Slams Mullin Over Remarks About His Net Worth During Senate Hearing: ‘That’s A Lie’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) clashed over the former’s net worth during a highly anticipated hearing about Starbucks’ labor practices.

The senate hearing, which lasted more than three hours, saw Sanders aggressively questioning former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz over the coffee company’s union-busting tactics.

In addition to the tense exchanges between Sanders and Schultz, the Vermont senator also got into a heated back-and-forth with Mullin.

“I take offense to the chairman pointing out that all CEOs are corrupt because they’re millionaires … It’s bothering to me because, Mr. Chairman, you yourself have been very successful. Rightfully so. Glad you have,” Mullin said, as quoted by The Hill. “You’ve been in office for 28 years and you and your wife have [amassed] a wealth of over $8 million.”

“If you can be a millionaire, why can’t Mr. Schultz and other CEOs be millionaires and be honest too?” the first-term Republican senator added.

While defending business leaders, Mullin also mentioned Sanders’ best-selling book.

“Why is it that Mr. Schultz, who actually creates jobs — a best seller of a book isn’t creating any jobs — why is it that he’s corrupt and you’re not? Why is it that all CEOs are corrupt because they’re wealthy? And yet our chairman, who is wealthy — and I’m glad you are — you’re not?” Mullin asked Sanders.

Sanders clapped back and criticized Mullin for hitting an “all-time record” of misstatements.

“You’ve made more misstatements in a shorter period of time than I have ever heard. Well, if I’m worth $8 million, that’s good news to me,” said the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. “I’m not aware of it. That’s a lie.”

Mullin retorted by saying he learned about the $8 million figure from public records, prompting Sanders to say the Oklahoma senator was “probably looking at some phony right-wing internet stuff.”

“Read beyond that,” the committee chairman told Mullin.

Sanders has long been a critic of billionaires and wealthy CEOs in the U.S. and has also been a vocal campaigner for the union movement. He acknowledged his millionaire status a few years back, and the bulk of his wealth came from book sales.

“Today in America, we have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had with the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom 90%, with CEOs now making 400 times more than their workers, and with 3 people on top now owning more wealth than the bottom half of American society,” Sanders said before Wednesday’s hearing on Starbucks’ labor practices.

Sanders vehemently questioned the company’s efforts to shut down its own workers’ unionization efforts during the hearing.

“Over the past 18 months Starbucks has waged the most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country,” Sanders said. “The fundamental issue we are facing today is whether we have a system of justice that applies to all — or whether billionaires and large corporations can break the law with impunity.”

“Sir, Starbucks coffee company, unequivocally — and let me set the tone for this very early on — has not broken the law,” replied Schultz, who currently is the chairman emeritus of Starbucks.