It was already bad. For over a year, former governor and current Democratic Senate candidate John Hickenlooper has faced allegations of using corporate-paid private jets and a Maserati limo in violation of the Colorado constitution’s gift ban. But yesterday’s Independent Ethics Commission hearing into those allegations quickly spiraled out of control.
What started with a long silence when neither Hickenlooper nor his lawyers were even on the call, ended in what The Denver Post called “a stunning rebuke” as the Commissioners voted unanimously to make Hickenlooper “the first person ever to be held in contempt by the state’s Independent Ethics Commission” for violating their lawfully-issued subpoena. And all Hickenlooper’s taxpayer-funded lawyer, DSCC-funded legal henchman Marc Elias, and campaign staff did was leave people wondering “how Hick could have played this any worse.”
The Commission reconvenes today at 9:30am MDT (details to join here), and Hickenlooper may show to testify. Before you tune in, check out the coverage so far for yourself — the headlines, the Commissioner’s own statements, and the tweets.
Bad ➡️ Worse
- Fox 31: “Hickenlooper is no-show at ethics hearing; judge orders enforcement of subpoena”
- Colorado Public Radio: “‘Disrespect For The Rule Of Law’: Colorado Ethics Commission Holds Hickenlooper In Contempt For Skipping Hearing”
- The Colorado Sun: “How John Hickenlooper being held in contempt by the Colorado ethics commission only makes his troubles worse”
- Associated Press: “Former Colorado governor held in contempt by ethics panel”
“The commissioners’ patience seemed thin by the end of the day.” – (Colorado Public Radio)
Commissioner Bill Leone: “By failing to honor the subpoena of the commission, (Hickenlooper) has indicated a disrespect for the rule of law, disrespect for the commission, disrespect for the process, disrespect for the parties and the witnesses.” (The Denver Post)
Chairwoman Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa: According to The Denver Post, “called Hickenlooper’s actions ‘a little bit contemptible,’ just prior to the contempt vote.”
Commissioner Selina Baschiera: “(Hickenlooper) has repeatedly asserted that the commission has been causing delays in these proceedings and is now intimating that he wants to cause a delay in the proceedings.” (The Denver Post)
Commissioner Yeulin Willett: According to Colorado Politics, “Willett is not crazy about two separate sets of counsel for Hickenlooper, Mark Grueskin and Marc Elias.”
But Where Was Hick?
