Former Democratic governor and current U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper was held in contempt Thursday by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission after refusing to comply with a subpoena and testify about his alleged violations of a state gift ban.
“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,” said Commissioner Bill Leone before he and other commissioners voted unanimously, 5-0, to hold Hickenlooper in contempt.
The contempt vote is believed to be unprecedented in the commission’s 13-year history, according to its executive director, Dino Ioannides.
Hickenlooper refused to appear because he believes a virtual hearing, conducted over the video conferencing platform WebEx, would violate his due process rights. His campaign spent much of Thursday pointing out glitches and flaws in the platform, which is being used due to the pandemic.
“John Hickenlooper has made clear he will testify in person. Today’s debacle of a hearing has made clear that WebEx doesn’t work for a legal proceeding like this,” said Melissa Miller, a spokeswoman for Hickenlooper’s campaign.
Thursday’s six-hour hearing was plagued by the sort of technical difficulties that are common on video conferences: background noise from nonmuted observers, faulty internet connections, and audio that cut out. A participant was unable to use a slideshow, and as she spoke the name “Turd Ferguson” appeared as a screen name of a meeting observer.
Early in the day, commissioners voted 5-0 to have the Attorney General’s Office enforce the subpoena and that office filed a motion in Denver District Court to do so. Hickenlooper’s attorneys fought it, but the court granted the request late Thursday.
However, as a vote on contempt neared Thursday afternoon, Hickenlooper attorney Mark Grueskin said his client had changed his mind and would be willing to testify June 16. That only further frustrated the five commissioners.
“I’m not willing to wait until the 16th,” said Chair Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa.
“(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,” said Commissioner Selina Baschiera.
Hickenlooper stands accused of violating the Colorado Constitution’s ban on gifts when he accepted private jet flights from wealthy friends and businesses as governor. He has maintained his innocence and accused the Public Trust Institute, which filed the ethics complaint, of playing politics with ethics laws.
On Thursday, commissioners heard from two witnesses, both called by Suzanne Staiert with the Public Trust Institute. The first was state Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, who discussed a trip he, Hickenlooper and others took in March 2018 to Connecticut for the commissioning of the USS Colorado submarine.
Gardner spoke of how he traveled commercially and often dined cheaply, including a meal from McDonald’s. He contrasted that with the ritzy VIP treatment Hickenlooper received. At issue is Hickenlooper’s decision to fly to Connecticut on a company jet owned by MDC Holdings without reimbursing.
The second witness was state controller Bob Jaros, who spoke in the early afternoon about how public officials are reimbursed. It’s not clear what relevance his testimony has to the case Staiert is presenting.
Thursday’s hearing followed a weeks-long dispute between Hickenlooper’s attorneys and the IEC in which Hickenlooper announced he would not testify, was subpoenaed by the IEC, fought that subpoena in court, then lost his court fight late Wednesday night, 11 hours before the hearing was to start.
The hearing will continue Friday.
Hickenlooper will face Andrew Romanoff in a Democratic primary June 30. The winner will take on Sen. Cory Gardner, a Yuma Republican, in early November.
Hickenlooper is a favorite of the Democratic Party establishment and Republicans watched with glee Thursday as the IEC verbally pummeled the former governor. Donald Trump Jr. and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, chimed in with criticisms of Hickenlooper on Twitter.
