Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is currently running for U.S. Senate, has come under fire for accepting expensive gifts during his time in office, including a flight on a private jet and a ride in a limousine in 2018.
Last week, the Colorado state ethics commission found that Hickenlooper twice violated a ban on public officials accepting gifts, travel, entertainment or anything else of value above a certain limit, according to The Daily Caller. Once in accepting a private jet flight to Connecticut, and another when he accepting a limousine ride to the Bilderberg meetings behind held in Italy. Both of these incidents occurred in 2018. The panel also voted unanimously to hold the former governor in contempt to refusing to comply with a subpoena for his testimony about the violations.
“I accept responsibility for this. But we should remember that this is a dark money attack group — a Republican dark money group — that was going to smear my reputation no matter what,” Hickenlooper said, referring to the conservative group the Public Trust Institute, which filed the ethics complaint. “They were going to smear any Democrat no matter what because” the Republican incumbent, Sen. Cory Gardner, “can’t run on his record. He’s been a yes man for Donald Trump from beginning to end. He’s never been that independent voice for Colorado as he promised.”
Hickenlooper is currently running for the Democratic nomination for Senate against former state Rep. Andrew Romanoff, in a primary currently set for June 30.
“When you break the law, defy a subpoena & get held in contempt, you jeopardize our chances to flip this seat,” Romanoff tweeted last week. “That’s why I suggested tonight that John @Hickenlooper withdraw from the #cosen race.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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