Hickenlooper violated Colorado’s gift ban, ethics panel finds – By Bridget Bowman (Roll Call) / June 5 2020
Ex-governor is top candidate to take on GOP Sen. Cory Gardner
Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission found Friday that former Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper violated the state’s ban on gifts for public officials while he was in office.
The panel found that Hickenlooper, the top candidate to take on Republican Sen. Cory Gardner in November, twice violated the ban as governor, Colorado Public Radio reported. The commission dismissed four other allegations brought by a group led by a former GOP state House speaker.
The complaints centered on Hickenlooper accepting trips on private jets while governor. According to CPR, the commission found that Hickenlooper violated the gifts ban when he traveled on a private plane to a U.S. Navy submarine commissioning in Connecticut and also when he attended a conference in Italy.
The commission’s decision comes after Hickenlooper testified via videoconference on Friday. On Thursday, he had refused to testify, arguing appearing virtually violated his right to due process. The commission held him in contempt for violating a subpoena.
The commission will meet again next week to determine the penalty for violating the gifts ban, and for refusing to testify, CPR reported.
Continue to article: https://www.rollcall.com/2020/06/05/hickenlooper-violated-colorados-gift-ban-ethics-panel-finds/
