The state’s ethics commission on Friday again postponed release of an ethics probe of Secretary of State Scott Gessler after his legal team filed motions accusing the commission, one of its members and its executive director of unfairness.
“There is a cloud over the commission’s preliminary handling of this case,” the motions from Gessler argue.
A Denver district judge last week denied Gessler’s effort to halt the investigation by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. Gessler’s attorneys have argued the commission has no jurisdiction in what may be a criminal case arising from allegations the Republican misspent state funds for political purposes by attending a meeting of GOP lawyers last year and piggybacking on a trip to the Republican National Convention.
A criminal probe of Gessler’s actions by the Denver District Attorney’s office is pending.
The decision by District Judge Herbert Stern meant that the commission, which had already once delayed release of its ethics investigation report on Gessler, could have released it at its Friday meeting.
But as before, new motions from the secretary of state caused the commission to delay release of the report.
Attorneys for Gessler filed motions asking the ethics commission to:
• Appoint an outside investigator, saying its executive director, Jane Feldman, is biased;
• Recuse commissioner Rosemary Marshall, a former Democratic lawmaker, saying she is a “longtime political and legal opponent” of Gessler; and
• Transfer the ethics case to a state administrative law judge, arguing the commission doesn’t follow its own rules and is biased against the secretary of state.
Gessler’s attorneys argue that Feldman, the ethics commission’s executive director, is biased against him because she allegedly spoke critically of a Suzanne Staiert, deputy secretary of state, and that she improperly shared information about the ethics investigation with outside parties, including the press.
Gessler’s motion asks that the commission appoint an outside investigator in the ethics case.
Feldman declined to comment on the matter.
In the motions, Gessler’s attorneys also argue that Marshall, a former Democratic state representative from Denver is biased against the secretary of state. As an example, the attorneys cite an alleged confrontation that took place between Gessler and Marshall, who was not then serving on the ethics commission.
After a court hearing on a lawsuit involving Gessler over whether Denver had the right to send mail ballots to so-called inactive voters, Marshall allegedly came up to Gessler in a hallway and said, “We know what you are all about!”
And according to a sworn affidavit from Andrew Cole, a spokesman for Gessler who says he witnessed the confrontation, Marshall was “demeaning” in her tone.
“Secretary Gessler responded to the effect that he was surprised by her statement because the court action was recommended by Department of State staff,” the affidavit said. “Ms. Marshall responded that she did not believe Secretary Gessler and that she intended to keep an eye on him.”
Marshall said Friday she did not recall making those statements and said she saw no reason to recuse herself in the ethics case.
“His (Gessler’s) suggestion of bias is just untrue,” Marshall said.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626, thoover@denverpost.com or twitter.com/timhoover
