Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission voted Monday to subpoena U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper, a move that will force him to testify Thursday about private jet trips he took as governor.
The five-person commission voted unanimously at a special meeting to issue the subpoena, rejecting the arguments of Mark Grueskin, Hickenlooper’s attorney, who said a virtual hearing in the case would violate his client’s due process rights.
“If we didn’t have all the problems we have in the world right now, I would prefer an in-person hearing,” said Commissioner William Leone. “Who wouldn’t? It is a preferable format. But I don’t have any confidence at this point that the parties will ever be able to agree on a time or a procedure for an in-person hearing.”
Before the vote, Grueskin issued a legal threat to commissioners, saying twice that he will likely try to quash the subpoena in Denver District Court. It’s unclear if Grueskin’s legal action would further delay Thursday’s long-awaited hearing.
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 Colorado ethics laws.
Melissa Miller, a spokeswoman for the Hickenlooper campaign, called Monday’s subpoena “ridiculous.” She said Hickenlooper has agreed repeatedly to testify in person and noted that PTI agreed in April that a virtual hearing violates due process.
Grueskin had suggested that a hearing in the 18-month-old case occur in person in mid-August. The commission agreed to hold the hearing then if both sides agreed, but PTI did not. Before voting to subpoena Hickenlooper, commissioners voiced exasperation Monday that the two sides have failed to come to an agreement.
“I feel the parties have been engaged in some gamesmanship here with respect to this hearing,” Leone said. “One day, the commission is accused of delaying the hearing; the next day, the same party asks for a continuance in the hearing.”
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.
