Cases

Former COLORADO Governor John Hickenlooper Committed Numerous Ethical Violations While Governor

Overview: In 2018, Public Trust Institute brought a complaint to Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission with specific evidence demonstrating that while serving as governor, John Hickenlooper violated Article XXIX of the Colorado Constitution (“Amendment 41”) and Colorado Revised Statute § 24-6-203(3)(f).  The complaint demonstrated that Mr. Hickenlooper traveled on private airplanes owned by corporations and accepted travel expenses paid for by corporations, each instance represents a direct violation of the Colorado Constitution, Colorado statutes, and this Commission’s clear precedent restricting travel expenses for covered state officials. 

Results: The Independent Ethics Commission found that John Hickenlooper was the first Governor in the state’s history to violate Colorado’s constitutional ethics laws, held John Hickenlooper in contempt of the IEC for not appearing to testify, and levied their highest fine ever for state ethics violations.  

Resources:

August 18, 2020: Final Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law: In the Matter of John Hickenlooper

May 28, 2020: PTI Subpoenas John Hickenlooper to Testify at the Independent Ethics Commission

November 7, 2019: IEC Report of Investigation

November 29, 2018: PTI Rebuttal to Governor Hickenlooper Ethics Response

November 29, 2018: Additional Complaint Identifying Ethics Violation by Colorado John Hickenlooper

October 12, 2018: Complaint Identifying Multiple Ethics Violations by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper