June 09, 2013 09:15 AM UTC

Video: Scott Gessler Remembers Nothing From Last Summer

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• by: Colorado Pols

AP's Ivan Moreno reports from the scene late Friday:

Republican Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler testified Friday to defend himself against an ethics complaint alleging misuse of state funds for political events, insisting he used his discretionary office funds appropriately.

At issue is Gessler’s travel last summer to a Republican conference on elections law in Florida and then the GOP national convention there. Gessler said it was his understanding, based on advice from his office and previous practice by his predecessors, that his discretionary fund could be used for “pretty much just about anything” provided that the expenses “had some nexus to your job as secretary of state.”

But as the video clip collage we were forwarded below demonstrates rather hilariously, when it came to recalling…well, much of anything Gessler actually did during his partially state-funded trip last year to the Republican National Lawyers' Association conference immediately prior to the Republican National Convention in Florida, things got…you know, fuzzy. Also, we love the backbeat in this video:

Good heavens, the man has got a terrible memory, doesn't he? We're told that at no point in Friday's questioning, which only took place after a judge ordered Gessler to personally testify before the Independent Ethics Commission, did Gessler formally invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Remember that Gessler has already repaid the money in question, just days before his anticipated run for Governor became public, which Colorado Ethics Watch quite reasonably takes as an admission of guilt. But as you can see, simply "not remembering" anything, if you're persistent at it, can carry you almost as far as formally "pleading the Fifth."

Fact is, these clips could probably be edited down even more–like for instance into a 30-second ad? For somebody who claims to be thinking seriously about running for Governor, safe to say, this wasn't a helpful outing.