February 05, 2021 09:28 AM UTC

$20,000 Lien, $20,000 Check: Boebert's Other Shoe Drops?

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• by: Colorado Pols

Chase Woodruff at Colorado Newsline reports on a potentially explosive new angle on the story of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s dubiously large reimbursements from her campaign accounts for mileage, racking up more such expenses in one election season than her predecessor did in a decade:

Less than two weeks before being elected to represent Colorado’s 3rd District in Congress, Rep. Lauren Boebert paid off the last of nearly $20,000 in state tax liens that had accumulated on her restaurant since 2016, records show…

On Feb. 13, 2020, three of the liens, totaling $553.50, were satisfied and released, records show. The remaining five liens, totaling $18,999.36, were satisfied on Oct. 22, 2020, according to Garfield County records.

Boebert did not respond to multiple requests for comment on what led to the liens being filed on Shooters Grill, or how they were paid off.

The state tax liens filed against Shooters Grill in Rifle reportedly stemmed from nonpayment of unemployment insurance premiums. Hopefully that delinquency didn’t result in hardship for any of Boebert’s employees last year, particularly during Boebert’s ill-advised battles with the Garfield County Health Department to keep her restaurant open during the height of the stay-at-home order last spring.

So, there’s that. But the more pressing question for Boebert to answer could be the timing of the repayment of these liens on October 22 in the amount of $19,000, followed by the huge $22,000 reimbursement for “mileage” just a couple of weeks later. Unless Boebert can fully account for the 38,000 miles of reimbursement she pocketed, it sure looks like the campaign was reimbursing Boebert for the consequences of her own flaky business practices.

Tax liens the motive, mileage reimbursement the opportunity? It adds up a bit too well, folks.